A pathetic tribute to Cesar Chavez

Posted on 31. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in environment, inspirational people

After the blogger picnic at Farnsworth Park in Altadena on Saturday, I took the long way back to the car. Behind the main park building, I found the Cesar Chavez Memorial Garden. Isn’t it pathetic?

People shouldn’t plant memorial gardens unless they plan to maintain them.

Is there anyone out there who would take this over and give it the love it deserves? I can’t, since I can’t keep a plant alive for more than a week, but hopefully this blog post will reach someone who cares.

Don’t plant a garden for me when I die someday. Just make sure this blog isn’t deleted.

Spiffing up the school

Posted on 29. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, things that bug me

Yesterday I attended Servathon at La Canada High School. Throngs of students and parents descended upon campus to plant, paint, scrub and scrape. Imagine our horror when we saw this new graffiti on the front of the cafeteria. I’ve never seen graffiti at our high school, and neither had the boys that were with me.

It didn’t take long for Assistant Principal Kevin Buchanan to spring into action and paint over the offensive scrawlings.

All over campus there were kids planting new plants,

and cleaning lockers.

My brave crew found a dark hallway on the third floor that was clearly at the bottom of the list for preferred locker spaces. Many of the lockers didn’t have locks on them, so we opened them up to see if there was anything inside we needed to clean up.

We struck the motherlode when we opened this locker. It was full of abandoned sandwiches and other lunch items. They were crawling with bugs and maggots. Why can’t kids just throw them out? Or better yet, eat them when they’re fresh? Kids in developing nations would be stunned.  :(

We were amazed at how much dirt there was.

We found this in one of the lockers. We’re not taking it personally.

Local blogger list from today’s picnic

Posted on 28. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, social networking

Kudos to the brilliant soul who had bloggers write their urls on this poster at today’s picnic! Click here for a larger version.

People arrested for stealing $40K in athletic equipment from LCHS

Posted on 28. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, sports

From today’s Pasadena Star News:

Man, woman suspected in school burglaries

From staff reports

Posted: 03/27/2009 06:50:12 PM PDT

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE – A man and woman were arrested Friday on suspicion of stealing about $40,000 worth of athletic equipment from two local schools in recent weeks, authorities said.

Martha McRae, 44, and Mark Wallace, 40, both of La Canada Flintridge, are suspected of breaking into La Canada High School and Flintridge Preparatory School, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Gary Ogurek said.

The burglaries occurred over several days about three weeks ago, officials said.

Detectives investigating the burglaries served a search warrant about 8 a.m. at a home in the 2100 block of La Canada Crest Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Gary Ogurek said.

Inside, property allegedly taken in the burglaries was found, as well as information which led officials to a second location in Montrose, where more allegedly stolen property was found, the sergeant said.

The majority of the property taken from the school’s was recovered, he added.

McRae and Wallace were booked on suspicion of burglary, receiving stolen property and possession of methamphetamine for sales, Ogurek said.

According to court records, both suspects are being held in lieu of $20,000 bail and are due for arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court Wednesday.

Etsy Friday: Panoramic Sugar Easter Eggs

Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in my life, shopping

When I was little, sometimes the Easter Bunny would bring me and my sister sugar panoramic Easter eggs. They were so beautiful that even in our most ravenous moments we’d never dare eat them.

Here’s the Easter egg my sister gave to my daughter about 15 years ago. It’s still wrapped in the plastic it came in, so it’s stayed preserved. I have no idea where she got it. In fact, I’m only about 90% sure that she gave it to her. Perhaps I did. I would have, if I’d found one.

You can find beautiful sugar Easter eggs on Etsy. Here’s my favorite, from PBDoggyToo’s shop. It costs $14.95. I think it’s even prettier than my daughter’s.

Check out the inside:

The description says it’s edible, but I think it would be an incredible waste to eat this.

STD rates among teens and young adults

Posted on 26. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting, startling statistics

Today my Parent Ed. class finished up a series about teens and sex. Besides the risk of pregnancy and adverse emotional issues, one of the big reasons parents want their kids to not have sex is so that they can avoid contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Which made us wonder…what are the rates of STDs among teens? I’ve heard they’re high, as demonstrated by these oft-repeated statistics:

One in two sexually active youth will contract an STD by age 25.

Half of all new HIV infections occur among adolescents. (5)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, here are infection rates for the major STDs. Where I could find them, I included the rates for teens and young adults.

Of course, these statistics vary greatly by socioeconomic class, ethnicity, living situation and other factors.

