November 2nd, 2008 by Jennine

I’ve been doing research for a Christmas project for work and I’m wanting to get some input from you, dear readers. I’m also hoping that those who read my blog but never comment will come out of the lurkers closet and participate.

I’m in the category of people who remember the traditions of Christmas far more than the actual gifts I received but I know that many people have vivid recollections of receiving a much coveted gift on Christmas morning.

My project involves looking back at the last hundred years of popular Christmas gifts. This is what I’ve discovered:

Most Popular Christmas Gifts

1910- Steel nibbed dipping pens, elaborate women’s hats, hair pins, Kewpie dolls, Bobbsey Twin books, dime novels, Erector sets, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, wind-up toys, Ouija boards, Teddy Bears, Crayola crayons.

1920- Bridge sets, Crossword puzzles, Mah Jongg board games, Chanel no. 5 perfume, hand held electric hair dryers, spinning tops, kites, doll houses, swing rocking horses, Mickey Mouse dolls.

1930- Monopoly board game, collector stamps, marbles, Daisy Air Rifles, paper dolls, Shirley Temple dolls, Radio Flyer wagons, yo-yo’s.

1940- television sets, 45 rpm records, roller skates, electric train sets, slinky, Midgetoy die cast cars, Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, plastic toys, Tonette flutes.

1950- Howdy Doody dolls, Jackie Robinson doll, Buck Rogers toys, pogo sticks, silly putty, hula hoops, Betsy Wetsy dolls

1960- Barbie dolls, GI Joe, Electric can openers, Beatles albums, Viewmaster, super balls, hot wheels, Tonka trucks, Twister, Mrs. Beasley dolls.

1970- Chia pets, Atari 2600, lava lamps, sea monkeys, mood rings, pop rocks, “growing hair” dolls, Lite Brite, Simon, Fashion Plates, Star Wars action figures, banana seat bikes, Stretch Armstrong dolls, Easy Bake ovens,

1980- Speak n’ Spell, Care bears, Rubik’s Cube, Trivial Pursuit game, Garbage Pail Kids, Gameboy, Atari, Cabbage Patch Kids, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, He-Man, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teddy Ruxpin, Legos.

1990- Tickle Me Elmo, Furby, Pokemon, Beanie Babies, Sony Playstation, Gameboys, roller blades, Polly Pocket, Super Soakers, Tamagotchi virtual pets, CD’s, Cell Phones, bread machines

2000-Razor scooters, Playstation 2 and 3, Webkinz toys, XBox 360, Wii…

Did you have a favorite Christmas gift you received as a child? Do you tend to remember the gifts you received or the traditions your family enjoyed? Is there anything obvious I’m leaving out on my list?

One thing that surprised me while doing this research is how old Erector sets, Lincoln Logs and Tinker toys are. I had no idea that they have been around for a century!

October 11th, 2008 by Jennine

While on our way to a football game near Duluth, Minnesota, we spotted this animal darting in and out of traffic on the freeway.

Darren and I are trying to decide if it’s someone’s dog or a Timber Wolf.
What do you think?

October 8th, 2008 by Jennine

August 16th, 2008 by Jennine

I was invited to golf in a Chamber of Commerce golf tournament last Thursday with four women from work.

Sounds normal enough, right?

Except that I have never golfed, I don’t understand golf and I religiously make fun of people who golf.

Shotgun start? Best ball? Huh?

Yet there I was on the field with a borrowed bag of sticks clubs, trying to fit in with business owners in the community who think golf is fun, exciting and, well, a fashion runway for those who have nothing better to spend their money on than pink leather club bags and cute fluffy club covers.

My editor, one of our team members, told me ahead of time that I should wear something “comfortable”. I have, in the past, made fun of the “I’d rather be golfing” shirts, so I considered making a personal statement with this cozy t-shirt:

Instead I grabbed something loose fitting from Darren’s dresser knowing full well the potential of difficulty involved with swinging a golf club while sucking in one’s stomach.

While I spent a few weeks dreading my performance in the tournament, I did learn a few things that day:

It turns out that riding in a golf cart is fun. Especially when the person driving it has had a few drinks and says things like “I wonder if it would be funny if we tipped this thing.”

“I guess it depends on which way it tips. If it tips towards your side, I might laugh.” I replied.

It turns out that once in a while, in complete random luck, I can shoot a ball long and straight.

But mostly I miss it altogether.

I also learned that “best ball”, for me, means grabbing it and throwing it as hard as I can.

Take me golfing once, shame on you. Take me twice, shame on me.

August 9th, 2008 by Jennine

Today I had the opportunity to step back about 100 years in time as I covered a local threshing show. There were blacksmith, glass blowing and wool spinning demonstrations; and of course, threshing took place with old equipment that I cannot believe still operates.

I’m drawn to the era of the late 1800’s when Minnesota and the Dakotas were being settled by Swedish and Norwegian immigrants. It was a time when nothing was taken for granted and survival depended on a little luck and a lot of hard work.

