Gobblepalooza

Black Friday is my favorite holiday.  And yes, it is a holiday.  Every year it is a family tradition that as soon as you finish gorging yourself with turkey and cranberry sauce, you break out the ads and get creative.  That's right, I said it, creative.  From the ads to the methods this holiday is all about being different and thinking outside of the box.  My favorite ad from this year was Old Navy, courtesy of Crispin Porter and Bogusky.

It is no secret that the best ads get the best crowds, but here I think Old Navy had the best sales, $5 performance fleeces?  Hell yeah!  Anyway, this ad was the most creative in my opinion.  Taking the "rock on" symbol and making a turkey was genius.  Though not totally original, I am pretty sure I did that in preschool, it is incredibly clever with the concept.  Also, making the theme like a concert truly represents Black Friday, it is like a rock concert.  Hot, crowded, and drugged (on caffeine, that its).

My personal creativity comes in later with picking the route that nobody else will and the art of actually getting into as many stores as possible before keeling over in exhaustion with the 2 hours of sleep and tryptophan in my system.  Still, I manage to score the bargains and the adrenaline rush, not to mention the jet lag of shopping.

The Thanksgiving Tour

So, it is Thanksgiving Day, and that means that tonight at precisely 7pm we will go around the table amongst our friends and family and say what we are thankful for after traveling great distances and swap travel stories...well this year I have decided to create a song, to the tune of "Love Shack," about my epic journey of traveling, cooking, and shopping this holiday season.

If you see a faded sign by the side of the road that says
15 miles to the... Tul-sa! Tul-sa yeah
I'm headin' down the central highway,
lookin' for the food getaway
Heading for the food getaway, food getaway,

I got me a car, it's as slow as a snail
and we're headin' on up
To the Tulsa
I got me a Honda, it smells a little funky
So hurry up and bring your turnpike money

The Crowe house is a little old place
where we can get together
Tul-sa baby, Tul-sa bay-bee.
Food baby, that's where it's at,
Ooo food baby, that's where it's at

Sign says.. Woo... construction fools,
'cause change rules in soo-oo-ner, land!
Well it's set way back in the middle of a state,
Just a funky lil' town and I gotta get back!

Gravy on the turkey
Gravy on the dressing
Gravy on the 'taters
Gravy on the green beans!

The Crowe house is a little old place
where we can get together
Tul-sa baby, Tul-sa bay-bee.
Food baby, that's where it's at,
Ooo food baby, that's where it's at 

Huggin' and a kissin', dancin' and a lovin',
wearin' lots of clothin'
Cause Dad melted the oven
The whole nest' hungry!
The whole nest hungry when everybody's
Cookin' around and around and around and around!
Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin' baby!
Folks linin' up outside just to get food
Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin' baby
Funky little shack! Funk-y little shack!

Hop in my Honda,
it's as big slow as a snail
and it's about to get sales!
I got me a car, it seats about seven
So c'mon and bring your Friday money.

The Crowe house is a little old place
where we can get together
Crowe house baby! Crowe house bay-bee!
(thanks..giv...ing...)
Cou-pons, that's where it's at!

Bang bang bang on the store baby!
Knock a little louder baby!
Bang bang bang on the store baby!
I can't see you
Bang bang on the store baby
Bang bang on the store
Bang bang on the store baby
Bang bang
You're what?... sold out, busted!

Crowe house baby Crowe house!
Crowe house, baby Crowe house!
Dis-counts, that's where it's at
Crowe house, baby Crowe house! 
Sales baby, that's where it's at
Huggin' and a kissin',
eatin' and a lovin' at the Crowe shack 

Mommie Dearest

Today I was going through my usual Monday routine: wake up late for class, run into class, go to work, go to class, take a nap, go to chapter, homework.  Seems pretty normal, right?  Well, it would be apart from the small hitch I experienced during work.  You see, I work as a nanny for a few Highland Park families.  Which, altogether I would deem a pretty good job, the hours are nice and the pay is great, plus I get to play with adorable children.  On this particular day it was extremely warm so Stuart and I went to the park via stroller.  However, to our dismay the wood chips were wet, so we could not play.  After purusing the fountains around the park we began to venture toward home when the idea struck me, I will take Stuart to SMU to see the fountains, there are a ton there (See RJT, I found a use!)!  After securing Stuart in the stroller, blankie and baa-baa in hand we began our journey into the land of many fountains and bulldozers (or as Stuart says, Bountens and Bulldooerererers). 

