1. Spent a week doing ministry and couples' counseling in Turkey -- twice. (Beautiful country.)
   
2. Had a child via natural delivery after two previous caesarians.
   
3. Ate and loved raw kibbee, a Middle-Eastern dish consisting of ground lamb, spices, wheat and olive oil.
   
4. Skipped a grade in school.
   
5. Spent 20 years in a lay ecumenical prayer community.
   
6. Telecommuted to a job 500 miles away.
   
7. Camped out while 6 months pregnant.
   
8. Took a bowling class for college credit.
   
9. Saw Pope Paul VI in Rome.
   
10. Helped produce an Iron Butterfly concert.

Read More 4 comments | |

The storm, which draped the landscape in a blanket of shimmering white, has already been blamed for countless hours of joyful play which will live in the memories of children for years.

"Millions of adults stayed home to enjoy time with family and escape the drudgery of their dead-end jobs," Mr. Sobel said. "Folks who work in the snow removal industry are enjoying boom times, with many earning overtime pay that will help to send children to college and generally fuel our expanding economy."

Read More 0 comments | |

1. Why "deepyogrt"?
   (If you casual visitors look at the URL at the top of your browser, you will understand why he's asking.) It refers to one of the catch phrases that I used to use with my children, e.g. "You're in deep yogurt now, young man!" It seemed to me to beat the other 'deep' things they might have been in. When I was signing up with Blogger, I hadn't yet settled on a name for the blog by the time I had to pick the URL, so I just went with the first idea that popped up. I think "In Dwelling" is a better blog title by far, but I'm sort of taken with the spunkiness of the URL, so I haven't felt inclined to change either one.
   
2. You are a fan of the Detroit Tigers, a team skippered by the great Sparky Anderson for many years. Did the strike of '94 affect your support of major league baseball?
   Yes, it did, though not as much as the 1981 strike bothered me. I had a newborn daughter that summer and was greatly looking forward to using nursing time as an opportunity to watch baseball games. No such luck. Looking back, though, it was probably more the loss of the familiar names and faces -- Lou Whittaker, Alan Trammel, Kirk Gibson, Tommy Brookens, Dan Petry, and on and on -- that diluted the love affair.
   
3. As a management consultant who has an MBA & reads Harvard Business Review, can you shed light on how the modern corporation can infuse a sense of mission in their employees when profit appears to be the only thing that matters? Or is that a responsibility of the employee?
   "Infusing a sense of mission" is a pretty good definition of well-exercised leadership. The employee has many responsibilities, but jacking up his own motivation by the bootstraps isn't one of them, in my view. The average employee wants to be doing something that is meaningful and inspiring if there's the opportunity, and he's generally running his "baloney detector" on High. In order to communicate a vision, there has to be a vision that's authentic, meaningful, and subscribed to wholeheartedly by the top of the company. It's a tall order, sure, but when it's done right, it's a beautiful thing to behold. Oh, yes, you asked "how . . ." Hmmm. I'll have to get back to you on that.
   
4. How did you find your way back to the Catholic faith?
   My departure from the Church was not bitter in any way; it was the best way I could see at the time to follow God. There are many Catholic practices and beliefs that I never completely discarded, but I did have some solid questions that would need to be addressed eventually. Several years ago, I began to look at the Catholic Church again, and over time I experienced the Holy Spirit nudging me in that direction, especially after the death of my husband. God went into overdrive on this issue last Lent, leading to my confession and restoration on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. For His gracious timing of this, allowing me to fully participate in the Triduum at my wonderful parish, I will always be grateful.
   
5. Do your children read your blog and if so does it affect what or how you blog?
   From time to time my daughters stop by and occasionally comment. I'm very aware of the fact that the blog is posted publicly, so their participation doesn't constrain me any more than the knowledge that the rest of the world is free to stop by as well. My blogs probably reveal different sides of me than they customarily see from day to day, but that's nothing but a good thing.

Read More 3 comments | |