My trip home from Indy was pretty uneventful. We got held up on the runway in Indy for about a half hour but I still made my flight from LaGuardia to Boston. We left NYC at 9 p.m. so it wasn’t surprising to have an exhausted-looking man-child pointing at the window seat next to me. He was in his early 20’s, dressed in a suit, and looked kind of like one of the Jonas Brothers. The cute one.

In the old days, I would never have gotten up the nerve to speak to him, but now that I’m old enough to be his mother it’s not a problem. So we started chatting about work, etc., and he mentioned that he had just graduated from college a couple of years ago. I spent my time in Indy this week with a group of EXTREMELY young and very smart guys, so I mentioned that we have a training program for people right out of college.

Mr. Jonas said that he had a friend in a program like ours and the company was based in Indy. His friend works for us! Not only that, he’s a guy that contacted me because of my other blog and we’ve been trying to get together for lunch. It really is a small world.

Yesterday was the last weekday of school vacation, and since I had escaped for 2 1/2 days, I was on duty.  We started the day by getting the house back in order, and then went to our favorite bagel joint.  I was thinking that we would go to a playground, zoo, museum, or someplace that would be over-run by families trying to make the most of the last vacation day, but when I said that I needed to go to IKEA, the kids went wild. 

They LOVE going to the playroom there (Smaland).  I don’t understand the attraction because the playroom has a big shoe, a couple of fake trees, a ball pit that is frequently closed for de-urination or de-vomitation, a coloring station, and a TV showing a movie they’ve already seen 100+ times.  Who am I to argue, though?  I was able to find the pieces and parts I needed for our new basement storage shelving in relative peace. 

More on the basement storage shelving later.
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I love staying in hotels.  I’m in Indianapolis for a couple of days and I have more than enough *stuff* in a small carry-on bag.  The mess in my room is limited to my 3 cubic feet worth of stuff.  I have a king size bed with 7 pillows, all to myself.  I have 4 bath towels, 4 hand towels, 5 washcloths, and 3 miniature bottles of lotions and potions – all mine.  I haven’t turned the TV on once since I arrived and have not had to listen to a single cartoon voice or adolescent actress in crisis.  Nobody woke me up during the night for a drink, a trip to the potty, or a sleeping companion.  People keep feeding me and cleaning up after me.  As much as I love my family, it’s nice to spend a couple of days in Indiana now and then.

Today’s gift was to set up an online wish list for the teachers at Aliya & Adlani’s elementary school.  It’s not finished yet, but I hope to have it done in time for teacher appreciation week.

And now, I will pass out in my giant bed where I will huddle at the edge and not move for the entire night for fear of waking up whoever may have crawled in during the night.  It’s amazing what you can get used to. 
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I don’t know if it was spending my weekend with Josh and Rachael, who are very careful about what they eat, or the gluten-free muffins from Sunday brunch, or the fact that I’m sitting at the airport surrounded by ultra-fit marathon runners who ran 26.2 miles two days ago and are still able to walk without limping today, but I’ve been thinking a lot about food.  There are a lot of things that I’m too busy to think about, because I’m always so friggin busy.  I think that needs to change because someday when I have enough time to slow down and think about things, I’m going to be 80.

Last weekend Josh and Rachael’s friends were talking about Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and I was intrigued so I started watching it.  It’s a little embarrassing to watch it in the airport because it brings tears to my eyes and my fellow travelers are probably wondering what I’m bawling about.

This show is eye-opening and disturbing.  In the ‘Ham we’re lucky because our director of food service, Brendan Ryan, has already made huge strides in improving the food served in our schools.  75% of the food is made from scratch to avoid all of the additives found in processed foods.  Whole grain breads and pastas have replaced white bread and regular pasta, and the kids have fresh fruit and vegetables available daily.  Sugary drinks and snacks have been removed from vending machines in the middle schools and high school (here’s a recent article).  Many towns have not made those changes – yet.

My gift today was a donation to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Fund at America Gives Back.  And speaking of America Gives Back, Idol Gives Back is on tomorrow night – 4/21 at 8 p.m.

In the words of Jamie Oliver, “Everyone can do better.”  The episodes of his show are available on Hulu.com until June 5th.  Watch it.  Seriously.
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Wow…only two days* left in the 29 Gifts challenge.  I’ll be traveling for the next three days so I have no idea what my gifts will be.  Could be interesting.

Today I gave a flock of chicks to a family in need via Heifer International.  I have given several gifts of animals in the past, and Aliya collected money instead of gifts at her 7th birthday party and bought a water buffalo.  I think it’s a great organization and a fun way to give.  The animals are given to families who are taught how to take care of them.  The families then have milk, eggs, wool, etc., to sustain and create an income for their family.  The first offspring is passed on to another family, and the gift keeps on giving.

Here’s a quick video about Heifer’s work: 

There are tons of other videos on the Heifer International website if you want to learn more.  There’s also a pretty cool interactive tool here.

*UPDATE:  I just realized that I skipped Day 20, so I guess I have 3 days left in the challenge.  Unless you count the Brownie Husband as a gift.  😉
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This weekend I went up to Portland to celebrate the impending birth (in June) of my niece, so my gifts were all about Duende Bloo. Friday night I gave the gift of pork, when I took Josh & Rachael out to dinner at Norm’s BBQ.  Delicious! 

Saturday morning after a leisurely breakfast I jumped in and out of the shower, blasted through my 5-minute morning routine, and threw on my coat…I think it freaked Josh out a little because he’s not accustomed to living his entire life like his hair’s on fire.  Saturday afternoon we had a really nice party with great food and great friends, and we sat around talking so long that I just had to stay over and get another night of sleep that was not interrupted by someone kicking me or peeing in my bed. 

I drove home today after brunch at the home of Josh & Rachael’s friends, Jim & Nancy.  It’s amazing how much louder the kids sound after 48 hours of relative peace and quiet.  For today’s gift, I’m going to upload some photos to Duende’s website and then call it a day.  I have to rest up for Day 1 of April Vacation.
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