for the birds

For the Birds Has Flown the Coop.

But you can find us here: http://forthebirdsblog.com

Cheers!

Did Somebody Turn out the LIGHTS?

A few weeks ago For the Birds celebrated it's one year mark -- picture me sitting at the keyboard with a party hat on....vodka bottle rolling on the floor...  silly string still stuck to the monitor.. I mentioned in my post that FTB has built a following with over 20,000 site visitors. This is a rough estimate, because  -- come on, really. You don't think that I actually believe that 20,000+ of you are out there reading these almost daily observations... And thanks to all of the lovely comments that I received pointing this out. Side note, I am not that BOARING Ms. Kelly from Kentucky -- and although you don't know how to spell, I might have better things to do with my time but I choose to do this -- and if it's just not that interesting to you -- then STOP visiting. But, keep checking in if you must, I am into all things that depreciate. 

So, getting to the point, I do know -- thanks to those smart heads over at Feed Burner, that we do have a factual regular readership of 25 concrete, real-live people. That's right - a lovely and lucky 25. And to you I am calling out. In the next few days the following will be happening:

1. For the Birds will turn out the lights for a much needed beauty rest.
2. For the Birds will return, refreshed and better than ever—but only viewable at the new (still shiny) URL - http://forthebirdsblog.com
3. The old ugly domain http://designsigh.typepad.com/forthebirds will GO AWAY, so DON'T GO THERE
4. Those of you that have the old domain/URL in your readers, you will need to change to the new domain.
5. For the Birds will only be accessible from http://forthebirdsblog.com
6. This has very little to do with the evil birders over at forthebirds.com 

Unfortunately, I don't have specific timing on this event—otherwise I would fill you in. But the wheels are in motion. We've checked the logs, Batman, and will make a swift return... So, if you happen to be settling in for the evening, and pull up to FTB for some mild entertainment, please don't be alarmed if you receive some sort of error message or blank screen—We are still here... we are coming back—this has very little to do with the evil birders at forthebirds.com AND, the best is yet to come... More shameless self-promotion of multiple personality abundance -  I want you to know but I don't anxiety disorder...  have I mentioned most of us here are geminis? Any questions? Email me - rmsatbwdstudiodotcom.

A Delicious List of Randomness

I hate that I write lists obsessively (in a series of notebooks that all look alike) but they never seem to make it to the typepad. Here's a taste of randomness that I've been hocking over at Google Reader... There's never enough time in the day...

• The Hygiene Hypothesis... not accurate (shocker)...
• Misszoot might just punch someone.... 
• Need help reading, writing, eating or drawing while you DRIVE? Here's a desktop... This could take texting accidents to a whole new level.. (note the awesome disclaimer)
• The highest rate of nose jobs?? That's right perfect noses in IRAN... I suppose since everything else is SHROUDED.
• Slumping in Dubai... what wouldn't we do to do Dubai (now taking sponsors)
• THIS JUST IN - food allergies can be dangerous. Thanks, Brain Surgeons @ Grand Rapids Press...
• Generation A
• Decorative Brilliance
• A Grand Slam with Mushrooms... Even if you don't like them...
• Laura Ashley on Crack
• Unattended Children Will (and should) be shot...
• Cool Bird Prints (going to this show soon!)
• David the Designer (I'm probably scaring this man)
• AND of course... blah blah blah follow me on Twitter and read my posts @ Artistic Things..Check back randomly—I promise more random lists and almost daily observations.. yadda yadda yadda.

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• Small for Big and Ethan -- the bravest kid in town. (designsigh.typepad.com) FOR THE BIRDS HAS BEEN ZEMANTA'D!
• Paris Hilton will produce BFF shows around the world (realityblurred.com)
• The World has been Cancelled (laf.ee)

Brave New World.