While pushing him around campus I experienced a much different sensation than the normal routine.  People weren't making eye contact.  And, when I would wave to my friends they would only whisper hi and then be on their merry way.  After going through the classic checks of lack of social interaction (fly open, body odor, food in teeth) I arrived at the idea that they weren't talking to me because I was pushing a stroller with a toddler in tow.  This was shocking and also made me very angry.  The fact that I was being mistaken for a mom wasn't even the issue, but I did hate the negative stereotype associated with it.

People make the joke from Napoleon Dynamite "Your mom goes to college!" Well, what if your mom really did?  Would her friends come up and talk to her?  Or just shrug her aside to protect their own image?  Hopefully they would interact, but is that really wishful thinking?  This experience taught me a lot about world perception.  There really is a negative stigma associated with young, unmarried moms.  But, the fact is that they are all around and can handle a lot more than balancing their parents checkbook.  These women are role models.  They are strong for their children and provide for their livelihood.  From the moment of checking that pregnancy test life must get so difficult, yet they strive.  Heck, they even go through birth, which is a substanital feat in my book. 

Society needs to learn to respect moms.  Moms work so hard to make lives great for their kid, even if it means doing the woo-woo trick to their socks or comforting their child after a rough breakup.  It really is a tough job, especially for the young ones.  You are forced to grow up as a child grows with you, and carry yourself as a woman of grace and integrity.  For the married ones, I argue that this is easier, people see the diamond ring and they flock.  Whereas the teens, the great unadorned are scorned for their misdoings, even if they are just taking care of some else's child.  I am not saying that parenthood is a task that I am ready to take on, but after today I do really admire those who meet the task with open arms and a burp rag that aren't afraid to push the big blue stroller across the quad, even if it means funny looks, because damnit, Stuart wants to see the fountains.

Scholastic Cycle

Two tones, one touch

sudden silence, sudden screams

            H

          T

        W

      O

   R

G

She waves, he tears

New beginnings.

Whirlwind.

Eyes heavy,

Falling,

     Falling,

         Falling,

sleep.

Another dawn.

Poetry is something that I like to do to let my emotions leave me so I can actually focus.  This poem is something that I recently created about what has happened to me this semester.  It really has been a difficult go around, so lately I do feel inspired.  The poem has a dual structure, it is centered not only on my college experience but the life cycle.  This semester, many of my friends had had children or married, though this isn't something in my future, it is significant to me because it means that life is always changing.  The line "she waves, he tears" also is dual in the idea of leaving for college again and also reflects a significant individual in my life and her passing from cancer.  The repetition of "falling" can have many connotations, for me it means falling behind, falling into routine, and falling into exhaustion.  The structure of the poem is also deliberate.  I like to draw pictures with words, and though this can be difficult to do with type text, I do think that you get the idea of growth and decay.

Express Yourself

Expressing yourself can be done in all sorts of ways.  I think too often people think body language is the main way to read someone, a lot of times it seems to be something visible through facial expressions and tone of voice.  The rest of this idea is better explained by video:

What's wrong with this picture?

Some people just don't know how to respect the ad industry.  PETA constantly seems to make ads that are irresponsible and irksome.  For me, I see this as shallow.  A company seriously can't find any creative talent to illustrate their idea in a positive way? So instead they will be irksome, seriously irksome.  Take this ad for example, what does this even have to do with Vegetarianism?  Cannibalism, maybe, but last time I checked we don't eat people unless we are stranded in the Andes mountains and there is a plethora of dead bodies.  This ad does have a good idea, make a public display to go vegetarian, but a more effective platform would have been to show a calf and say something about veal, not a pregnant, semi-nude woman.

