by Cheryl Mathis on May 22nd, 2009
1. Do you garden?
We’re trying really hard for a garden this year. Last year our efforts were eaten by little fuzzy bunny rabbits. This year, we have a chicken wire fence. Now that the garden is almost all planted, we discover Square Foot Gardening, and we’re so intrigued, we’re still going to do some of that this year as well. I might transplant my seedlings from the single row garden into the SFG when they are ready. See? These are the things on my mind right now. Gardening. Growing produce. It makes me want to keep a chicken.
2. Any fancy Memorial Day plans? anything related to veterans?
It’s almost a coincidence that we’re having a cookout on Monday and inviting some friends over. I totally forgot about the holiday. I want to row a boat or hug a veteran.
3. How green will you be this summer?
In addition to growing a garden, I’m trying to do some more earth-friendly things this summer. I’m using a bucket of water to rinse my washed dishes, and I’m watering my garden with that. We have a compost bin now, and that whole process is fascinating. I’m using talcum powder and cloves to get rid of the ants instead of harsh chemicals, and I’m using a watering can instead of a hose to water my plants to conserve water. Of course there’s the bike riding and the walking instead of using the car, but those are old habits.
4. What is the best movie you’ve seen so far this year? If you’re not a movie watcher, how about TV show?
The Husband loved Star Trek. I enjoyed The Soloist. For TV, I loved watching Fringe, House and (don’t persecute me for this one) American Idol. It’s a good thing that most shows are on a break for the summer, because we have a lot of non-boob-tube-watching activities planned for the evenings anyway.
5. Do you lose your temper?
With councilpeople throwing watches and tossing threats and testosterone about, it reminds me of how important it is to keep an even temper. I get upset at my kids sometimes, but that’s normal when dealing with toddlers. I make a point of not yelling at my husband, though. We don’t have a volatile household, and for that I am truly grateful. Do you have any tricks for calming down when you get mad? How do you respond to people who are yelling at you?
by Cheryl Mathis on May 14th, 2009
Note from the editor: Read Dino’s post about this same topic for another view.
While I absolutely agree with Dino that we should take the focus away from the murderer and provide solace and support to the family, I will hesitate before I tell anyone how to mourn.
Isn’t that a normal reaction? To find someone to blame? To find out what went wrong, what could have been avoided? When my toddler son wandered out of the house last year while under my watch, I was horrified and felt extremely guilty, despite his safe and quick return. The point is that we added another lock to the screen door, one that he couldn’t reach.
It’s a normal reaction to try to seal up the escape routes, and it’s a normal reaction after a murder to “fix the problem” that caused the murder.
Personally I don’t see a difference between the Hmong immigrants and the Mexican illegal immigrants, at least in regards to how they settle in our community. If we don’t welcome them, encourage them and support them while they assimilate into our culture, they will be more likely to act in opposition to our legal system. If we treat them like second-class citizens, they will be.
As for the dreadful murder of dear Breanna… Raul is charged with the crime. I have no idea his motivation. I don’t think his race is the problem here. The fact that he could be a murderer is. How can we point the finger at race being the cause when we have a handful of horrendous murders that took place at the hands of white people in the past year? Just recently, a man named Kettner was charged with the senseless deaths of his wife and children. Where is our outrage over that? Where is the hate speech on the radio?
I think it’s normal to try to spread the blame about as much as we can. It makes sense to try to make sure this never happens again, but the killer’s skin color did not take Breanna’s life. He did. A troubled soul seeped in violence, if only for a while. Even if we drove all of the illegal immigrants out of our community (I picture pitchforks, torches and ropes), murders would still occur.
by Cheryl Mathis on April 24th, 2009
1. Are you who you say you are online?
For various reasons a lot of us use pseudonyms when we are online to protect our identities. We have handles, avatars and nicknames as cloaks to shield us from the evil Reality Monster that can come to bite us in the behind with identity theft or real-life harassment. I find it interesting when I find my mommy-blog friends on Facebook. They never used their real names on their blog, but they do on Facebook. It’s curious to analyze the dichotomy of online and offline relationships and where they slam up against each other. Citizen Wausau is often one of those gray areas. We’re an online community, but we all have connections to Wausau, where we aren’t sims or avatars. We are real people, and some of us have exchanged handshakes and hugs. How do you feel about the places online where the digital and the analog collide?
