And Again, How is That? Just Write.

On By jeff ludlumIn AttitudeLeave a comment
Play on words, used periodically to convey a simple truth. It’s certainly right to write in my view.
 I’ve been writing most of my life,  it’s provided me a baseline of thought, and outlet, therapy, entertainment, connection, continuity, just all of it.
 When blogging came about, it really seems that it was tailor-made for my type of expression, and my needs as a writer, as a human.
Thankful there seem to be a few people out there interested in listening, interested in the thoughts, the perspective.  Just a little bit of positive feedback is all it takes to keep the engine warm and running well.
I feel better when I write, when it’s a practice I’m engaged in frequently, daily.   It doesn’t take much.  A couple hundred words.
It doesn’t have to  be creative writing, per se’, although that’s one of my favorite forms.  Any writing is pretty well enjoyable for me, trying to put the ideas on the page, the exercise, the effort.
And so blogging is certainly enjoyable, and I’ve  taken once again the goal of putting content up more regularly.   We’ll see how that shakes down.
If all goes according to plan, we’ll all be better off.
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Tostilocos, Doritolocos, Goodness

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, culture, lifestyleLeave a comment

Tostilocos, Doritolocos, ahhhhhhh, what? Culinary Goodness from the ground level, from the street, from the everyday.

Found this basic content via NPR and a series they produced a few years back:  Borderland.   It’s still available in their archives, and narrates various aspects of the busy southern border between Mexico and the United States.

As part of that feature series, one of the highlights (for me anyway) was this very Mexican and American street snack.  The article called them Tostilocos (because the recipe called for using Tostitos brand tortilla chips).   Whether you use Tostitos or Doritos or any other similar bag of flavored tortilla chips, it’s gonna be a legit snack blending north and south, and down-home authentic for sure. The introduction from the piece spells it out:

Tostilocos. Tosti, as in Tostitos. Locos, as in crazy.
Origin stories vary, but the snack has proliferated in Tijuana — and has crossed the border into Southern California, too.
Vendors like Fidencio Rodriguez set up outside schools, at the beach and next to long lines of people crossing the border.
9 ingredients. About $3 on the street.
Here’s how you make it:
SALSA VERDE TOSTITOS (snack bag size), (CUT LENGTHWISE);
PEPINOS (CUCUMBER) AND JICAMA; CUERITOS (PICKLED PORK RINDS),
CACAHUATES (FRIED PEANUTS),
CHACA-CHACA (TAMARIND CANDY),
CHILE SAUCE
CHAMOY (PICKLED FRUIT) SAUCE,
SQUEEZE O’ LIME
fr: TIJUANA, MEXICO.  Sold on both sides of the border.

In this era of vocalized attitudes of nativism and anti-immigration in these United States, it seems appropriate to give similar voice to the counter opinion. Diversity and being inclusive and celebrating all flavors and colors and peoples, that is in fact a core strength of America, THAT should be respected and honored and protected.

Try the Tostilocos.  It might just take you over the top if you weren’t already so inclined, to celebrate and seek to protect our very precious way of life, blended uniquely here in America. A mixed bag of goodness.

[photo credit:  NPR]
[for the whole Borderland series, go to this URL: https://apps.npr.org/borderland/%5D

Highs and Lows

On By jeff ludlumIn AttitudeLeave a comment

It’s part of life, pretty much every day. Highs and lows. They are really the essence of what life amounts to. Sometimes you’ll be up; sometimes you’ll be down. Sometimes you’ll be one of those for a long while. Might seem like forever.

Eventually the pendulum swings.

Consider Alex Howes. Who?, you might ask? Unless you’re a pro cycling fan, you very well might not know the name. I’m a sometimes cycling fan, but enough to know who he is and two recent circumstances that illustrate “high and low” pretty well.

Alex Howes, a professional cyclist with EF Eduction First Professional Cycling Team, won the US National Cycling Road Race earlier this summer.

He gets to wear the stars and stripes as US Champion now, incorporating those colors into his race kit for the next 12 months. It didn’t come easy.

He’s been racing as a professional for several years now. He’d come close in the past. He crossed the line first this year.

Of the achievement, Howes said [via the team website, great article overall, too — https://www.efprocycling.com/alex-howes-us-national-road-champion/%5D , “I’ve dreamt of this for so long, and it was way better than I had ever imagined it could be.”

AWESOME.

So what could be a down side for this guy?

More recently, Alex Howes struggled quite a bit during the Leadville 100, a very tough mountain bike race held in his home-state, Colorado, this past weekend. And he’s a Climber, in the road racing vernacular.

His Instagram speaks volumes; but not only to his struggle; more importantly, the attitude one might best embrace to battle through the difficulty.

INSPIRED. What’s the bottom line? KEEP GOING.

We go up, we go down. Sometimes both happen in the same day. Certainly in school, at work, in our chosen hobby, in marriage, in parenting, in life, we have highs and lows. This reality is universal. Even champions have rough days. They battle through. You can too.