Last week, a new national campaign was released called SMART CHOICES. And while most of us obsess about making smart choices on just about everything that we come in contact with, this particular campaign is all about food labeling.. just in case you are too busy to read the contents—or don't inherently JUST KNOW that a giant rainbow toucan usually reflects sugar content.. Brand images burned into our brains by the age of two—No pulling the wool over Will's eyes when one tries to convince with the anti-fructose "healthy" version of Trix...but shouldn't cereal be a little fun? Maybe I am dancing around my point, but I am really impressed by the boldness of this situation. This campaign (brought to you by a council of marketing geniuses) not only targets the zombie "I will buy it if THEY tell me to" consumer, but it is completely hypocritical about its entire existence.. Why couldn't I come up with this one?

So, what is the big deal? As not just Americans, but as HUMANS (counting extraterrestrials and carnivorous reptiles) we are blinded on a daily basis by mass media, branding and marketing. Almost every second is spent with our senses being bombarded with something. Even the smells and scents of KFC and McDs—not to mention J.Crew and Banana... were created by a strategic plan to pull you in. One can only hope for a little honesty... But now, thanks to the giant machine of progress generating childhood obesity like we've never seen, we have SMART CHOICES... a check mark placed on the very products that you were questioning... But don't worry, you're smart—and it's okay now -- THEY TOLD US SO.

As if CHOICES were easy to begin with.

 

365 days later...

Year one has passed!

I began publishing For the Birds on this date circa 2008—wow oh wow have things changed since. Initially, For the Birds was to be a marketing tool for Breakwater Design Studio, and although it does serve that purpose, FTB has also opened up whole new worlds for me... Writing and Internet Social Media. Once shunned—Facebook and Twitter are now common tools that promote, engage... Once feared, writing a very public diary of almost daily observations has given me a personal boost that I never could have imagined... Sharing accounts with readers who then become friends with common interests and concerns... And then my favorite -- sharing our lives with existing friends and family scattered all over the world. In short, connections have become a way of life and For the Birds has allowed my family and I to have a mini piece of the pie—actively participating on an almost daily basis.

So, I guess that I need to thank me for jumping into a way of life that I never knew possible... but -- as I take my place at the podium to accept the award for 2009 Ego of the Year—I really thank all the readers... to date a shocking 23,247—even those that hit the website and went "what the f is this" and x'd the browser out... I have kept my word and emailed everyone back that has commented—and I have kept most comments private... knowing that privacy is still a major player in the evolution of For the Birds.

On another note, I really want to acknowledge a few other blogs out there that have given me the courage to share in this open forum... In no particular order:

Dooce
Mighty Girl
Suburban Bliss
Gotham Gal
Designing Moms

I don't think that any of these authors are aware of me or how much they have influenced... If they were aware—I'm sure that restraining orders would be issued. At any rate, I read their posts with the hope that someday FTB will boast it's own URL (damn you—you evil birders at forthebirds.com) and claim a regular readership. Until that day—keep stopping by—I promise generous helpings of almost daily observations... blood, sweat, tears all mixed with a fine selection of mundane tribulations.

PS. If you want to hear me talk more (The floodgates! Typepad you're killing me!)—visit me at Twitter.

The Meat Eating Vegan

Will was only a few weeks old when we discovered that the rashes that seemed to come and go all over his body were being caused by allergic reactions to eggs, cow's milk, peanut products and dog saliva. Interesting combo, but impossible, right? I mean he was only a few weeks old... it's not like he was eating any of these things... However, his Allergist was quick to point out that he in fact was ingesting all—through my nursing... which then came to a screeching halt. The dog saliva—that was just welcome-to-the-world-love from the Bluedog.

We left the Allergist that day—Epi-pen in hand...just in case the test results were off the mark... and ears full of instruction... Speechless. Not only could Will not have eggs, milk or peanuts in their singular form—but he also had to avoid foods/drinks that contain them as ingredients. Do you know how many products this cuts from daily living? Aside from having to read every label on every item that ever comes in contact with Will... there was the guilt... MY GOD THE GUILT. How did I let this happen, it must have been something that I did or didn't do.. Dammit, why did I smoke in the nineties? I thought wine and coffee were supposed to be good for you.. Maybe I didn't eat enough apples... And as for the dog saliva, we'll just have to tie Blue's tongue up in his ears somehow... A bubble.. I need a bubble to put my boy in... Maybe there was too much Mercury in all the fish I've ingested these 33 years.. I'm a minefield..  Maybe I... But wait. There is a chance that he'll grow out of it. All of it. A very good chance.

