for blog’s sake

This Saturday night I will be emceeing the 6th Annual Akron Storytelling Festival Concert at Main Library. To me, that’s a bit ironic since I’ve not been real good at telling my own stories here in the last couple of months. It’s certainly not for lack of inspiration. I’ve developed, cooked and photographed many wonderful recipes that I would love to share with you. There’s the amazing salad topped pizza, several flavors of Jeni’s homemade ice cream, and the grilled pork chops, oh my, the grilled pork chops. And there are pictures to share. More photos from our vacation to Montreal, images from my garden, and more. I just haven’t had the urge to sit down and write my stories. To be honest, the last several entries were only posted so that I could move the post about Tucker’s passing down the page a bit. It was getting tough to see my site with his sweet mug at the top. I never quite imagined how much I’d end up missing him.

Moving forward.

So here’s the deal. Time will be put aside to blog. That really needs to happen daily. It was time that I cherished. Recipes, Wordless Wednesdays and Five Senses Fridays must, and will, return. I miss our interaction and I miss your feedback. Here we go, Made by Mike returns full-time on Monday. Yes, that’s my plan. I hope you’ll join me then. And if you’re not doing anything this Saturday night, and you’re in the Akron area, come on down to the Storytelling Concert at 7 pm. I could really use some friendly and familiar faces in the audience. Oh, and did I mention, the event is free.

 

Welcome

randomness

Yeah, not blogging so much lately.  It’s been a week. A week that I’ve spent in a mostly not-so-great mood. I need change, I think. Not even sure what kind of change. I’m hoping that the coming spring will help with that. I feel silly even being in a bad mood. What do I have to complain about? I’ve got a great partner, terrific friends, good job. Perhaps harnessing some of my day into doing something more creative might help, but I can’t thing of what “the project” might be.

The time change from this past weekend seems to be working in my favor. For the last couple of months, I’ve been abandoning Greg on the couch at about 9:30 each evening. Off to sleepy-land I’d go. Normally after falling asleep on the couch about a half hour earlier. The flip side of going to bed so early….the waking up at 5:00 in the morning. But now with the time change, I go to bed closer to 10:30 and have been sleeping well past 6:00 in the morning.

I made this white chicken chili on Sunday. It was amazing. Had it for lunch and dinner again today.

Working 11 days straight. 4 more to go. Greg is a saint.

#2…complete

No, not that #2. The #2 on my list of 37 things to do in the year before I turn 38. Today, I made lime jello! As I was thinking today about jello, my thoughts went back to my Grandmother Derr, or Grammie as all the grandkids called her. It seemed like all the family dinners at her place included a jello dish of some sort. And usually the jello had some sort of surprise in it. Grated carrots (a bad surprise in my book) or fruit cocktail or marshmallows (both wonderful surprises). While at the grocery this morning, I stumbled upon marshmallows in the shape of tiny snowmen. Just perfect to be nestled in my lime jello concoctions. I also decided to top the Cool Whipped mountains with a couple of the guys too. So this post is for you Grammie. I miss you so much.

37 things to do in the year before I turn 38

In about two weeks, I’ll turn 37.  I’m stealing (or is it borrowing) the following idea of a list from one my favorite bloggers. I’ll cross off items as I make progress through the list in the next year. There’s a tab up there towards the top of my blog where you can track my progress. Also, if you want to help out with any of these items, I’d be happy to have you join me on this journey.

37 things to do in the year before I turn 38:

