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Attack of the Stress Monster

Since we often do a lot of imagining around here, I hope you won’t be surprised when I ask you to close your eyes and picture…
…The living room…a jungle of toys, baby clothes, underwear…and Cheerios. Cheerios like Pumas…sneaky Pumas hiding in corners and under end-tables and couches…even in diapers…waiting to launch a whole-grain sneak attack on you and crunch under your socks…
…The kitchen…a dank dungeon filled to the brim with pots and pans…Fiesta ware that is only festive when not stacked and caked with old food…banana residue leftover from the Baby Crusades (a dark and tear-filled time, when Prince Charlie refused to eat anything but cheese) coats the floor…you feel inspired to sit down on the laminate, eat a giant turkey leg, and leave it for dragons to devour…
…The bedroom…a quiet, forgotten room, collecting things like clothing, books…even the ancient music producing devices known once as “compact discs”…we’ve been receiving excavation requests from some of the most prominent Archaeologists, who are positive that they will be able to unearth something known as a “desktop PC”…

Are you stressed out yet? Because I sure am. How in the H does this stuff get away from us like this? Here I am, kneeling on a Boppy pillow, typing this blog post while the computer is hooked up to the TV playing Blue’s Clues. Why? Because it’s been almost a week since my last blog post (and I am not okay with that), and I’ve got enough work to do over nap time that I don’t think I’ll be able to get one written. I have made a pot of half-caff coffee (I try to only drink decaf) and am doing chain laundry today. I hope no one in our apartment section has clothing to wash.

And on top of all this, our complex is raising our rent, so we need to find a new apartment that is about $100 cheaper (our rent isn’t going up $100, we’re just trying to be “gazelle intense” about our budget) by the 15th of April.

But you guys didn’t come here to be stressed out, did you? Probably not. So, I’ve decided to write down a few little reminders for myself (and anyone they happen to apply to) to help keep my stress levels down.

Dear Self:
1. The mess and the stress levels are not your husband’s fault. Please don’t yell at him.
2. The mess is not your fault, either. It’s been a busy week.
3. The stress levels are partly your fault. Seriously, calm the heck down.
4. Charlie ate all of his pears, yogurt, and cereal this morning. He is not going on a hunger strike. Babies go through these things called “phases.”
5. You’re going to find a good, cheap apartment in time. Seriously, it will be fine.
6. Your blogs don’t have to be 12 pages long. It’s probably better that they’re not.

Sincerely,
A slightly less stressed out Self in a rare moment of clarity

Okay. I feel a little bit better. This is something I definitely need to work on. I can be super positive and upbeat about obstacles and hard times right up until something ridiculous happens…like not being able to find a matching sock…and then I turn into Psycho Stressie (a terrifying villain who sighs loudly, slams things around, and is generally an expert at freaking out…or acting sullen and snarky).

I’m sure I’m not the only one like this. We all just need to stop for a second. Everything will be fine. Let’s take a little moment to do some Zen breathing…or chocolate eating, or music listening, or whatever makes us chill out. Things will get done when they get done, and no one’s face is going to explode.

Hopefully.

If you’ve got more suggestions, I’ll gladly take them. Until then, I’m off to refill my prescription of Chill Pills.

P.S. I’m not actually taking pills. Unless you count chocolate chips. Then I’m guilty as charged.

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Looking up from the Blocks

A few weeks ago I was stacking blocks with Charlie when I had one of those moments. I looked up and out of our window at the snow covered trees and thought, “Jeeze, that’s pretty.”

I’m sure Charlie was looking up at me thinking, “Hey, Mom. What are you looking at? Why is your mouth hanging open like that? I could fit, like, 12 Cheerios in there.”

So I got up to grab my camera, and when I came back, I found myself to be surprised and disappointed. Once I was up and looking from my perspective, I could see the cars spraying each other with gray slush, the electrical box, and the buildings across the street.

This, of course, got me thinking. As I sat back down with my camera and snapped a picture of the view from Charlie’s perspective, I decided that I needed to stack blocks and look up more often. When I was looking up, all I could see was blue sky and clouds, snowy branches, empty branches, and sun. I wasn’t thinking about how crappy the roads must be, or how I couldn’t wait for all of the snow to melt; I was just enjoying the way the world was in that moment.

That’s what Charlie sees all the time. How can I make it so that he keeps that perspective for as long as possible? I don’t mean that I want to shelter him from the real world or anything, but that’s just the point. That pretty picture is part of the ‘real world’; it’s just that some people (including me) tend to only focus on the crappy driving conditions and the fact that they can’t wear their flip-flops. If I can find a way to enjoy, or at the very leastappreciate, the situations I’m in, I will be much more successful in teaching Charlie to do the same. That way, hopefully, he’ll always retain some of that childlike perspective.