Now, let it come to pass that I have researched food allergies inside out, up down, backwards, under-over and in my sleep. There really aren't any answers to be had... despite the seriously condemning nature of the topic... Most kids born today—in America— are allergic to something... And, most parents are not as insanely bothered by a rash as we were... but everyone is looking for an answer. And thank God—for Will, his reactions are just a rash—some kids go into shock and the unspeakable happens. After major investigations... it's the same as everything else that seems loopy in modern day life... We can blame the world around us, the things that we have done—most unknowingly, to our bodies and well—life as we know it. The rash, by the way, never seemed to bother him.

So, we are in it... and honestly, it really isn't that bad. Will is incredibly healthy—turned 18 months this past Friday. There are tons of "alternate" food choices out there... Alternates to things that, as it turns out, are really not very good for him anyway. And, thanks to the vegetarians and vegans of the world, these things are not hard to come by. Soy is a blessing in disguise... and cow's milk—not so great for the bod anyway... who knew? Most things, in fact, that contain milk and eggs, even on their own, are not so hot health-wise (as heart disease sweeps the nation). And, on a more "all about me" note... We as parents are in massive growing company of others that are scouring over books, websites, blogs— frustrations equaling fear demanding answers looking for solutions..... something has to give.

Eventually—sooner than later...  there will come a day when he'll want the ice-cream... someone will give him a piece of cheese... I guess we'll deal with that day when it arrives.. Peanuts -- we have high hopes that they will be banned from existence entirely.  For now we're doing great, and as for Blue... we untied his tongue and are just mindful about the number of licks that actually land on Will.... as that friendship grows, however, it has become the hardest part. 

(March 2009)

3OnTheSides

1. This book is amazing: Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living by Alisa Marie Fleming
2. This book is awesome too, although it has given me a huge bought of deja vu: The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food is Making us Sick -- And What We Can Do About It by Robyn O'Brien, Rachel Kranz
3. These cupcakes rock, as does the yet again deja vu causing article.

Chicken again?

I am addicted to cookbooks.... someone once told me that I was really good at cooking "comfort food"... not sure if that was a complement, but I took it as such. When the food network became a staple on cable, I was glued... still am sometimes, although I am seeing a trend in over salting. I've tried a few food tv receipes and I have to say that they never turn out tasting as good as they look... it must be the lighting. Still, after watching people cook—I wonder, can I get this in hardcover? Printing from the internet is an option, but it doesn't have the same feel.

My Grandmother had the tiniest kitchen you could ever imagine but she chruned out some fabulous dishes (in my opinion). She collected cookbooks—loved to read them. I have a few from her collection—some with handwritten notes correcting the author with her own take... a habit that I am quitely adopting. I'd say that out of the books I buy - cookbooks are at the top of the list... pretty soon though, we are going to need a bigger boat.

 

It's been tough...

We mentioned previously that Patrick is kickin' it in the Caribbean this week—hence our missing posts... But thanks to those that were worried about us. We miss him terribly (if you are reading, please come back). Here are a few things that we wanted to talk about this week so far, but couldn't because we have been trying to keep up with the rapid speed talents of our missing friend.

• Our Client, Araiys Design, is backing the Lobster Inn/Condominium conversion.... trapped by CR39 is a scary thought. 
• Dubai or Abu Dhabi, what's your preference?
• Even Martha gets fungus...
• Really cool carafes...
• AND, on a personal note, if we lived near, I might stalk the writer of Suburban Bliss....

Yes, my pants are smart.

I put honey in hamburgers as the "binding" agent. There, I said it. The sugar in the honey not only makes them sweeter - and better for you than using an egg or beer - but it also creates an emulsion on the ground beef making it grill more evenly. For years I have kept this a secret, but I just can't keep it hidden any longer.