I was surprised to see that there were so many more HPV and genital herpes cases. I also didn’t realize that the vaccine preventable-HPV strain was such a small fraction of all HPV cases. When you add these together, and consider that some people are counted in more than one disease category, it wouldn’t add up to 50%. However, the statistic at top was for sexually active people, so that makes sense.

Whether you think you or your child is at a high risk or a low risk, it’s better to be careful.

Sources:
(1)    http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats07/adol.htm
(2)    http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#hivaidsage
(3)    http://www.cdc.gov/STD/stats07/other.htm#HPV
(4)    http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/g/genital_herpes/stats.htm
(5)    http://www.ashastd.org/pdfs/ASHA_05.final.pdf

Wanted: More hours in the day

Posted on 25. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, my life

I’ve been busy lately – client work, helping senior moms with the upcoming grad night, PTA stuff, church stuff, schlepping the kids around, and helping to brainstorm what to do to ensure that the upcoming parcel tax gets the 2/3 vote it needs to pass.

More about that another time.

But right now I just wish our schools were adequately funded so that people didn’t have to spend so much time trying to pass a $150 parcel tax.

Local Blogger Picnic in Altadena this Saturday

Posted on 24. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in food, local news

Come one, come all, to the San Gabriel Valley Blogger’s Potluck in Altadena this Saturday.

Bloggers and their beloved families and groupies are welcome.

Many thanks to Altadenablog, Altadenahiker, Altadena Above It All and Open Mouth, Insert Fork for hosting this fabulous event!!

R.I.P. ReinChuck

Posted on 22. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, books, health, my life

My dog is still working on destroying the toys I bought from the post-Christmas clearance bin at Petco. This evening he finally made great progess on the ReinChuck. (or is it a WoodDeer?)

Isn’t it cute?

Uh-oh. Starting to see some innards on the outards…

Here’s what happens if you hold your finger over the flash. I like the night vision effect, as if I’ve found him doing this in the wild.

“Why are you holding my ReinChuck over your head?”

R.I.P. ReinChuck.  :(

“I’ll eat the brains tomorrow.”

Let’s hope he doesn’t eat the brains. I just read the chapter of that describes how eating squirrel brains can cause a form of mad cow disease.

I’m sure that if I grew up eating squirrel brains, I wouldn’t be bothered by this concept. But I didn’t, so I am. I can’t even imagine eating squirrels.

Clearly my dog can, however. I guess that’s why I haven’t seen a squirrel in our yard for a few months. They’re not stupid.

Tomorrow’s Parent Ed speech / message / talk

Posted on 21. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in parenting, religion

Here’s the talk I’m giving at La Canada Presbyterian Church at tomorrow’s 9:30 am church service about the great Parent Education program:

Yesterday I attended a baby shower. At one point the expectant mother held up one of her gifts and said, “I don’t even know what to do with this!” We all laughed because it’s true: kids don’t come with instruction manuals, and it’s sometimes hard to figure out what to do with them.

That’s why I love Parent Ed. so much. I learn how to be a better parent from the amazing instructors and from the other parents.

When my family moved to La Canada in 1996, one of the first things I did was sign up for the 3/4 Parent Ed Class. I had a three-year-old and a four-year-old, so I couldn’t resist enrolling for something where I didn’t need to leave the other child at home.

My instructor was the amazing Claudia Zentmyer. She calmed our fears, gave us advice, and let us share any concerns we had. My children and I have friends to this day that we met in that class.

I took a break from Parent Ed for awhile when I went back to work, but I returned when my oldest entered high school. Our terrific instructor, Jan Roberts, does the same things for our teen class that that Claudia did for my 3/4 class: she calms our fears, gives us advice and lets us share concerns.

An expectant mother, who’s immediately concerned with how to change a diaper or swaddle a baby, might wonder why it’s still important to have a Parent Ed class when your kids are in high school. Well, when teens mess up, it’s more likely to have a life-changing impact. And as a parent of teens, it’s frustrating that I can no longer hold their hands and keep them away from all of life’s dangers, or kiss their foreheads and make it all better.

At Parent Ed, I learn ways to teach my kids to make good decisions, and techniques to help them navigate the ups and downs of high school. Jan and the parents of older kids alert me what to watch out for in the future, and we all share  what’s happening in our local community.

