Mama's Musings

The Artist's Way

My pal and I both bought copies of The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron today. We went to The Munich Readery, a fabulous new used bookshop near Elisabethplatz. It smelled like freshly sawn wood and coffee. Licking our lips, we browsed the aisles and said girlie things. It was great fun.

We have promised to meet each week to monitor our progress. I haven't done the Artist's Way program since pregnant with my first kid. Gulp. Can I manage it each day? It may just be the life-sustaining thing I need right now.

I received the most lovely rejection letter from Beacon Press today. They found my positive attitude "commendable" and my stories "motivational". Yet, self-help isn't their ball of wax. Sliding the letter back into the now-torn envelope, I smiled, knowing they sent blessings along with the nicest rejection note I've received since the Dalai Lama kindly rejected it, too!

Items Like This

Frugal Book Promoter Carolyn Howard-Johnson and I had the same thought at the same time. That nine time zones lie between us doesn't matter. She and I couldn't believe amazon's brash new rating concept. Here's my letter to the book department, which may never receive a reply. It felt better to write it. Perhaps you will consider writing one, too (go to any product page on amazon, scroll to the bottom to the category "feedback" and click on "Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?").

Here's my original, unedited letter to them, which of course didn't fit in their feedback form that carries a 1024-character limit.

Smithies

Because I am getting ready to attend my 15th Smith College reunion, I was especially eager to ready this quarter's Smith Alumnae Quarterly to catch up on the goings-on of the place I called my academic home for three years (no I didn't skip a year of my undergraduate studies; I was a rather wayward youth and allowed curiosity to lead me to places such as American University in Washington, D.C. and then again to AU in Vienna, Austria -- oh, and there was one semester in which I thought love conquered all and then realized the feelings had to be mutual for that to happen!). Nonetheless, I graduated from Smith without the appreciation that I have today for the place.

What caught my eye was the article "Alumnae in the blogosphere". Flipping open to the right page, I saw the founder of Mediabistro.com. Being the completely gifted gift-giver, my sister gave me a subscription to it for my birthday. And it was a fellow Smithie who started it. As I read the various articles, I saw what a smart jar of cookies we all are. I beamed, feeling more proud of myself than I have in a long time.

It was the right decision to go to Smith. And I can't wait to see all my old buddies there in just six weeks!

Internet Detox

Six days, no shakes, deep breathing and mountain air. I was offline for an entire week without any side effects.

Oh sure, I hovered over the locked computer room of the hotel where we stayed. I stopped dead in my tracks on several occasions when I saw another hotel guest on his laptop with WLAN. I dreamed about getting an email from several friends and worried slightly that I hadn't activated a vacation response on my email account before leaving. I was persona nongrata, and it felt good, good, good.

When I got back, I found out that, according to a new Harris-Business SoftwareAlliance study, illegal downloading among youth ages 8-18 has dropped by 17 percent in the last two years. That got me to thinking. It certainly has nothing to do with my being offline. But how much does the Internet effect not only our adult lives, but those of our children? Cyber Tree House can help test your child's cyber-savvy.  It has games, facts and other entertaining educational materials for kids to teach them about proper computer and Internet behavior.

After almost a week away from my desktop, I know how to behave now. Take more vacations!!

Heads-Up for Expat Cats

I just spent the most enjoyable three minutes of my day watching James Lipton perform a KFed rap song. Do you miss American TV? This link shows you some highlights (without all the commercials!):

Looking for Mother's Day Ideas

Okay folks! Help me out. I'm compiling a list of Mother's Day gifts for a radio tour I want to do. Beyond the obvious, send flowers, what other ideas can you come up with? The first person to post an original idea wins a special gift from me!

Time and Flies

"Time flies when you're having fun..." we all know that saying. It seems like just yesterday that my sister and I were talking about wedding reception ideas. But she's already been married for six months today.

Speaking of time and flies, there was a time I thought flies would never exist again in my little Bavarian village. It has been such a long winter (and, gasp, it is supposed to snow again on Wednesday). Just yesterday, however, I saw a swarm of bees hovering gratefully over the crocuses in our front yard. I never thought I'd be so happy to see those little insects again!