Tumbleweed Texas Houses

I went to Austin to learn more about this...not that I think I can live in a house with less than 200 square feet, but, it would be nice to have a small house while working on the FARMhouse that will someday be a home. Jay Shafer, the owner of this company, gave a 2 day workshop that included everything from what kind of appliances, showers, and zoning laws to think about as well as tons of  house plans. They are remarkable - easy to maintain, transportable and certainly eco-friendly in so many ways. Some are made from new materials, others are made from reclaimed materials -- beautiful pieces of wood and other construction materials that, wastefully, end up in landfills.  Ron can build anything - so can his son. Ron's Son, daughter-in-law, Ron and I listened and learned and thought - a lot. There's lots of good ideas -- which were rehashed over a super lovely dinner we shared. It was an awesome weekend --- and tiny house ideas will undoubtedly lead to bigger dreams coming true. Make sense? I'm excited about it -- build a tiny house, stay there while working on the bigger house and getting chickens and goats and all the rest planned out... Audrey could come and stay in the Tiny house :)

Coming out the other side....

My daughter Annie gave me this card in July 2005. I came across it while going through my desk this morning. Wow...I thought of all the wonderful things that have happened since then. Miracles, beauty, truth and more miracles. Blessed beyond measure. Thank you Annie. I don't think you even knew how wonderful it was going to be on the other side.

JUICING!

Yep, it's happening at my place. Started out with a student who told me about juicing as she has been doing this for a while and just "feels great". "Yeah", I thought. "You're also like 20 years old. You should "feel great". Then she told me about a movie --- I watched it. The same day I went and bought a juicer - Breville, pic below except mine has a pitcher that catches the juice (not glass shown here). That was two weeks ago. Now, I have some for breakfast (alone), more at lunch (with sandwich or yogart or something with lotsa protein) and a regular dinner. It's awesome. No more mid-afternoon slump.More energy. I'm sleeping better. And, I did not have any of the so called side effects as I'm not doing a juice-diet - merely consuming more vitamins from natural sources.

So, I go to the organic part of the grocery store and get all I need - carrots, kale, apples, bananas, cucumbers, beets (my favorite), celery, fennel -- you get the idea -- once a week. About $25.00 covers breakfast and lunch FOR THE WEEK! I got the juicer at Macy's. And I make it before I leave for work in the morning, at least 2.5 cups - Split it between breakfast and lunch. YUM. I'm hooked.  IT IS AWESOME.

There's lotsa stuff on the internet about it...it's not rocket science but make sure you get the organic veggies or you will consume things you don't want to know about. Farmer's Market is even better.

Happy Juicing!

Unsung Heros

My Mom sent me a video...it's about 12 minutes, but one of the best 12 minutes I've spent in front of the computer in a very long time. I can't adequately describe...you MUST watch.

On 9/11/2001, men and women of the NY/NJ waterfront answered a single radio call from the Coast Guard, to evacuate 300 to 500 thousand terrified civilians from Manhattan… In 9 hours.

It was a feat largely unnoticed until Tom Hanks narrated this short, but moving documentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MDOrzF7B2Kg

Update...

I am hearing a lot of negativity at work these days...for a lot of reasons. None of which are worth fleshing out here. What scares me is that the complaining seems to be lowering expectations, making it acceptable to excuse mistakes that cause others money/time/consternation, passing the buck. Today, a wake-up call when one of my University-funded programs management teams discussed lowering standards. In short, become mediocre.

It was hard not to lose my temper.  I let my thoughts be known and then was quiet.We shall see how things go.

Here is, basically, what I said:

I hate mediocrity. Mediocrity is a silent killer. It tells you that you'll be fine staying where you are and that you need to be content with it. It guilts you into thinking you're wrong for wanting better. Stop it today. Set our sights high and don't settle for less than you want or deserve. It will never be possible to feel fulfilled and productive while in a state of mediocrity. Make a decision today - and let greatness happen. 


I want greatness at my University. I know it's capable of greatness. We have great people and great students. It's a matter of changing the way we are thinking -- I'd hate to become mediocre.


Sigh...it's been a long day. But sometimes, you just can't be silent.

A Rare Find

Fifteen-year-old photographer Marlin Shank was fortunate enough to capture several images of a rare albino ruby-throated hummingbird while in a park in Staunton, Va. This is normally where I’d add some commentary to the scene… but I’ll just let these amazing photos speak for themselves this time.

Magnificent,yes? Most definitely, yes.

Science at it's best

My Mom shared a video with me and I have watched it four times thus far. It is amazing. I'm a huge fan of TED talks and have shown many of the TED videos to my students, but this one takes the grand prize. Turn on your speakers, lean back and enjoy. Nature is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/v/xHkq1edcbk4?version=3%20%20%20%20