But most of all, Parent Ed has taught me how to apply my faith to my parenting. I’ve learned to be less judgmental of fellow parents, since we’re all struggling to do the best job we can. I’ve learned that children need to know that we love them unconditionally, because sometimes they can feel like the whole world is working against them. And finally, I’ve learned to forgive them when they mess up. We all make mistakes, sometimes big and sometimes small, but just as God forgave us, so should we forgive our children.

I’m definitely not a perfect parent. But Parent Ed teaches me to be a better one, and I am incredibly grateful for this important ministry.

Sleep under the trees in this magnificent bed

Posted on 20. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in shopping

Instead of an Etsy find, this Friday I’m featuring the bed of my dreams. You can find it at Shawn Lovell Metalworks. Too bad it costs $15,000. But it’s really cool anyway.  :)

Imagine how much fun this could be: you could decorate it for Christmas, or put Easter eggs and a stuffed bird in the nest. Or maybe you’re not silly like I am.

Pasadena has 50 homeless people per square mile, of whom 10 are children

Posted on 19. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in local news, startling statistics

Union Station, the big Pasadena, CA homeless shelter, included this sad statistic in an email the other day:

On any given night in Pasadena, approximately 1,145 people are living on our streets, in cars, and in temporary shelters. This is a 16% increase from last year.  Children make up an alarming 20% of the homeless population.

Pasadena covers 23 square miles. That means that there are 50 homeless people per square mile, of whom 10 are children.

We used to live in Pasadena, east of Caltech. I never saw a homeless person anywhere near our house. I visit Pasadena frequently, and there are areas where you will never see a homeless person.

So, that means the homeless are concentrated into a much smaller area. My guess is that they’re in about 1/3 of the city. So that would mean that in some parts of the city, there might be 150 homeless people, including 30 children, per square mile.

These are hard numbers to fathom.

A hate group’s a hate group, no matter how young

Posted on 18. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting, social networking

I recently discovered a rash of that were directed at teachers and a student at a local school. Most of the group members were in junior high. I spoke to the parents I knew whose kids were in the groups, and they were appalled. I don’t know what the exact punishments were in each case, but I’m sure the kids were lectured up, down and sideways about why this is wrong.

I’d asked Facebook to remove the groups as soon as I saw them, but they didn’t take action until four days later. Believe me, I wasn’t being picky: for example, one of the groups was “We Hate ” and the description was “We hope he burns in Hell.” The other groups had names that are too crass to mention here.

This is just one more reason for parents to join Facebook. They should be their kid’s friend and keep an eye out to make sure stuff like this doesn’t happen.

They should also make sure that kids understand how much groups like this can hurt people. The kids might call it a joke, but it isn’t a joke to the victim. Were you ever bullied in school? If so, I bet you remember exactly who did it and what they did or said. This kind of stuff is painful.

What’s the difference between this and the hate groups monitored by The Southern Poverty Law Center? Number of members, funding, threats of violence, for sure. But it’s all shades of grey, and we’ve got to teach our kids that this behavior, and anything that it leads to, is unacceptable.

When life stinks, here’s a reminder that it could be worse

Posted on 17. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in cool websites, life lessons

Just as there’s always someone prettier, smarter and richer than us, there are also people who don’t have it as good as we do.

When you’re feeling low, visit F*** My Life: Your everyday life stories. People enter their tales of woe, and others vote on whether the person’s life stinks or whether they got what they deserved. Here are a few recent examples:

• Today, I decided to ask my friend to the school dance. It’s one where the girls ask the guys. I spent hours placing signs down his street so he would see them on his way home. As I’m waiting in his driveway with balloons I see his car reverse and go the other direction. FML
  #415998 (83) – 03/17/2009 at 4:44pm by SmileEveryday – misc – I agree, your life is f***ed (19782) – you deserved that one (3262
• Today, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I called all my family members to invite them over this evening because I had some very important news for them that could not wait. They all declined the invite. When I asked why, they said they were going to my cousins to watch his new TV. FML
  #406352 (106) – 03/17/2009 at 1:47am by Mikey – health – I agree, your life is f***ed (44821) – you deserved that one (1066)
• Today, I found an old dress in my house laying around. I decided to dye it green to wear it out on St. Patrick’s day. Turns out it was my grandmother’s wedding dress that my sister was planning to wear for her wedding. FML
  #379533 (106) – 03/16/2009 at 1:29pm by Noname – misc – I agree, your life is f***ed (8120) – you deserved that one (47295)

I don’t wish these things on anyone, but it can be therapeutic to read them. I learned about this from my teenagers, who promise they skip over the skankier ones. Though I have to admit, even the skankier ones mostly wind up warning people from doing those skanky things.

