Take the Climb by Otter Creek - Dedicated to Tyler Clementi and all others who have or are struggling

I first fell in love with Otter Creek when I heard a four-part interview with Peter and Mary Danzig on Mormon Stories, a podcast of various interests having to do with Mormonism.

My sister had sent me a link to their story, saying I might find it interesting. It was basically the story of their lives together and their journey from devout Mormons living in a small town near the small town I grew up in to their eventual (and very painful) leaving of the Mormon Church - in part due to the Church's stance on homosexuality (which is interesting seeing as how they are a straight couple :)).

I found it interesting that Peter was going to school majoring in social work when he started to seriously question the Church and its standing on social issues. I completely understand this - perhaps because social work classes focus on not only forming your own opinion about things - questioning things and seeking answers (things which are all shied away from in the Mormon Church) - but also looking at social justice issues impacting all people and teaching students to fight for and with those who are marginalized.

So, as a gay, formerly Mormon social worker I obviously found a lot that I could relate to with this couple.

Anyway, I have been following them a bit via Facebook and their webpage and saw that they had written a song dedicated to Tyler Clementi, the Rutger's teen who took his life after a video of him with another man was posted online by a fellow student.

I emailed Otter Creek requesting a copy of the song and got the following email along with the song:

In September I had just started to teach a violin lesson when my student's mother picked up her New York Times and gasped. She told me she had to show me something after the lesson. After I finished teaching, she showed me an article about a young violinist, Tyler Clementi who committed suicide after his roommate live streamed Tyler's relationship with another guy over the internet. As I read the article and looked at the picture of a young man holding his violin with such beautiful technique, I was filled with sadness.

The week before I had heard Hilary Hahn perform the Tchaikowsky violin concerto. During her incredible performance I had thought about the speculation that Tchaikowsky commited suicide because his "friends" told him that it would be better for him to kill himself than to be gay. I had thought about the magnificent gift that Tchaikowsky's gift has been to the world and what a loss his untimely death was for all of us. As I gazed at the picture of Tyler, I grieved the loss of a young man who had already brought so much joy and would have given a lifetime of beauty to so many. As Peter and I talked later that evening we wished there was something we could do. We decided to write a song and hope that maybe it does some good for someone. Some talented musician friends helped us make a live recording at Holladay United Church of Christ. Attached is the song. They lyrics are below. We hope you enjoy the song. If you do, please feel free to send it on with our hope that one day we will learn to treat all people with love and respect.

Take the Climb by Peter and Mary Danzig www.OtterCreekDuo.com Recorded live at Holladay United Church of Christ vocal and acoustic guitar - Peter Danzig violin - Mary Danzig electric guitar - Bill Green bass- Jani Gamble drums - Amy Boettger recorded by Winston Gamble

Take the Climb

In memory of Tyler Clementi

It was late in the evening one September night

When Tyler found out what they'd done.

They'd taken a scene from his private life

And shown it online just for fun.

Now he didn't do anything wrong

He'd just fallen in love

Instead of drowning in the Hudson

He should have been high

Should have been left to climb high on the mountain of love.

There stand many others alongside of Tyler

Who have been thoughtlessly shamed

By those who profess that the core of their nature

Is unnatural sick and profane.

now it's not really that hard

To grab hold of their hands

Walk with them in the valley below

And take the climb high

Take the climb high on the mountain of love.

Now I have a message for preachers of hate

I think you may be confused

The road to salvation's not paved with rejection

Intolerance or abuse.

So stand down your guard

And I'll do the same

Let's meet each other in the valley below

And take the climb high

Take the climb high on the mountain of love.

-----

If you would like an mp3 of the song let me know.

All I Want for Christmas Is...

Dear Santa,

This year, all I want for Christmas is a new butt.

Or a pair of jeans that fit the nonexistent one I seem to have.

I have never been very picky about the fit of jeans. I would just go to the store, search forever to find the right color of jeans, buy them based on color, and head home a happy girl. But over the past few years I have lost a bit of weight. I still have a ways to go, but I've lost 75% of the weight I want to lose. I'm wearing smaller sizes in everything, but I'm down 5 full sizes in pants. Which is great. The problem is that I have lost more from my butt than I have from my waist. So now, when I shop for jeans it's not just looking for the right color but for the right fit for a butt that isn't big enough for my waist, I guess.