I know we’re all sick of Winter. Yup, I said it. Even I am starting to get sick of Winter. I’m going through baby clothes and seeing cute little T-shirts and shorts, and wishing it were warm enough for Charlie to run around in only his (totally cute and money-saving :)) diapers. I, of course, will continue to wear jeans all summer, but that’s neither here nor there.

Well, tough cookies for us, friends. There’s going to be snow on the ground for a few more days at least, and it will still be weeks (preferably months,maybe years, but who am I kidding?) before the college Freshman girls get out their butt shorts.

So, starting right now, let’s all pick out something about Winter that is still to our advantage. For me, it means a few more weeks of wearing my favorite cardigans. I know there are others out there who are with me on that one. With Spring getting close, I know that this practice might seem stupid and pointless, but I think everyone would be surprised if they did this just once a day. If you need help with inspiration, you are more than welcome to come over and stack blocks with Charlie while I take a nap.

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The Local Awesome: The Parthenon Greek Grill and Taverna

Let’s all close our eyes and do some imagining.

It’s been a long week. It’s been awhile since you’ve treated the Fam to a nice dinner out. It’s…well, it’s frankly a night that you absolutely do not want to cook.

You could go to the usual family dining institutions…I mean theydo have pictures of Marilynn Monroe and Jeff Gordon on the walls…

…Or maybe you could try out a place that doesn’t rely on pieces of flair to make you feel like family…maybe you could go to The Parthenon Greek Grill and Taverna.

And by “maybe,” I mean “definitely.”

Let’s talk about what makes the Parthenon awesome. Again, I will break it down in numbers as my brain tends to take detours on the road of organization…

1. The Atmosphere!
2. The People!
3. The FOOD!
4. The Events!

The atmosphere at the Parthenon is perfect for a night out, no matter what kind of group you’ve got. Let me tell you, as a mom who sometimes feels like a giant tube of diaper cream, it’s so nice to be able to go out and feel fancy. What’s even nicer is to be able to feel fancy and know that no one is going to give you the stink-eye for asking for a high-chair.

The dining room is large and inviting, and the smells just about make your jaw hit the floor. If you’re into the booze, you’ll be pleased to see a couple of walls lined with fine wine and liquor. If you’re not into the booze, you’ll probably just have to settle with lemonade and mind-blowing food. I hope you’ll be able to handle it.

The atmosphere is complemented by a refreshingly friendly staff. I dare you, just ask your server what his or her favorite dish is. When you can practically see drool coming out of a server’s mouth as they describe the food, it’s usually a good sign.

Who’s behind this food, you ask? Well, I should probably introduce you to George and Mike Kazas, the brothers and brains behind the operation.

If you’re wondering, George is on the left and Mike is on the right. Hopefully they’ll forgive me for picking an eye contact-lacking picture…Charlie was just too cute in this one…

I had a couple questions for the guys, and they went a little bit like this:

Me : “What is it that makes your food so good?”
George : “We grew up with it. It has to do with the recipes and the quality of food. It’s not coming out of a bag or a can.
Mike : “George makes it. George comes up with the recipes and makes them what they are.”

George, of course, waved this off with a modest “Oh, stop it,” look on his face.

Something that I find to be particularly awesome about this restaurant is their support of local business.

Me : “What makes Lincoln the perfect place for your restaurant?”
George : “Lincoln is a small town. I’d say 70% of our business is regular customers. For the most part it’s getting a whole lot better as far as buying local. Throughout the summer pretty close to 90% of our produce is all local. Between the farmer’s market and local farmers, we’ve got almost everything we need. Everything Dartam Farms produced last year was specifically for us. I don’t think you can get that in your bigger cities. Yeah, it’s up and coming, but it would be much more difficult to do that in a larger community.”

Now, Mike and George aren’t the only awesome people in this joint; part of what makes this dining experience so memorable is the staff. Water is refilled quickly (that’s one of my husband’s tipping guidelines), and they are adept in the art of “attentive but not obnoxious.”

When talking about the staff, George explains, “We’ve got a whole ton of great people we’ve been working with that have been here forever, which makes what we do great.” And he’s not kidding.

Speaking of great…let’s talk about food.

Oh, my goodness gracious and gravy, the food. The Parthenon’s menu is just like the atmosphere: totally awesome and totally versatile. You want to try something new and exotic? Try the broiled baby octopus.

No, I’m serious. Gravy serious.

I am pretty terrified of eating fish. I like crab legs and sometimes shrimp. A few visits ago, however, George came to the table (by the way, George makes a habit of coming out to the front, greeting customers and checking on food quality) and insisted we try the octopus. (I should probably add that we eat here fairly frequently, so it’s not like George runs around forcing dishes on people or anything.)

We tried it, and it was ROCKIN’. The octopus had a perfect grilled flavor, rather than a well…octopus-like flavor, and was resting on a bed of caramelized red onions, and…jeeze… I’m telling you, just try it.