Invisible Children

Did you know that guerilla warfare exists in Uganda and the soldiers are children abducted from their homes?  This is a horrible issue, but sadly it is a reality.  The organization Invisible Children fights actively everyday against this and has an amazing story.  A few kids went to Africa with a video camera and came back with footage that would shock the United States.  Now, 5 years later they are having meetings with President Obama to have a voice for these forgotten kids.
Efforts like these are very important to take a personal interest in, especially as a college student.  So often are we so self-absorbed in getting the perfect grade and a good job when there are kids in Uganda that are desperate for jobs so they can really change something.  I think often the efforts of students are stifled because they can't make a difference, but with this program you really can.  Africa lately seems to be the cause that is on everyone's mind.  Walking around campus you will see TOM's shoes on someone (most likely me) because they help people.  But, as college students we shouldn't just help by buying things in stores, we should be consciously helping.  Displace yourself, make yourself uncomfortable.  That is what they always say, right?  So why not do it for someone else?

Choc-oat-chip cookies

Per my new obsession with baking, I have decided to share a personal recipe of mine, it is an adaptation of the Nestle recipe on the back of the cookie bag, but I have molded it enough to call it "original."  It is weird, from all my cooking lately it seems like it is like chemistry, but I like it.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons soy milk

1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats

1 squeeze of honey (about a teaspoon or 2)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 bag chocolate chips (12oz)

Oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the dry ingredients together (except oats and chocolate chips).  Instead of letting the butter sit out on the counter to thaw, microwave it for 30 seconds.  Cream the butter an both sugars.  Add the other wet ingredients to the butter and stir well.  Mix the wet and dry together, if you want to use your fingers go ahead.  Add the oats and chocolate chips and stir well.  Spoon teaspoon-sized amounts of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown.  Enjoy!

A map of heaven

Heaven for me is somewhere that is all accepting and fits everyone's needs.  I think it is up and you get there in an elevator like thing, which also leads to hell...because that also does exist.  I took the idea of the "pearly gates" one step forward and had them like angel's wings, because I believe that it is more sacred and welcoming.  There are many random things in heaven and I can be whatever you want it to be, for me I added the cliche "milk and honey."  Also, since I recently read The Shack I also picture that as a part of my heaven.  As for what it feels like, I think of the clouds like marshmallows and a wonderful 75 degrees outside, partly sunny.

Honey, I love you

Honey.  The word has so many connotations.  For some, it is a term of endearment and on the flip side, a term of trouble (Honey....).  For Winnie the Pooh, it means life.  For me, it is a sustainer.  Did you know that eating local honey decreases your allergies to pollen?  It makes sense since you are eating it.  Also, per my new obsession with baking I have taken to adding honey to just about anything and everything I make. For my sugar cookies, it is one of the secrets, for sure.  If you want sweet, gooey cookies, add honey.  Heck, I have even tried it as marinade now, and it was good!  Winnie the Pooh, you had it right, Honey is amazing, whether you are meaning love, eating love, or sharing love...honey is awesome.

Call me Suzie.

This semester something has taken hold of me, something cataclysmic and powerful.  I am talking about the urge to domesticate.  It is really odd, because I resisted this for a very long time, but now I seem to appear as a freaking Suzie Homemaker.  This idea is very strange to me, I must say.  I am used to being a career woman (or maybe just a working girl) who lives off of take-out.  But no, this year after moving off campus I was introduced to something amazingly foreign to me...A kitchen.  Now it seems cooking is all I want to do.  Why?  I have no idea.  I mean, I have never really had the desire to cook, even when I had the perfect resources.  And now, yesterday I was positively giddy when I purchased a bundt pan, a BUNDT PAN!  The pan in which I used to snicker due to its name, and now it is the pinnacle of my culinary experience!  Maybe this domestication is just me growing up, and being more thrifty.  I can make my own sushi, sweedish meatballs and sorbet...what could be next?