Regular women's jeans in my new size all have the woefully unattractive saggy butt. I tried juniors, but hello, they are all ultra low rise these days which does nothing for an almost 32-year-old woman with a stomach that needs to catch up in the weight-loss race . I tried men's jeans, and while the butt fits great, the legs are way too wide.

So now I'm on the hunt for the perfect jeans. Or a new butt. Or a smaller waist that is proportionate to my butt.

Is that too much to ask, Santa?

Sincerely,

Me.

Chicken Enchiladas

Okay, Robyn. For your viewing pleasure (including photos for added assistance and a bit o' fun):

Kristin's FABULOUSLY CHEESY Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 - 2 lbs chicken cut into bite-sized pieces

Sliced mushrooms

8 soft tortilla shells

2 cans enchilada sauce

1 small can chopped mild green chilies

1 small can sliced olives

2 cups shredded cheese

1 additional cup shredded cheese

Sour cream

Directions:

Cook chicken and fry mushrooms

Then prepare to get your hands dirty (thanks to Kristin for being willing to get hers a little dirty for the camera :))!

Lay a tortilla shell on a clean surface. Pour some enchilada sauce on the shell.

Spread the sauce around. Turn the tortilla shell over and cover that side with sauce.

Place chicken in the center of the tortilla shell.

Add mushrooms and green chilies.

Place olives.

Add sour cream.

Sprinkle cheese on top.

Fold the tortilla shell until it looks like...

This.

Place in baking dish. Repeat until all shells are filled with yummy goodness.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the finished enchiladas.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Add 1 cup of cheese to the top and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

That's it. Simple, fast, yummy. I apologize for the lack of photos of the finished product. By the time it was done I was starving and kind of forgot about taking a final photo of it :)

Happy Halloween!

This year was a pretty low-key Halloween for us. I went in to Kristin's classroom on Friday to help out with "pumpkin math" and brought the kids some cupcake treats...

Sunday we carved pumpkins which was a lot of fun. This was only my second year carving, so I stayed with a simple design. I used a stencil, but Kristin just dug in...

I thought the final products were awesome...

And of course we had to take the annual "Ellie with the pumpkins" photo (and yes, that is a rose still blooming on the rose bush!)...

Sunday night the doorbell started ringing around 5:30 and over the next 2 1/2 hours we got around 200 little ghouls and goblins. I love that this neighborhood has so many kids!

And now we head into November where we're sure to see our first snowfall and the fun of shoveling and bundling up begins!

Scotch Fur Fighter

Another product I love - Scotch Fur Fighter

I have tried half a dozen new fur removal products over the past few years on our couch. Some things worked better than others, but none have worked as well as this one! It was fast, easy, and left the couch looking like it had just been shampooed. And to top it off, it was fairly cheap ($5 bought the tool and several refill sheets). The sheet did fill up fairly quickly, but the cost of the refill sheets will be worth it to have hair-free couches in less than three minutes!

A Strange Shopping Trip

So today at the store the woman ahead of me in the checkout line (we’ll call her Jane) had a very full cart of items. Groceries, household items, office supplies, clothing, etc. As the cashier was finishing up with the person ahead of Jane, Jane began taking items out of her cart and holding them up one by one, inspecting them. Holding up a pair of jeans, shaking them out, turning them around, checking the size. Holding up a gallon of milk, looking at the expiration date, turning it around in her hands, shaking it a bit. Holding up a package of pens, reading the brand, straightening out the plastic, inspecting individual pens within the plastic. This went on and on. She was sorting the items into two piles. One she put on the conveyor belt, and the other she set aside. This was a long process, and both the cashier and I were just waiting. I could have gone to a different line, but to be honest, I was curious to see what Jane was doing.

After she had finally finished sorting everything, Jane put the “other” stuff back in her cart and pushed the cart up to the cashier. Jane told the cashier that she didn’t want the stuff in the cart. We aren’t talking about one or two or three items here. She had well over half a cart of stuff she didn’t want. Jane also told the cashier that she would need a second cart to take the things she did want out to her car, and could she (the cashier) please have someone bring her one?

I thought I was going fall over. It seemed so surreal. The cashier, however, didn’t seem fazed. Is this something that happens with any sort of regularity? Do people really do this all that often? And if they do, can’t they make these decisions before getting into the checkout line? Has anyone else ever seen something like this happen?