Bernard Madoff needs this car

Posted on 16. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in local news

I spotted a Lipstick Bail Bonds Smart Car at the Pasadena, CA Whole Foods this evening. It makes sense that a Smart Car would be there. Their website shows a Hummer. That wouldn’t work as well at Whole Foods.

I love their slogan: “Kiss Jail Good-Bye.”

It’d be cool to drive a car like this if I weren’t so happy being anonymous. I think that my Prius is the most anonymous car I can drive here in Southern California.

Let’s all hope we never need their services. But remember, if you do, you can make your payments online.

As well it should be!!

Do 2/3 of kids take Adderall to get better SAT scores?

Posted on 14. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, health, startling statistics, things that bug me

A local teen who took today’s SAT took an informal survey of other kids and found that about 2/3 of them had taken Adderall or Ritalin before the test to help them focus and do better. Kids purchase the pills from their classmates who have ADD or other conditions for which it is prescribed. The pills are either consumed orally or crushed and snorted.

Someone should do a more scientific study to determine if this 2/3 figure is typical. In the meantime, parents and administrators should be aware that this is happening and inform kids and young adults about the downside of taking these drugs when they’re not prescribed and carefully monitored.

Here are some reasons NOT to take Adderall, Ritalin, or other ADD medications unless they’re prescribed for you:

• The more Adderall you take, the more likely your tolerance is to go up, so the more you’ll need each time to get the same results. (1)
• If usage continues and the dose escalates, there’s a risk of moving on to heavier drugs such as cocaine, especially if there’s a family history of substance abuse. (1)
• Adderall’s an amphetamine. Side effects may include: fast heartbeat, heat regulation, stomach pain, dizziness, sleep disorders, seizures, fainting, anxiety, paranoia, coma (1,2,3,5,8,9)
• Certain combinations of prescription drugs, especially when mixed with alcohol, can be lethal. (6)
• When you snort a pill that’s meant to be taken orally, you can get a day’s worth of medication in one second. (8)
  
• Distributing Adderall without a prescription is a violation of Federal law. (1)
• It is a felony to take and purchase prescription drugs without a valid prescription, to health-related problems. (7)
• It’s against the student code of conduct on most school campuses to possess prescription drugs without a valid prescription. (11)
• Students can form a psychological dependency upon the drug that causes them to lose faith in their own abilities. (10)
• It’s an unfair (temporary, dangerous) advantage over the kids who aren’t taking it. (my humble opinion)

I also wonder about the psychological effect. If you think that the only reason you’re doing well is because you’re taking the pills, your self-esteem may suffer and you may be inclined to keep taking them. And if you really can’t handle the university, the internship or the job without the pills, perhaps you shouldn’t be there.

What if these dangers could be mitigated by more fully-developed medications? How would taking these drugs differ from people consuming caffeine and getting more sleep? Some argue that eventually the medications might be able to be consumed by healthy people who want to enhance their performance. (4)

I’d feel sorry for the people who wouldn’t want to take drugs in order to perform. I hope we don’t come to that.

But perhaps we already have.   :(

Surprising fact of the day:

“The DEA estimates that the annual street value of diverted controlled drugs rivals that of cocaine and surpasses that of both marijuana and heroin.” (5)

Sources:

1. ADD & Abusing Adderall (Washingtonian.com)
2. The New Illicit Drugs: Kids Who Don’t Need Cognitive Enhancers Take Them Anyway (Hartford Courant)
3. Doctor: Player’s Death Could Be Drug-Related – Experts Say Max Gilpin Was Not Dehydrated (MSNBC)
4. Media Advisory: Stanford Podcast on Cognitive-Enhancing Drugs
5. Focus on: Adderall (The Colonnade)
6. Generation Rx: The new way to use and abuse (ParkRecord)
7. Amphetamine Ignorance (The Villanovan)
8. Over the counter and off the streets, Adderall use becoming more apparent with KSC students (The Keene Equinox)
9. Adderal Abuse with Students
10. Prescribed abuse As finals grow nearer, Adderall abuse among students is becoming a growing problem (The Xavier Newswire)
11. Academic steroids? Finals on Adderall (Binghampton University Pipe Dream)

Pink Friday at La Canada High School

Posted on 13. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in economy, education, local news, shopping

Teachers, students and parents all turned out at La Canada High School to protest that California is cutting even more from public school system budgets. We wore pink because today is “Pink Friday,” the day that teachers who are being laid off must receive their pink slips by.