Now, if you don’t want to try something crazy, there’s plenty of menu for you, too. Things like gyros, chicken gyros, pasta, salads, vegan entrees, and steaks all get the same amount of love and are completely delicious.

The most important piece of advice I can give you in regards to the Parthenon’s food is this:Always check the specials.
George is coming up with original dishes every day and Mike is back there making them delicious. There are new, special entrees, appetizers and desserts on the right side of the menu, so make sure you check them out!

The second most important piece of information I can give you is this: Try the baklava ice cream. This stuff is homemade, vanilla ice cream filled to the brim with crunched up bits ofbaklava. It will make you close your eyes and imagine going on vacation to a place where all of the pools are filled with baklava ice cream…a place where sunscreen is made of baklava ice cream…a place where your shampoo is made of…well, I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. Dessert is a must.


In case you were wondering, those are pistachio and macadamia nut tarts, and, yes, it’s appropriate for you to be salivating.

Finally, (as this is getting to be suuuuuper long) I have to talk about the events that happen here. Mike and George put on everything from Wine and Beer Dinners to house-shaking holiday parties. Wine and Beer Dinners usually consist of multiple-course meals with a featured adult beverage for each course. At a holiday party, (St. Patrick’s day is their 3rd busiest day of the year!) you can experience anything from a Mariachi band to belly dancers, to a jazzy dude singin’ the night away. They’ve got a big Fat Tuesday celebration planned, so keep your eyes open and “like” them on Facebook to stay updated!

There are about a gazillion reasons why you should come eat at the Parthenon. I’ve written about three pages, so I’ve obviously covered a lot of them… You can find them at your local festivals, state/county fairs, and farmer’s markets serving up mouthwatering Greek food…or you can come for Brunch on Sundays, or enjoy your dinner out on the patio when the weather gets nicer, or…

I should probably stop. Why? Because you shouldn’t be reading anymore; you should be yelling “Opa!” and movin’ those booties over to the Parthenon Greek Grill. See you there.

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Ghost Blog or Ghost Fraud?

There is a controversy out there, and this time, it affects me. Usually, the controversies that affect me run along the lines of the ‘healthy benefits of chocolate consumption’ or ‘whether JK Rowling should continue the Harry Potter series.’

In case you were wondering, my stances on those controversies are as follows:
There’s just got to be some kind of benefit.
And,
As sad as it makes me, no.

As you can see, I tend to avoid paying attention to terribly controversial subjects; this one, however, is something I just can’t ignore. I’m a ghost-blogger, and there are people out there who place this profession down at the bottom of the moral list, right next to the pimps and Ponzi schemers.

Trust me, I totally understand where they’re coming from. The whole appeal of a blog is that honest, personal feeling of connection that people get both from the reading and the writing of it. If you can’t trust that what you’re reading is authentic, then sure, that’s going to be a little disillusioning. If you can’t trust that the words in front of your eyes are written with purpose and intent to enrich, then how is it any different from the product created by marketing sharks?

Many of the ghost-blogging opponents out there have a very cut-and-dry way of looking at this issue. “Ghost-blogging is lying and is therefore bad. End of story, no discussion. It’s like killing kittens and then eating them.”

Okay, so I made up that quote, but hey, at least I’m being honest about it.

When is anything cut-and-dry? When someone doesn’t acknowledge the other side of the story, that’s when. The truth is that there are plenty of ghost-bloggers out there who say, “Oh, okay, you sell cake? Cool. I don’t really care if you’ve got very strong personal beliefs involved with how and why you make your cake…I’d just really like you to pay me to write about cake. So, why don’t you just give me a few things to say about your cake, and I’ll write it.”

That, friends, is most definitely fraud. Simply hiring someone to write some crap so you don’t have to, or taking on a job without any research into the client’s thoughts, history, voice, personality, or goals is definitely dishonest.

However, taking on a job with the intent to produce a well-crafted, properly-researched, and true-to-client piece of writing is not dishonest. When a company hires a writer because it wants to create a constant, personal connection with their clients, (but doesn’t possess either the time or the ability to properly express their intentions and thoughts,) that’s just good business.

A good ghost-blogger will take the time to get to know his or her client, discover their goals and intentions, and work in constant contact with them to craft a blog that is absolutely representative of their company. A good ghost-blogger doesn’t develop a voice for the company; he or she discovers the voice that is already there and makes it accessible to the public.

So yeah, there are some pretty lame-o people out there who use their dishonest practices to make this profession look like word prostitution. This isn’t really anything surprising. There are always two or three people out there making everyone else look bad. It’s just like being in 2nd grade, and that little jerk Curtis steals one of the class fish. Now no one can go out for recess till Bryan the Betta is returned. Too bad we can’t find a way to punish the fish-thief without depriving the rest of the class of their tether-ball privileges.

What it comes down to is this: I create well-researched, personalized, authentic pieces of writing. I know that, and anybody who hires me knows that. That’s what’s important.