Visit from Mom and Dad Ricks!

This past weekend my parents came to visit from Utah. It was good to see them again! We spent Friday in Duluth where my dad measured up to the lighthouse,

Kristin pulled a Larry Craig in the bathroom (at least I think it was Kristin!),

and Dad and Kristin anxiously awaited the 3:15 boat.

Saturday we went to Minnehaha Falls among other Saint Paul sites and were able to have dinner with Kristin's sister and her family who were in town for a high school marching band competition. Sunday we headed to Silver Bison Ranch where we took in the views and bouth a little bison meat (yum!) before heading home.

After a little relaxation, we headed to dinner at Benihan's (Kristin's choice!), where despite the fact they didn't have any ketchup in the entire restaurant, and the Shirley Temples got more Shirley as the night went on, a good time was had by all.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we were thrilled to see them again and enjoyed their company!

Beautiful Fall Weekend in South Dakota

Kristin and I headed to South Dakota this weekend to enjoy a little family time. We spent a lot of time outside on Saturday. I picked some apples (which Kristin's mom quickly turned into a yummy pie), Kristin mowed....

And Ellie hung out and took it all in...

And then the camera died. :) We were able to spend time with Kristin's sister and her family on Saturday and Sunday. We celebrated her nephew Jacob's 13th birthday on Sunday as well!

It was a fun time and we were sad to leave, but look forward to seeing them in the Cities this coming weekend for a high school marching band competition (Go Lincoln!)!

I Believe...

by Unknown

I believe-
that we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.

I believe-
that no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every
once in a while and you must forgive
them for that.

I believe-
that true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I believe-
that you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.

I believe-
that it's taking me a long time
to become the person I want to be.

I believe-
that you should always leave loved ones
with loving words. It may be the last
time you see them.

I believe-
that you can keep going
long after you can't.

I believe-
that we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.

I believe-
that either you control your attitude
or it controls you.

I believe-
that regardless of how hot and
steamy a relationship is at first,
the passion fades and there had
better be something else to take
its place.

I believe-
that heroes are the people
who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I believe-
that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe-
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.

I believe-
that sometimes the people you expect
to kick you when you're down,
will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe-
that sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
but that doesn't give me
the right to be cruel.

I believe-
that just because someone doesn't love
you the way you want them to doesn't
mean they don't love you with all they have.

I believe-
that maturity has more to do with
what types of experiences you've had
and what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many
birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe-
that it isn't always enough to be
forgiven by others. Sometimes you
have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe-
that no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe-
that our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are,
but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe-
that just because two people argue,
it doesn't mean they don't love each other
And just because they don't argue,
it doesn't mean they do.

I believe-
that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a
secret. It could change your life forever.

I believe-
that two people can look at the exact
same thing and see something totally.
different.

I believe-
that your life can be changed in a matter of
hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe-
that even when you think you have no more
to give, when a friend cries out to you
you will find the strength to help.

I believe-
that credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.

I believe-
that the people you care about most in life
are taken from you too soon.

Boiling Hamburger...Who Knew?

So as I previously mentioned, Ellie has been sick the last several days. She is now on a "bland" diet consisting of hamburger and rice. The vet told us to "boil" the hamburger. I had never heard of such a thing, so I looked it up online.

I thought it would be complicated, but no. Boil water, dump the hamburger in, come back in two minutes. Yes, I said two minutes.

So this morning I get a pot out, get the water boiling, and start to crumble the hamburger into it. The little pieces immediately rose to the top already done. I threw the package away, washed my hands, returned to the pot, and wah la! A half-pound of hamburger browned to perfection. I drained it, rinsed it, and mixed it with the rice. Ellie loved it.

The article I read online said that it's a fast way to cook hamburger, but because you're taking all of the fat out of it, there isn't much taste left (which was true, I tasted it)...but for recipes calling for hamburger that will also have other spices or flavoring in it (tacos, for example), this works great! Also, if you have some frozen hamburger you can just dump the whole frozen piece of hamburger into the water. After a couple of minutes break it apart with a utensil and leave it to cook for a few more minutes. Soooo much faster than thawing it on the counter, in the fridge, or in the microwave and then frying it up.

Obviously boiling hamburger wouldn't work for every recipe, but I'm excited to "discover" this trick that I can use for some recipes or when I'm in a pinch for time!