The acquisition of material goods doesn’t bring about happiness. In fact I believe the contrary to be true. Stephanie Rosenbloom wrote an article about happiness in the New York Times. She writes:

New studies of consumption and happiness show that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects, when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it, and when they stop trying to outdo the Joneses. Current research suggests that, unlike consumption of material goods, spending on leisure and services typically strengthens social bonds, which in turn helps amplify happiness.

One major finding is that spending money for an experience produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money material goods. I would much rather put my money toward concert tickets, French lessons, guitar lessons, science classes, camping trips, and excursions to Europe or other countries. As professor Elizabeth W. Dunn (University of British Columbia) said: “If money doesn’t make you happy then you probably aren’t spending it right.” We can reminisce about our experiences. Interestingly, no matter how many less-than-pleasant experiences come with it, we often remember the experience as a whole in a rosy, positive light. Read the rest of this entry »

I decided to go running this morning. I haven’t been for about two and a half years, but I remember how good I felt when I used to run regularly. I especially enjoyed running after we moved to Maine, because the climate is perfect and the scenery beautiful. After I figured out the confusing winding and dead-end roads, and no longer had to ask fellow runners for directions, it was a breeze. Since I started going to school and working full time, I’ve been feeling too overwhelmed to fit exercise into my busy schedule. Plus I haven’t been eager to brave the cold temperatures in the winter. I know. How can I call myself a “Mainer?” Anyway, anyone who gets out of a routine or habit knows how difficult it can be to get back into it.

My first motivation to get back into running was the gorgeous spring weather. Another incentive is the three grueling flights of stairs I have to climb at school. As I clear the last flight, using the railing to help pull me along, I try to feign complacency for those who may be watching. I work in the cardiology unit at the hospital which is on the ninth floor. For obvious reasons I use the elevator. One night my co-worker convinced me to take the stairs with her from the cafeteria. Midway up I wanted to punch her, kind of. As if that weren’t enough, my best boyfriend mentioned that I appear to be “squishier” than I used to be. He wasn’t trying to make me feel bad, but it got me thinking. Although I’m not overweight by any means, I am less firm than I once was. :-{
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Light, With Intermittant Heat, Likely
Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic, January 1, 2010

I have long been disturbed by the sensationalism and bias of the media in our country. I read this article by Andrew Cohen in The Atlantic.

Cohen states:

The lines between television news and entertainment haven’t just been blurred; they have been obliterated by a terribly divisive and destructive mix: the cynicism and greed of television executives and the concomitant apathy, ignorance, and lack of curiosity on the part of the American people. Which came first? Even if you argue “the people” and not “the media” it still doesn’t excuse the glee with which television news has embraced the fashionable at the expense of the important.

Our family has not had cable or satellite t.v. for years. We don’t watch television and do not miss it. The only reason our girls know anything about celebrities such as Hannah Montana is through their friends. A copius amount of reality shows and celebrity gossip pervades the airways and consumes the minds and lives of the American people. I constantly hear people discussing the latest shows and can’t imagine wasting my time that way. When Tiger Woods’ “indiscretion” is the top news story for weeks, I know our media has failed us.
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Ready to roam the hospital corridor

Now that my neurosurgeon has removed a significant amount of my pituitary tumor, screwed the front of my skull back into place, and properly stitched the skin around the side of my face together; I feel like a new woman. Either that, or Frankenstein. I think it merits super powers or something. So far though, I haven’t noticed anything extraordinary.

On August 25th I went in for my supra orbital craniotomy. The operation lasted three hours. Amelia, who went through the CNA training course with me, was my CNA again. She took care of me when I was admitted for my transsphenoidal surgery in May. Brent was great at keeping me company. Dr. Florman suggested he bring the girls to see me before my face started bruising up. I guess he thought it might scare them. It was nice to have them there, and they were great, as usual. My friend Maggie came to visit me several times. She helped teach my CNA training course, and she also works with me in the cardiology unit. She made me a delicious strawberry shake and got the girls treats as well. She is awesome! Read the rest of this entry »

The transsphenoidal operation I had this past May was unsuccessful in removing the tumor (a macroadenoma) from my pituitary gland. According to my MRI, the tumor had moved up, and Dr. Florman, my neurosurgeon, wasn’t able to get to it through the nose.

We previously discussed having radiation therapy to slow down the tumor growth. However there is a risk of damaging the surrounding healthy cells and nerves. The optic nerves in front of it are especially sensitive. Dr. Florman strongly recommended that I have a supra-orbital craniotomy so that he could effectively remove enough of the tumor to allow for safer radiation therapy. Before agreeing to this type of surgery, I decided to get at least one other opinion. I saw Dr. Christensen, a neurosurgeon in Lewiston, Maine, who concurred with Dr. Florman. He held high regard for Dr. Florman and believed him to be the best for this particular surgery. I was discouraged that I really do need to undergo the surgery, yet I felt reassured that I am in good hands.

Dr. Florman explained to me the operation process, complete with the drilling, and insertion of plates and screws. It made me a little apprehensive, I admit. I am scheduled for surgery this Tuesday, August 25. This particular type of craniotomy is a subfrontal approach, so no (or very little) head shaving necessary. :-) Oh, and if someone asks me if I have a screw loose, I’ll simply say, “Uh, maybe.”