Want more Alex Howe? oh man, YES…

On Twitter: @alex_howes

On Instagram:

https://instagram.com/alex_howes?igshid=3ny6frqjavm4

And EF Education First Professional Cycling? Yea baby…

On Twitter: @efprocycling

On Instagram:

https://instagram.com/ef.educationfirst.procycling?igshid=1nw05uzpq22w1

Guest Post: “Be the Light” — YES!

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, lifestyle, mental health, parentingLeave a comment

I met Camille and her husband too last year when one of their son’s played on the soccer team my wife was coaching (and two of our kids played on, too).

Since then we’ve stayed in touch via social media, and we cross paths around town from time to time too.

With that as backdrop, I saw this post from her the other day and immediately thought, “Half Full!” — so I asked her if I could share this little reflection on my blog, and she generously agreed.

ENJOY!, and BE THE LIGHT.

—

Be a light in someone’s life. The world kind of sucks ☹️ right now. Someone told me the other day that they had to Google how to talk to your kids about mass shootings! 😮 This is sadly our reality.

This is also my motivation for SPREADING POSITIVITY in my  world and coaching a group of people who want change, whether it’s change in their mindset, change in their lifestyle, change in their habits, change in their body or change in their relationships with themselves and others.

I coach not because I have extra time in my life. As a working Mama of 3 👦🏻👦🏻👧🏻, I don’t have a lot of time so I make time. I wake up early, maybe skip some tv shows and find those pockets of time. I coach because I, too, need the positivity generated from others.

Life is hard. ☹️ But what choice do we have?🤷🏻‍♀️ Do we just be negative all the time and spend our days wallowing in what we don’t have and what we want different? Results come from action!

Positivity attracts positivity. 😊+☺️ I’ve had a rough week and I relied on my group to get me through it and I relied on myself to focus on my blessings, my children, my marriage, and my health.

Be a light in someone’s life.

“If you want to give light to others YOU have to glow yourself!”

#strongasamother #strongertogether #momoftwoboysandagirl#workingmomsrock #workingmomslife #struggleisreal #morningmeltdown100#transformation #mindsetchange #positivevibesonly #thankful #gratitude#youarestrong #youareabadass #personaldevelopmentquotes #shinebright#sparkle #coachinglife #lovelife #embraceliving #smilemore #runningmom#fivesecondrule #leadbyexample #changeforchange #yougotafriendinme #accountabilitycoach #smilemore

Find more of this goodstuff Camille puts out in the world — her Instagram handle is:   @coachcamillepa

camillecf_coach_halffuller_2019

 

 

 

“Stay Curious”

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, parentingLeave a comment

A simple phrase that came to mind this past week when my wife and I took the kids for one last before-school adventure: a day-trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The weather was nice, the drive was pleasant, the pace relaxed as we strolled down to the aquarium, and wandered from display to display. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is truly a world-class facility with amazing exhibits, a ton of learning opportunities, magnificent colors and collages of images to excite and inspire. It’s a GREAT learning environment.

I kept thinking again and again, how important the lessons are, learning about the massive and diverse world under the oceans’ surface, and how much I want my kids to appreciate and absorb those lessons. It seems urgent to me. But of course it does; I’m an adult; I’m a middle-age dude experiencing these things as a parent. Our kids are just…kids.

mba_jellies

My salvation in these moments? Sparks of inspiration our kids experience now, they’ll carry with them through their lives. At least that’s my hope.

And how do they do that? STAY CURIOUS.

Another good example?

Just the other day I found something that made me curious. It was of all things, the title of a song I’ve heard many times from a band I’ve loved for decades.

“Cygnus X-1”. I love the song. But I don’t know that name refers to.

I looked it up. It’s the name of a black hole in space. “Whoa”, I thought. I had no idea. And that had me thinking about astronomy and physics and the universe. There I was, late at night, wondering.

Cygnus X-1.

STAY CURIOUS.

cygnusconstellation

Slow Start

On By jeff ludlumIn AttitudeLeave a comment

Sometimes it’s a good thing. A slow start. Often that’s how things get going.

In sports, you’ll see athletes of all kinds warming up so when the competition begins, they are closer to capability, able to go full speed from the start.

In life otherwise it’s similar: the earlier we get going into the day, the easier it is to ramp up and perform at the necessary level. At home, at school, at work, pretty much everywhere, this simple reality rings true.

And as much as we focus often on our performance, on our to-do list, on the tasks for the day or the project, sometimes it’s a good idea to focus on the start itself. And sometimes it’s a good idea to just let it unfold. No firm intent beyond letting it be; maybe there’s a goal beyond, maybe not really.

Sometimes, just let the day be what it will be.

Bits and Pieces

On By jeff ludlumIn AttitudeLeave a comment

Lots of life is in bits and pieces.

The good, the satisfaction, the happiness, the chores, the struggles, the successes, the failures.

Take it easy. If success or victory are not immediate, don’t dismay.

Enjoy when it’s good, persevere when it’s tough.

Make the most of the bits and pieces.

Everyday.