Farmers markets benefit environment, support health

With spring in full swing, farmer’s markets are open throughout the metro. Last weekend I made a visit to the Saturday farmer’s market in Lawrence. As I walked from booth to booth I remembered all the reason’s I love the farmer’s market. I love the social aspect of the farmer’s market. The mundane task of buying groceries is transformed into a fun family event at the farmer’s market. I love that you know where your food comes from at the farmer’s market. I love that you get to meet the farmers. Seeing who labored for your food gives you a greater awareness about your food. And I’m convinced the more aware we are about our food, the more intentional we will be when we choose what food to eat. I love that farmer’s markets support farmer’s and the local economy. I love the environmental impacts of shopping at the farmer’s market. Local farmers often use sustainable farming techniques that preserve the land. And when you buy local less fossil fuels are used to transport your food to you. I love the health benefits of food available at farmer’s markets. Fresh fruits and vegetables, you can’t beat that. And meat available at farmer’s markets are often free range, grass fed, and antibiotic free. Going to my local farmer’s market makes me feel good on so many levels. When you go to the farmers market you support farmers, the environment, and your health. And if that isn’t reason enough for you, I’m sure the cheese a pastry samples are.

Dance the night away

Last Thursday my husband Logan and I went to a bluegrass show at Liberty Hall.

Logan just started a new job and that seemed like as good of an excuse as any to put on some cowboy boots and dance the night away. The band, Leftover Salmon, did not disappoint me. And neither did my cowboy boots.

I love cowboy boots. The combination of cowboy boots, PBR, and bluegrass just makes the world seem right. I know that I sound like an idealistic hipster, but it’s true.

A friend once told me that the exercise of dancing forces your brain to be in the present. I tried to find the scientific study to support this via Google. My Google search was unsuccessful, but I’m confident it’s true.

When you dance, you let go of your inhibitions. You move freely to the beat of the music. You let go of yesterday's worries and tomorrow's concerns.

When you dance, you dance in the here and now. When you dance, the music and the movement are enough. When you dance, you are enough.

There are so many times in my life when I don’t feel like I’m enough. Not successful enough, not organized enough, not witty enough, not tough enough. Life has a way of highlighting all the areas where I am not enough.

But when I let go and dance I experience what it means to be enough. And I believe that experience is more real than the day to day voices in my head that tell me all the ways that I’m not enough.

So put on some boots, grab a PBR, turn Pandora to the Yonder Mountain String Band station and dance your worries away.

Time moves faster than I write

Is it just me or did the abnormally warm winter seem to speed up time?

It was about a year ago that I lost my job as editor of the Kansas City Nursing News and started to work on a memoir about the time I spent in Philadelphia during college. It seems like the past year flew by like blur and I only have nine chapters finished for the book.

The book seemed like a great idea, but without a solid deadline I have struggled to pump out a finished first draft. Instead, I’ve thought a billion other projects that I should start as a means of procrastination. I mean, let’s face it, real writers procrastinate. Right?

My husband does a great job at being my personal cheerleader. “How’s that book coming along?” He asks every few weeks and politely points out that I probably could spend a little more time writing and a little less time reading novels. But reading makes you a better writer. Real writers read. Geesh, I don’t think Logan knows how this business works at all.

But the truth is when it comes to getting a book published neither do I. I don’t know the first thing about getting literary agent. And the process seems too overwhelming for me to think about. All I know is magazines and newspapers. All I know is writing other people’s stories, not my own.

And that brings me to a road block I recently encountered with my book. I met so many people in Philly who’s stories I want to tell. I feel like their stories need to be told, but at the same time something inside me tells me that these aren’t my stories to tell. For the past eight years I’ve written stories about other people’s lives. About injustices, accomplishments, sorrows, and joys. But all these people shared their stories to me as a reporter.

I didn’t come to Philly as a reporter. I came to Philly as a 20-year-old in search of guidance.

Someone once asked me if I could summarize my time in Philly in one word.

Grace.

My response was automatic. Grace. I learned what grace was in Philly. And that’s the story that I need to tell. My story. My journey to grace.

So, I’m back on the writing band wagon and I hope to have a craptastic first draft done by the end of the summer. That’s my deadline. Hold me to it.

How to avoid Facebook fights

I opened my MacBook this morning and did what I do every morning, log onto Facebook.

This morning I scrolled through the comments about what a great season KU had despite the loss to Kentucky in the championship game. But among those positive comments there was one person speaking ill of KU fans that really angered me. I could feel my blood start to boil as I scrolled down the page.

I couldn’t help but wonder, why do these Facebook status updates incite me so much?

And I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. Just last week one of my friends told me someone called her a name on Facebook after she responded to a political status update.

Facebook can bring out the best of us in our status updates- inspirational quotes, pictures of cats, invites to see local band play. But the social network can also bring out the worst, and with a presidential election season looming, I worry the worst is yet to come.

Here are my tips for how to deal with FB status updates that get under your skin.

1. Hide comments from common offenders. If someone is posting divisive comments, whether religious, political, or with regards to NCAA teams, don’t be afraid to hide their comments from your Facebook feeds. The person won’t know unless you tell them, so no feelings will be hurt in this process and your blood pressure might be lowered.

2. Don’t engage FB friends who want to pick fights. We’ve all seen these updates from people on all sides of every issue. They go something like this, “So you don’t wanna drill, guess you must want $5 a gallon gas prices AND hate Christmas.” Do not respond to these people. No matter how much you want to, just don’t.

3. Re-evaluate your purpose on Facebook. Facebook has so many purposes in our life these days, both professionally and personally. If you don’t use Facebook for professional uses, I recommended scaling down your friend list to only those people you would want to have dinner with. I call this the Lisa Rule, because my friend Lisa told it to me. If you do use the same Facebook account for personal and professional use, see tip number one.

Hope these tips help you as navigate through Facebook during another presidential election, and what could be a very tense season of Dancing with the Stars. Happy posting.