As I said in my previous post, we’re lucky that La Canada has enough reserves to absorb most of the impact of losing $1.9 million from the state this year. But I learned at this morning’s PTSA meeting that we’re expecting to have to cut $11 million from our spending in the next three years. Ouch.

I found out today that a friend got a pink slip in a nearby town, and another friend who was training new teachers saw all those people get pink slips. She won’t be training new teachers anymore (since there won’t be any) but she’s lucky she’s been around long enough to keep a job with her district.

It’s hard to believe California once took pride in its schools.

In keeping with my tradition of highlighting my favorite Etsy find of the week, here’s the pink slip I wish they were handing out instead.

25 Random Things About Me

Posted on 12. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in my life

Remember that passing Facebook fad where people would post 25 random things about themselves? I know, it’s so last month. I’m busy working on websites and running around to meetings today, so I’m re-posting what I put on Facebook here. There are a few changes, but it’s mostly the same. And it’s all true. I promise.  :)

1. I’ve written 1,247 posts on this blog () since March, 2006. I write about whatever strikes my fancy, and have about 1,200 unique visitors a day. But that’s not news to you, oh loyal reader!
2. I have symmetrical families: my parents remarried when I was in high school to spouses who each had custody of their two children who were 8-10 years younger than me. My stepsiblings all went to high school together, and a stepbrother and a stepsister even went to prom in the same group.
3. I’m the oldest of my siblings, stepsiblings, cousins and in-laws. I love them all, and can’t believe how cool they all are.
4. I hate cold weather. I could stand at a NJ school bus stop dressed the same way as the other kids and they’d be comfy and I’d be freezing. That’s why I love living in Southern California. I even sleep with gloves on in the summer.
5. I was a Boy Scout in high school. I was a Computer Explorer Scout, and would drive out to Bell Labs every Monday night to play around on their computers.
6. I lived in nine places by the time I graduated from high school. At one point, my mom had sold our house without buying another, so we bounced from friend’s house to friend’s house. Maybe that means we were homeless, but I always had a roof over my head.
7. I’ve never been drunk. Never felt the need, plus I’m too risk-averse.
8. We get four newspapers a day, and I try to read as much of all of them as I can. (Plus the two local papers each Thursday.) I think it’ll be very bad for democracy if/when we have less press coverage. Blogs will NOT fill the void!
9. My perfect day would include sitting on my hammock reading the New York Times Magazine or a good book as a soft, warm breeze wafts overhead.
10. If I were a teacher, I’d teach junior high. The kids are bright enough to understand what’s going on, but they’re not all stressed-out about getting into college. That’s partly why I’ve offered to lead a 7th grade small group at our church next year.
11. I played on my 8th grade basketball team, but haven’t grown taller since.
12. I’m keeping an eye out for the way to have the biggest positive impact upon the world when my kids leave the nest in 2.5 years.
13. I’m allergic to chocolate, celery, apples, strawberries, peaches, tree nuts, melon, shrimp, beans, coconut, beef and penicillin.
14. I’ve been my college class correspondent for over 20 years, and write a column for the magazine every two months.
15. I’ve been a PTA president at the elementary and junior high levels, and next year will be PTSA president at the local high school.
16. I don’t think that the people in my various volunteer worlds (school, church, alumni) realize that I do just as much in each of the other worlds.
17. Parenthood has taught me to be more humble and less judgmental.
18. I met my husband in a dorm elevator on Labor Day weekend, 1985. We’ve been married nearly 22 years.
19. I took eight years of French and studied in Tours in college, but didn’t realize until a few years ago that I actually have some French ancestors. I wish I’d known earlier.
20. I believe my closest brush with death came in December, 1983 when an IRA bomb exploded outside the London Harrod’s at the exact spot where I’d met a friend an hour before.
21. I’ve designed websites since 1997, and have been freelance since eToys imploded in 2001. A perfect storm would be if all 70+ of my current clients needed updates on the same day.
22. I’ve got a phobia of shots, and first fainted when I had a TB test in 5th grade. My parents never worried that I’d become an IV drug user.
23. I’ve worked out at Curves 976 times. I’m there at 6:15 am about 3x / week. It works for me because I can socialize with the same women each day when I work out. I like to get the feel for towns I vacation in by visiting the local Curves and talking to the regulars.
24. I can’t think of a single person I hate. If I don’t like someone, they’re probably truly evil.
25. I believe that the more we know about each other, the more we’ll find in common and the stronger our bonds will be. Perhaps that’s why I love Facebook. (and blogging!)
    