2. Do you grasp at opportunities that come along or let yourself sit back and wait?
Recently I had the opportunity to go back into my former career and end my years-long hiatus of professional mother status. It was a hard situation for me. On one hand, I was thrilled to be needed in the grown-up world again, but I reminded myself quickly of my reasons to be a stay-at-home mom until my kids start school. My youngest is still two or three years away from that point, so jumping back into the work force would definitely go against my previous intentions. I came up with a good compromise that still takes advantage of the opportunity on a small scale, but it made me wonder about how other people might have reacted. If someone came along and offered you a great job at a different company, would you take it? Where does personal advancement supersede comfort levels in your life?
3. What is “old”?
In many ways I still feel like a young whippersnapper. It’s hard for me to think that I’m beyond my early twenties. Tomorrow I have another birthday, and every time I think of it, I have to hastily do the math in my head to figure out how old I’ll be. The number just doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. My life doesn’t change that much anymore. My aging seems to be on hold while I watch my own children grow. They get older every year, but I forget that I do as well. When I was a teenager, I thought 30 was a mythical age where everyone was adult and stable. Forty was a crisis, 50-60 was grandparent stage and 70 plus was ancient and decrepit. Does the number still mean something to you? If so, what? When did you start feeling old?
4. Do you have summertime traditions?
Every summer I build at least one sandcastle. My husband is greatly looking forward to kayaking. What do you try to do at least once during the summer? Is there a festival you attend, an activity you enjoy or a reunion you make a fool of yourself at?
by Cheryl Mathis on April 3rd, 2009
1. What piece of advice would you give to a much younger “you” so that something would be a less painful experience?
My initial reaction to this question was that I try not to live with regrets, that even if awful things happened or I did really dumb things, they made me who I am today, so therefore, they aren’t inherently wrong. But really, I think that’s bull. I may love and accept myself now, but I still have a more highly refined compass now than I did back then. So I would tell myself to stay away from student organizations in college so I could focus on my studies, finish my degree and avoid some rather terrible experiences.
2. What is your strongest April memory?
Four years ago, my dad went into the ICU on my birthday at the end of April. Turns out, he had colon cancer and congestive heart failure. It was a very memorable time for a lot of reasons. I learned how much I would miss him (he’s fine now) and how my relationship with my parents differs from that of my siblings. For a happier memory, I loved having a week-long birthday celebration in college once. And on my birthday, I walked around campus with balloons floating up from my backpack.
3. Who are your top five greatest people (celebrities and non-celebrities)?
My Mom
My friend Dorothy
Mister Rogers
My husband
Whoever makes the crab rangoons at Chang Garden
by Cheryl Mathis on March 27th, 2009
News story referenced in title linked here.
1. Who do you complain to when you have a gripe?
I diffused a couple husband bombs this week when he came to me with work woes. When I need to complain, he usually hears the tales of tribulation. It’s a handy partnership.
2. Is anyone wrapped around your little finger?
My kids are the joy of my heart, and I’m a sucker for their twinkling eyes and riotous laughter. I don’t give them their hearts’ desires though. That’s bad parenting. I think the closest I ever came to having someone that I submitted to all the time was my orange tabby cat who was my constant companion for many years. She slept on my pillow at night and tasted my food.
3. Do you have a “road not taken”?
There are several points in my life so far where I made a decision and went down a different path than the one I was on. It’s a curvy, winding road I’ve been on in the past 10 years. Now that I’ve embraced stability and security, the curves in my road are more subtle and less drastic, and I don’t get car sick as often. What about you? How often have you switched directions?
4. What do you think about when you hear of a local business going into foreclosure or going out of business?
The Mathis family spent my husband’s birthday at the Lodge at Cedar Creek this last weekend. It was delightful and exhausting. I knew of their money woes, and I was grateful they were still open to host our heyday. I hope they find new owners who will keep up the business, because we have plans to go back there in the fall. When Big Lots announced their closing, we went and dropped a bundle on a variety of items. I usually feel like we failed in our duty as consumers when I hear of a local business failure. “If only we had …”
5. In a similar vein, when your budget is tight, where do you cut back? Where do you refuse to make concessions?
I think it was in the Nicolas Cage movie “It Could Happen to You” where the female lead said that even when money was tight, she always kept Oreos on hand. In our recent budget crisis, we cut back on eating out and home improvements and focused on trying new recipes and free activities. We always kept good coffee in the house, though.
by Cheryl Mathis on March 20th, 2009
Title explanation in link.