I discovered this recipe a few years ago, and absolutely love it. These pancakes and syrup are simple to make and taste delicious!

Makes: 18 griddle cakes
Prep: 14 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp. cinnamon and ½ tsp. each allspice, nutmeg, & ginger)
¼ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 ½ cups milk (may use evaporated)
1 ¼ cups fresh or canned solid-pack pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 200°F. In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, pie spice, and salt. In large bowl, stir together eggs and sugar. Stir in milk, pumpkin, and oil. Add flour mixture and stir just until smooth.

Heat griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Working in batches, drop batter, ¼ cup at a time, onto hot griddle. Cook pancakes until bubbles form on top and bottoms are golden brown, about 2 ½ minutes. Turn pancakes over. Cook until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Place on baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Make remaining pancakes, coating griddle with cooking spray as needed.

Top with dried cranberries or raisins softened in a pot of warm maple syrup, and a sprinkling of toasted walnuts; or top with Hot Cider Syrup (recipe below).

Hot Cider Syrup
1 cup apple cider
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

In a saucepan, combine ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes until slightly thickened. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving. May be made ahead and reheated before serving. Makes 1 2/3 cups syrup.

Today as the girls and I were walking home from the school playground, Skye took it upon herself to pick up trash along the way and find a garbage can in which to dispose of it. I was proud of her for caring about the environment, and also bothered by the negligence and indifference of whomever had left it.

I am stunned that people intentionally throw their garbage on the ground. We do have convenient disposal containers everywhere. It shouldn’t be too difficult to carry a plastic wrapper or beverage container a few feet, or even a block or two. What causes people to litter? Laziness? Carelessness? Apathy?

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I just read a fascinating book called Predictably Irrational by Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT, Dan Ariely. He explores the idea that our irrationality happens the same way again and again. He performs several experiments and examines the way we make decisions, coming up with some interesting findings.

Ariely begins the first chapter by discussing relativity:

There’s one aspect of relativity that trips us up. It’s this: we not only tend to compare things with one another but also tend to focus on comparing things that are easily comparable—and avoid comparing things that cannot be compared easily.

He writes that evaluating two houses side by side yields different results than evaluating three—A, B, and a somewhat less appealing version of A. The subpar A makes it easier to decide that A is better—not only better than the similar one, but better than B. The lesser version of A should have no effect on your rating of the other two buildings, but it does.

Most people don’t know what they want unless they see it in context. Ariely performed an experiment at MIT in which he selected pairs of photos of random people: one of them physically attractive (A), and the other one noticeably less so (B) in each pair. He then doctored the photo in Photoshop, creating a slightly but noticeably less attractive version of each of them—a “decoy” (-A and –B). He then approached students, presenting them with three pictures. Some of them had the regular picture (A), the decoy of that picture (-A), and the other regular picture (B). Others had the regular picture (B), the decoy of that picture (-B), and the other regular picture (A).

Whenever I handed out a sheet that had a regular picture, its inferior version, and another regular picture, the participants preferred the “regular” person—the one who was similar, but clearly superior, to its distorted version—over the other, undistorted person on the sheet. This was not just a close call—it happened 75 percent of the time.

Humans rarely choose things in absolute terms. We don’t have an internal value meter that tells us how much things are worth. Rather, we focus on the relative advantage
of one thing over another, and estimate value accordingly.

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All vehicles come conveniently equipped with a “low fuel” warning light and alarm, giving the driver several miles in which to find a petrol station and fill up. That being said, I never had much sympathy for people who run out of gasoline (Brent included). My low fuel light came on the day before yesterday, and I continued to drive several miles after that. Yesterday the girls wanted to play on the playground at Skye’s school and I thought “I’ll just fill up the tank after that.” I would be driving around locally, and I felt pretty safe and invincible.

I had to stop by Renys, a Maine department store. It was on the way to the gas station, so naturally it made sense to stop there first. Just after I pulled into the parking lot the Jetta’s engine sputtered and died–right in the aisle. I left the girls in the car and ran into Renys, hoping they sold gas cans. Skye called me from her phone to ask if she could take the girls over to the grocery store to get a drink of water. I told her I would be out soon and to stay in the car.

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I turned 36 yesterday. Where has the time gone? I looked in the mirror, but I didn’t look any different than I did the day before when I was still 35. (Hayley thought I might.)

Brent didn’t like the idea of me cooking for myself on my birthday, but I told him that is what I wanted to do. I made a delicious omelet for breakfast with fresh spinach, parsley, mushrooms, red pepper, scallions, basil, and Monterrey Jack cheese.

Brent took me shopping at Express and helped me pick out some hot summer tops. I found a summer dress at Victoria’s Secret, and some bath products and panties–my idea, not his. :-)

The forecast yesterday was 72 degrees and clear, and I have been wanting to go to the beach. We packed up all our gear and headed for our beach in Saco. The sky was clear, but it didn’t feel like 72 degrees. The ocean breeze must have cooled it down a bit. We ate the curried cranberry chicken salad sandwiches I’d packed for lunch (see recipe below) and headed home shortly after that.

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