Wear pink this Friday in support of California’s public schools

Posted on 11. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in economy, education, local news, politics

As if California’s public schools aren’t already hurting, the new state budget is going to make things even worse. According to Pink Friday,

California’s public schools, colleges and universities are facing more than $11 billion in state budget cuts. These cuts are going to impact an entire generation of kids and alter public education for years to come.

March 13 is the deadline for school districts to issue preliminary pink slips to California’s teachers. Last year, more than 10,000 teachers got pink slips and nearly 5,000 lost their jobs. And this year could be much worse.

“Pink Friday” is a movement to get people to wear pink this Friday, March 13th (how appropriate!) to protest further school budget cuts. Besides wearing pink, you can also attend an event in your area or write to an elected official.

If you live in , you can also help get out the vote for the proposed parcel tax of $150 per property. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what you already pay in taxes, but the schools really need it.

Did you know that San Marino has to trim over $5 million from its already lean $29 million budget. OUCH! Thankfully, La Canada has saved its reserves and isn’t in that situation. But things are tight here, too.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Don’t Twitter

Posted on 10. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in technical

It’s a virtual aviary out there, with lots of twittering and tweeting. As much as I love technology (and , too!), I’ve drawn the line at Twittering.

Top 10 Reasons I DON’T Twitter:

1. Facebook status updates allow me to inform friends of important events in my life.
2. Facebook status updates keep me updated about what my friends are up to.
3. I don’t have time to add yet another time-sucking activity to my life.
4. I don’t want to depend upon a service that limits me to 140 characters in length.
5. When I signed up for Twitter, it wouldn’t read my AOL email addresses to see which of my friends are on Twitter. It still says, “Importing from AOL has been temporarily disabled.”
6. My few friends who use Twitter also use Facebook, so I’m already in touch with what they’re up to.
7. Even though I can restrict who gets my updates, it’s a bit creepy that some males that I don’t know are “following” me on Twitter. Ick.
8. I use my blog to express myself.
9. I don’t want to start boring people with the minutiae of my life.
10. I don’t need it for either my personal or my professional life.

Maybe I’ll change my tune in the future and Twitter away, but for now it’s not happening. So if you’re following me on Twitter, bless you, but you won’t be following me anywhere. If you know me in real life, find me on Facebook. Or go old school and email me or call me.

I get to create a menu item for Los Gringos Locos!

Posted on 09. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in food, my life, non-profits

I won the coolest item in the live auction at this weekend’s La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation Gala: the opportunity to create a menu item at Los Gringos Locos, our fine local Mexican restaurant. Here are the parameters:

The winning bidder will work with Los Gringos Locos staff to create the beverage, dessert, entree or bar drink of your dreams. Your item will be highlighted on the printed menu for one year, together with your name if you so choose. Los Gringos Locos will donate $1 to the Foundation every time this item is purchased! Receive your item for FREE weekly for one year – up to $500!

Several amigas have suggested that I create a nuevo margarita, but I’m going to create the most bueno ensalada con pollo this town has ever seen. (Isn’t it great that I feel free as a gringo loco to butcher espanol?) Anyway, I figure that if I’m going to eat this every week for a year, it should be healthy. And besides, many of those times will be at lunch, and I’m not decadent enough to have margaritas at lunch. (Except on June 17, 2010)

So far, I just know I want the salad to have tasty lettuce (aka, not just iceberg) and grilled chicken. Perhaps some lime. Probably guacamole.

Any other suggestions???

From Lacrosse to France to Gala

Posted on 08. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in food, local news, my life, sports

Yesterday was one of the busier days I’ve ever had. It started when I dropped off my daughter to volunteer at a school pancake breakfast, only to soon receive a call that their griddles weren’t working and they needed to borrow ours. I scribbled our name on the back of ours with a Sharpie and raced on down there to save the day. I hung around there until it was time to drive my daughter to her lacrosse tournament. After dropping her off there, I bought some salad for the team to eat later in the day, picked up the dog and went back to the fields.

My dog made a new pal: Winn-Dixie! Winnie is very sweet, and her even temperament calmed my little guy down. I think he’s smiling in this picture.

Here’s a picture of one of the lacrosse games (not my daughter’s). It’s a cool sport to watch. It’s really fast, and there’s more scoring than in soccer. The added bonus for me is that I LOVE the parents of the girls on my daughter’s team, so I enjoy sitting on the sidelines with them.