1. A slippery slope? Is Congress’ move to tax AIG’s bonuses a good idea or a slippery slope in government control?
I have mixed feelings. My gut response was that it was a great idea, a solution to a difficult problem. AIG was obligated to give the bonuses due to contractual verbiage, but at least we will get most of our money back. The bonus system in these corporations could be one of the symptoms of the culture of excess that has helped to drive their balance sheets to the red. If I’m broke, I don’t use credit cards to buy something fabulous for myself. Perhaps corporations should respond in a similar manner. Or is that socialism?
2. What is your favorite blanket like?
I’m a quilter. I love piecing together fabulous quilts full of cozy prints and comfortable fabrics. I recently finished my first blanket that I kept for myself as my nap blanket. It’s brown and green and pink with a flannel back. Very cozy. What do you love about your favorite blanket? Its size? Color? Texture?
3. Have you ever witnessed a bad traffic accident?
The tragic crash between minivan and city bus happened a few blocks from my house on our walking route. I’m so glad we were napping and not walking that afternoon, because I’d hate for my kids to see that. My first instinct would be to run and help the victims by using my limited medical training. But what would I do with my kids while I helped? This is what happens. I run through these scenarios in my head, wondering what the best course of action would be. Chances are I’ll never witness an accident while with my kids.
4. Is your car interior clean or dirty?
Our only car recently broke down, and it’s parked in our mechanic’s parking lot until he can get to it next week. While this is terribly inconvenient (though we were able to borrow one of my parents’ vehicles), the worst part of it is how dirty our car is. All I can think about is all the crap that is in the backseat and on the floors. I think about it for many minutes a day. I may sneak over there this weekend to clean it out. When it’s just our car, and we’re driving it around, I’m bothered by the mess, but I’m not paranoid about it. But it’s sitting there in the lot, and it’ll be under the scrutiny of my beloved mechanic. I feel exposed and vulnerable, like I’m wearing dirty underpants to the gyno. By the way, my husband is the one responsible for the cleanliness of the car. It’s our deal.
5. Are you ever tempted to puddle jump?
It has been years since I’ve owned a pair of galoshes, and I don’t care to martyr my shoes for the sake of a good, muddy splash. My son has no qualms about it, though. He happily seeks out the puddles. I didn’t teach him this, though I wish I could join him. I consider puddle jumping to be in the same realm of happiness as kicking through a pile of autumn leaves or chalking a sidewalk in the summertime.
by Cheryl Mathis on March 13th, 2009
1. What do you think about the idea of having the school day last longer?
Perhaps to mimic the average workday. This makes some sense to me. Unless one of the parents isn’t working a standard shift, the kids automatically have to go into some kind of after-school care. I wonder how they would fill that extra time?
2. Is home ownership still a good idea? Was it ever?
Ah, the pros and cons of renting. We were thrilled to buy our house and stop renting. We pay nearly the same per month, and we have privacy and equity. No disasters have happened that we couldn’t deal with, and we didn’t overpay for our house. The debate continues in many circles, though. Is it worth it?
3. How do you feel about high school reunions?
My 10-year high school reunion is this year. I’m not ambivalent. I absolutely don’t want to go. I’m a very different person from those days, and I guess a part of me is ashamed. I’m fine with who I am now, but I don’t feel like I have to go and prove myself to those people that I did turn out okay. My parents, on the other hand, go to nearly all of their reunions, and they have a great time.
4. Do you buy souvenirs from places you visit?
My parents have a state magnet collection that is a lot of fun to play with. I used to buy postcards to keep in a photo album. In my life, there have been seashells, jars of sand, pieces of petrified forest, t-shirts, pins… the list goes on.
5. What was the best meal you ate in the past week?
I made chili last week. It was awesome. One of my best efforts. Grate a little cheddar on top, serve piping hot. Yum. The Culver’s chicken cashew salad with sesame ginger dressing was quite exceptional as well.
by Cheryl Mathis on February 20th, 2009
1. Do you have a “bucket” list? A number of things that you want to do before you “kick the bucket”? I don’t, and I’m not sure what that says about me. Perhaps it means that I won’t be disappointed in my twilight years by the whole of my life’s accomplishments. Perhaps it means that I have a stagnant personality. I’m not sure. My list would look like this: Write at least two books. Raise happy children.