1. Get a passport and travel outside of the country, hey Canada counts!
2. Make a bowl of lime jello. Completed on Sunday, December 20, 2009.
3. Go for a walk in the rain with Greg.
4. Experience public transportation.
5. Hug a stranger.
6. Drink more wine.
7. Say “Yes” more. (This should be easier after doing #6)
8. Make mozzarella cheese.
9. Send greeting cards, just because.
10. Stop at yellow traffic lights. What’s my hurry?
11. Host a Sunday brunch get together.
12. Enter a photograph in a contest.
13. Donate money to NPR.
14. Hike a new challenging trail.
15. Make the bed every morning for a month.
16. Try a new vegetable (suggestions?). I had a daikon radish at our department holiday party.
17. Read an entire book in a day.
18. Make a new friend.
19. Go to a concert of a band I’ve never heard of.
20. Have my nieces over for a weekend devoted to them.
21. Learn yoga.
22. Cancel one of my magazine subscriptions.
23. Write a letter to the editor about an issue I care about.
24. Volunteer.
25. Share an afternoon lunch of pb&j with my sister.
26. Find a beer that I can tolerate drinking.
27. Weigh less than 200 pounds, even if it’s for just one day.
28. Spend over $100 on dinner out for Greg and me.
29. Attend a Sunday church service.
30. Hold a baby.
31. Pick apples at an orchard.
32. Mend a relationship.
33. Canoe.
34. Spend a day exploring each of Ohio’s largest cities (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton & Toledo)
35. Attend a sporting event.
36. Make Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken with Croutons.
37. Dance with Greg.

the new me

So I’ve decided to change all of my “about me” and profile pages on-line to reflect how I really feel right now. They will now include the following statement:

My name is Michael Derr and time and time again, the majority of voters in my country and in my state have decided that I am a second-class citizen. Unworthy of the equal rights and protections granted to me by our Constitution.

the journey has just begun

So today marks the end of my 12-week Weight Watchers session at work. I’ve lost 16.6 pounds in that time.  Less than I’d hoped, but hey an average of a little over  a pound a week is not too bad. Clothes aren’t fitting well, I’m down a pants size and at the last hole on my belt.  It’s exciting and I look forward to the next session that begins next week.  I know that there are no quick fixes and I’m learning to approach food and fitness with a new perspective.  It’s actually been a lot of fun.  I’m lucky to have had such great support from family, friends and most of all Greg. We’re in this together.

(I’ve also learned that I need to mix up my photo posing in the future.)

See you at the salad bar.

i met michael derr today

Oh yes, you read that right, my friends.

I recently got on the Facebook band wagon. While on it, I figured that I would plug my name into it and do a search. Low and behold it came back with another Michael Derr…in Akron, Ohio. Could that be right? My last name is not that common. But there it was on the interwebs, proof of another person with my name in my area.

So how would I handle this situation? Why by "friending" him, of course. We had a funny email exchange about it. Evidently he had heard of that "Michael Derr from the Akron Library." It's funny, and I asked him, "So I'm just checking…does your pronunciation of Derr rhyme with fur or bear or beer? " He answered correctly, fur.

He also wrote, "It's reassuring to know that the other Michael Derr in Akron is not an insufferable ass!" Obviously, he doesn't know me that well yet. But I am trying to be a little less assy everyday.

Here's to new friends. If you haven't "friended" me on Facebook yet, you should. Click on over here and say hi. Well, I'm off to find more Michael Derr's in the world. Maybe we'll have a convention, like Twins Days in Twinsburg. We could host it in Derry, New Hampshire.

haven't posted a "need" lately

A t-shirt to promote my blog. Probably a waste of money, but would be fun to have. With, of course, the original signature-mike orange logo.

what in the heck does it mean?

So many people have asked.  What in the heck does GZPZ mean? In fact, recently I had a note left on my car asking what it meant on my license plates. So here’s the explanation.

GZPZ (geezy peezy) is just a silly phrase that I use from time-to-time.  I’m trying
to get it to catch on…much like don’t have a cow in the late 80′s,
early 90′s.    Here’s an occasion I’ve used it recently.  So I’m
standing in a check out line at the ACME Fresh Market (and golly, those food prices are
getting out of hand!). Back to the story, the older lady in front of me pulls out her
check book to pay. I have said to myself, or perhaps even muttered quietly
under my breath, "Geezy peezy, who still pays with a check at the
grocery store, get a debit card for crying out loud."

There you have it, gzpz in a nut shell. Pass it on, and use it in your daily life. You’ll be glad you did.