After that, I met some fellow lady bloggers at Nicole’s Gourmet Foods in South Pasadena for lunch. It was so much fun to meet up with such fascinating and bright ladies! Nicole’s was wonderful also. It’s the most authentic French restaurant I’ve ever had lunch at (outside of France). I’ll definitely be returning there. Maybe I’ll even take the Gold Line next time. Too bad it doesn’t run anywhere near where I live.

After that I quickly bought some new shoes, had my hair styled, and finished writing my speech. My husband patiently heard me rehearse it over and over, so by the time I got to the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation Gala I had most of it memorized. He’s an attorney and a former debater, so this was par for the course for him. I was amazed at how much effort people had put into making this a special evening for me. They didn’t need to do that!! But I appreciate it.  :)

Now to catch up on my sleep. Today’s time change caught me by surprise!

My speech

Posted on 08. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, local news

I was honored this evening by the LCF Educational Foundation for doing lots of volunteer work. Some kind folks have asked me to post my speech, so here it is:

I have a confession to make: Last night, when my husband and son went to see the new Watchmen movie, I stayed home and watched House Bunny.

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot of House Bunny, I’ll spare you the details here. You’ll need to look that up on Wikipedia. Let it suffice that I’m glad my teenaged son wasn’t there watching it with me.

Despite its outward appearances, House Bunny communicated some very good messages. At one point, the main character explains why she volunteers in a nursing home, and the way she phrases it is so eloquent that I paused the DVD and wrote it down:

In other words, she could say all she wants about caring, but if she didn’t put her words into action, it wouldn’t matter much.

At the other end of the cultural spectrum, there’s a similar passage in the Bible:

Whether I’m quoting “House Bunny” or the Bible, the point is that we need to put our time and our money behind our good intentions.

La Canadans are very good at this. Not only do we take care to make sure that our children are doing their homework and setting a high bar for themselves, but we selflessly give our time and money to make sure that all kids have the resources to get a great education.

I’m very honored to be the Spirit of Outstanding Service Award winner this year. It’s been rewarding to see what a difference we can make to our children’s education, and I’ve enjoyed making new friends and working with the seemingly limitless pool of talented volunteers La Canada has to offer.

I wish I could stand up here and say the battle’s over, and that our state government and taxpayers have decided to adequately fund our public schools, but that’s just not the case. Our state budget crisis and our failing national economy portend darker days ahead.

When my friend Paul lived in Mississippi, he ended every letter with a few statistics that Mississippi ranked last on. It’s good he moved back to New Jersey, because these days California has bumped Mississippi from the bottom of the list on many school funding statistics. California ranks 51st, behind even the District of Columbia, on the number of students per school staff member, the number of students per librarian, and the number of students per guidance counselor.

Did you catch those last two? California ranks last on the number of students per librarian and per guidance counselor.  It’s no coincidence that these are two areas where the La Canada Flintridge Educational Foundation has stepped forward to make sure that our kids aren’t left behind. And as you know, there are many more positions and programs that would be lost if it weren’t for the Educational Foundation and other generous school support groups.

In these tough times, it’s more important than ever that all of us do what we can to give our kids one of the greatest gifts of all: an excellent education.

So as I humbly accept tonight’s honors from you, I hope you’ll join me in continuing our commitment of both time and money to make sure that we do all that we can to ensure that the La Canada schools maintain the high quality they’re so well-known for.

Thank you.

I’m not blue, but my earrings are

Posted on 06. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in my life, non-profits, quotes, shopping

It’s Etsy Friday! Today I’m featuring the bluerific earrings from Katie’s Crystals that I’m wearing to Gala tomorrow night. They match my cool blue dress and my surprisingly blue eyes.*

I still haven’t written my speech yet. I could recycle the speech I gave in October, but I don’t want to bore people. Stay tuned. I figure it’ll be a success if I can cut through the chatter and get peoples’ attention. I’m not worried: I’m an alto.

I can’t decide whether to incorporate a Suze Orman reference or include the great quote** I heard this evening while (admittedly enjoying) watching “House Bunny.” I’ll probably go with the former.

*Is it just me, or do you never see blue eyes? I’m always surprised when I actually see someone with blue eyes like mine. Maybe it’s because my husband, kids and dog all have brown eyes, as do most of my friends. There are so many more races here than I grew up with in New Jersey, and most of them aren’t known for their blue eyes.