2. Did you have a favorite TV show that you loved as a child? As a young child, I was devoted to Mister Rogers and Reading Rainbow. Later on ALF, The Cosby Show and Growing Pains were staples. During high school, Friends and Frasier floated my boat.
3. What are your top 3 favorite books? We have a book critic now at Citizen Wausau, and I like the idea of bringing the literary perspective to the community dialogue. My top three books would include The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera, The Thin Woman by Dorothy Cannell and The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. They aren’t masterpieces, but they are touchstones for my life. I go back and reread them time and time again, savoring the words and the stories for different reasons. The golden ring silences of Kundera, the flabbergasted British countryside castle comedy of Cannell and the cherishing of memories and love in Pilcher’s Porthkerris.
4. Did you and your father share a favorite activity? From an early age, my dad would challenge me with logic problems. We’d solve them together. I amused him by solving word searches faster than he thought possible, and we would spend silent hours together solving 5000-piece jigsaw puzzles.
5. What would you do if you had an entire day to yourself to spend as you wish? Let’s give you 500 dollars in your pocket as mad money. What would you do? I’d have breakfast at the Mint, spend a couple hours in a lounge chair in the library with the latest fiction release, paint pottery at the Clay Corner, and have lunch at 2510 with Death by Chocolate for dessert. After lunch, I’d snuggle down with an old movie (probably Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House) and take a nap under a sumptuous quilt. After the nap, I’d get a massage at Natural-Care Massage in Schofield followed by a mini shopping spree at JoAnn Fabrics. Dinner would probably be at Wright’s Place with a lighthearted movie afterwards: just me, a large Coke and a bucket of buttery popcorn that would inevitably give me a tummy ache.
by Cheryl Mathis on January 23rd, 2009
The Oscar nominations were announced recently. Shawn Sullivan called them a travishamockery. Since I saw very few, if any, movies this year, I didn’t pay much attention. I watch the Academy Awards just to look at the pretty dresses. Life is funny that way. I have two kids, a husband, a job, hobbies, an avid intellect, but I still have the same cheap thrills as I did when I was a little girl: a fascination with red carpet fashion and an insane devotion to Mike and Ikes. Here are some questions to kick off your weekend.
1. My husband and I often have long conversations inspired purely by bumper stickers we see while driving. The latest one, “Real Catholics Don’t Vote Pro-Abortion,” lasted two hours. Some stickers are funny, some are crude, some are hopeful, some are political. What bumper stickers are memorable for you? Do you have bumper stickers on your vehicle? Have you ever?
2. In the driving theme, I’m curious about something. What do you all do in the car on a trip of an hour or more? We listen to audiobooks. My sister and I would sing along with the radio at the top of our lungs. When I was little, I would play the license plate game (the shining glory of my collection was a plate from Hawaii). What do you do?
3. My husband and Dino have challenged each other to a Biggest Loser contest over the next six weeks. The weigh-in is on Monday. I am an unofficial participant. This morning, I had no problem getting up the energy to exercise, but I had a mighty craving for donuts afterwards. What do you find more difficult? Eating healthy or exercising on a regular basis?
4. For a segment of the population this week, patriotism has been flying high. In honor of the inauguration of a new president, here’s a political question. What do you think the American dream is today versus what it was in 1776?
by Cheryl Mathis on January 2nd, 2009
Isn’t this snow a hoot? I love it. So beautiful. I don’t think I’d love it as much if we didn’t have a snowblower, though. I do not have unconditional love for snow. Anyway. Today’s questions come to us from delightful Citizen Wausau blogger, Grinning Soul. Thank you so much, Lacy!
1. It’s time to toot your own party horn. What do you consider your greatest achievement of 2008?
2. As a prior employee of the retail/service industry, I do my best to be nothing less than cordial with those that must serve me. Have you ever defended a store employee that was being unnecessarily berated by another customer? If not, would you?
3. Let’s just leave 8 tracks out of this. What was the first record you ever purchased? What about cassette tape, CD or digital download?
4. A recent conversation with a friend brought up the topic of Wausau and ethnic restaurants. Granted, the variety in the area has increased slightly but more options can never hurt. What foreign cuisine do you crave but usually have to drive to the “Big City” for?
5. Okay, we are all adults here in some capacity and it’s time to fess up. Did you ever eat paste, bugs, sand or any other not usually edible substance as a kid?