I have this romantic notion (as I sit in my comfortable chair in my air conditioned house) that I would have done well in those pioneer days. Read the rest of this entry »

August 5th, 2008 by Jennine

Tonight I covered our city’s National Night Out for the paper. One event, the K9 demonstration, caught my particular attention because were it not for my fear of police dogs, I would have entered the workforce as a career criminal long ago.

It was amazing to have my choice to become a mother instead validated by Office Scout. His mere presence made me want to not only drive under the speed limit from now on, but confess that when I found that abandoned jar of salsa sitting there in the returned cart section of the parking lot at Walmart, I decided to take it.

Notice the cold, hard stare of this dog watching two kids who were simply arguing over cotton candy.

While the human officer was answering questions from the crowd and demonstrating the jaw power of his K9, I was having a little chit chat with an off-duty officer who volunteered to be attacked by the police dog.

“Are ya scared?” I asked.

“No. Not at all. This doesn’t scare me in the least,” the officer boasted.

“You’re just saying that because it’s not cool to admit your terrified,” I challenged. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”

He laughed at me, slipped on the protective sleeve and headed into the field to do his thing.

After the officer was finished being attacked, he walked up to me and asked if I got a good shot.

“Can you show me?” he asked.

“Of course.”

I showed him the photo above and he winced.

“What’s the matter? Did you get hurt?”

“No. It’s not that! Do you think you can edit out my beer gut and maybe add some muscles to my arms?” he asked with a serious look on his face.

“Oh my God. Are you afraid to have your picture in the paper?” I asked in complete shock.

“Terrified!”

I guess we all have our own irrational fears.

June 18th, 2008 by Jennine

My knees still get a little shaky every time my deadline rolls around at the newspaper and I still fight the persistent fear that maybe I’ll sit down to write and nothing will come out of my pen. I’ve heard of writer’s block but writer’s stage fright? My mind somehow envisions my little stenographer’s book as the stage and that everyone reading my words will picture me naked.

It’s not easy to write an advertisement for “Business of the Week” when I prefer to focus on the business owner’s children or how they feel about Hannah Montana’s scandalous photos. They seem to prefer me to write about collision repairs and law office history. It’s their dime. I get that.

So when I submitted an unsolicited piece from my blog and learned that the editor actually USED IT IN THE PAPER, I was as smug as Andrew Dice Clay on a New Jersey stage. I bragged to my children, called Darren and my mom and then jumped up and down on my bed for 20 full minutes screaming things like “NO ONE KEEPS BABY IN THE CORNER!!”

And then  came the email with the subject line “ERROR“.

I incorrectly identified the horse show I covered for the sports section. I called one saddle club by another saddle club’s name and the office received calls about it.

Being a woman who feels completely out of her league her this profession , I will most likely dwell on my mistake rather than my success because I don’t know how to tell myself “Everyone makes mistakes.” I can say it to my kids, my friends and family, my husband but my brain rejects hearing it from me or anyone else.

I do know that there’s nothing I can do to change it. It’s history now. I learned the hard way to verify information until I’m absolutely sure it’s correct. Which is why I’ve spell-checked this post three times versus my normal none.

Despite the ERROR and despite the fact that I will punish myself by repeating the word s*** in my head for a while, my work- my real, heart-felt work is lining cat litter boxes, laying on coffee tables and being read by people I pass in the street and I don’t know how to explain just how good that feels.

Almost as good as when I watch this.

June 14th, 2008 by Jennine

I was given the joyous duty to capture the events taking place in our community today: a Flag Day Celebration, a saddle club horse show, a flag burning ceremony held by the American Legion, and the happenings at the Aquatic Center.

It was a hectic day, time-wise, but as I went from one activity to the next, enjoying all the facets of small town life, I was filled with overwhelming happiness and peace.

Happiness because I witnessed first hand how young, old, rich, poor, abled and disabled meld together to form a community, each bringing to the table unique life experience; a buffet of perspective perfectly seasoned with tradition.

Peace because I know that in the event of a catastrophy, these good-hearted, hard-working people would reach out to help me. In the event of a crisis, these same people whose images I’ve captured, have got my back.

Read the rest of this entry »

June 11th, 2008 by Jennine

BlogHer is holding a contest for their upcoming conference in San Francisco, CA in which a tagline for their official conference canvas bag is chosen by a voting process. The theme this year is “Reach!”.

My tagline was chosen as a finalist:

Blogher 08: To Reach Her Own.

I would love it if you would head over and cast your vote here because this morning I stepped in dog vomit and the only thing that would comfort me after that horrible experience is to win this contest.

June 5th, 2008 by Jennine

The parents of this little boy need to be commended for raising this child right.

I had the pleasure of spending the day with him and it was a complete joy. Not only is he content to go with the flow of activity in our home, he has a charming sense of humor. This wee little guy made us laugh non-stop with his facial expressions, his no-handed push ups, his recitation of the $5 Subway commercial and his complete adoration of Elly.

This child listens when you say “No”, eats peas and carrots without grimacing and doesn’t pull away when you wipe his face.  He even picks up his toys at the end of the day.

You can just tell when a parent has invested love, time, energy and attention into a child and raised them with a vision of what a decent human being should be.

He’s a lucky kid.