** “Kindness is just love with its work boots on.”

Rolls Royce spotted at local McDonald’s

Posted on 05. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in economy, food

It’s no wonder that McDonald’s is doing well in this lousy economy. The food is so tasty and reasonably-priced that even the man who drives this convertible Rolls Royce brought his friends (and his little Westie!) to our local McDonald’s.

I bet his Shamrock Shake had four leaves.

This could be heaven or this could be hell

Posted on 05. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in books, inspirational people, religion

Are you motivated out of hope or fear? How you answer that question might determine if you’d prefer the book on the left or the one on the right. I spotted “90 Minutes in Heaven” and “” side-by-side at a nearby Ralphs supermarket. I was surprised there was a full rack of Christian books near the checkout lines.

I haven’t read either, but both sound interesting. I’ve always been fascinated by near-death experiences, since it seems that the people who have them are often deeply impacted by them.

I wonder if the one on the right is shorter since it’s only about 23 minutes instead of 90? But I bet it’s way scarier. Hopefully the guy on the right had enough of a wakeup call that he’ll wind up in heaven next time.

My basketball wasn’t Magic after all

Posted on 03. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in my life, non-profits, sports

Back in 1990, one of my co-workers in the Robinson’s finance department had a boyfriend who worked in the Lakers’ marketing department. I took her up on an offer to have a basketball signed by Magic Johnson, and for years I’ve kept this autographed basketball safely tucked away in my closet.

I’m the only person in our family who’s ever played on a basketball team, but my career ended after 8th grade when everyone else grew and I didn’t. I’ve never encouraged my kids to take up the sport, and when we installed a basketball hoop on our garage they both swore they’d never use it. So when I heard that the LCF Educational Foundation was still soliciting items for the Gala silent auction this weekend, I decided to donate the Magic Johnson basketball. I gave it with the caveat that I had no certificate of authenticity to guarantee that Magic had signed it, and hadn’t seen him do it.

Thank goodness for that! It turns out the signature on our ball looks nothing like every other autograph found on Google. Here’s a typical signature:

The Foundation returned the ball to us. Oh well! The first name looks the same, but the last name is way off. I still think it could be real, since I know my signature has deteriorated since I’ve signed so many more things. The “Johnson” on my ball is missing the “s”…but I think that if someone were trying to fake the name they wouldn’t mess that up.

So much for that! Maybe ours is super-valuable since it’s a vintage signature. Or maybe I should just pump it up and play with it.  :)

Another pathetic California public school statistic

Posted on 02. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, startling statistics, tv

MSNBC reports that

California ranks 48th in the nation in the percentage of high school seniors who go on to a four-year college the next academic year, according to the annual California Educational Opportunity Report — involving UCLA researchers — released Monday.

The near-the-bottom ranking comes despite the fact that the majority of California students who graduate indicate an intention to get a bachelor’s degree, according to the report.

The report goes on to state that California students are

• More likely to attend overcrowded, less personal schools;
• Less likely to have qualified teachers;
• Less likely to take advanced math classes in 11th and 12th grade;
• Getting less than $2000/student to educate them than the national average…and that was BEFORE our budget crisis.

This is so depressing. I’m going to bed. I just watched “24″ so I’ll probably have some pretty wacky dreams. I wonder if Jack Bauer could save the California public schools???

My newest addiction: iPhoto ‘09 “Faces” feature

Posted on 01. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in technical

Even though I bought my iMac at the end of 2008, I purchased iLife ‘09 because the reviews I read all said it was a great improvement over my “old” version. The only program in the package I’ve tried so far is iPhoto ‘09, and I’m completely addicted to the “Faces” feature, which uses facial recognition to organize my photos.

Here’s how it works: you “tag” a photo, much like you do on Facebook. Then, that person’s name shows up on your list of Faces, much like the one on the right.

This is my cousin Diana. She was on the cover of Town & Country awhile back, so I recently scanned the pages she appeared on. Note: she got her height from her mom’s side of the family, not the side we’re related on.

When you double-click on her picture, it takes you to a page where you can name more pictures she’s in. The top part of it shows which pictures she’s already been tagged in.

The next part of the page shows pictures the program thinks might be of her. The program nailed it perfectly, and put the pictures of her at the top.

When it’s all done, I can see all the pictures she’s in.

I think this appeals to both my social side and my quest for order. Love it!!

It’s amazing when it identifies people at various ages, and sobering when it identifies people at different weights. And it’s sometimes illuminating or hilarious when it makes incorrect suggestions.

Too bad my camera doesn’t have a GPS in it, because it would be cool if iPhoto would automatically map where each photo was taken. I’ll survive.