Judi Window - Week in Review Video Update 12/30/2010

Links, Photos, and Fun:
Christmas with Family and Friends
Our First Snow Storm
Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Facebook posts
The new GSA Banners have arrived (4 in all)
Granite State Ambassador Certification Training
Advanced Social Media Class at Nackey Loeb School of Communicaiton
Farm & Forest Expo
Social Media for Small Business
Guest Blogger for Balsams Grand Resort (My next guest blog on January 7th)
GSA Endowment deposits and THANK YOU letters
The NH Troubadour Project

Week in Review Video Update

Overview Links:

Mom's Birthday - Clay Street Gang

• Peter Shankman
• "As I Embark on Another Crazy Idea" - Window of Opportunity Blog Update
• NH Troubadour
• GSA Visitor Center Manager's Meeting
• Granite State Ambassadors (Board Meeting)
• Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (Board Meeting)
• State of NH Employees Wellness Program
• Mom's Birthday at Jewel & The Beanstalk and The Palace Theatre
• "Advanced Social Media" 6-week/Free Class at Nackey Loeb School of Communication
• "7,000 Miles With No Stop Lights" - GSA Recommendations Blog Update
• "How One NH Business Uses Twitter" - Guest Blog for The Balsams Grand Resort
• "Plymouth NH: Visit Both Our Welcome Centers" - NH Visitor Center News Blog Update
• "Yuletide at the Lakes" - NH Visitor Center News Blog Update

Food... Glorious Food....Hot Sausage and Mustard...

The Big (m)E - Part II

Well the first 1/3 of my Big E journey went pretty well. Load in went smoothly, the management team and our volunteers are busy and the booth looks great (although traffic flow is a bit tight with some of the recent changes we were asked to make). See our photo gallery and/or "Like" us on Facebook.

My breakfast choices have been very easy. As mentioned in my previous post, I brought my out breakfast muffins, nuts, etc. They hold me over until late afternoon, which is when I was done my "morning" manager's duties and could take a break. So off I go into the abyss of The Big E...

The song Food... Glorious Food, from the Musical "Oliver" plays over and over in my head when walking the ground of The Big E! ASIDE: Oliver was the first of many plays my family and I were involved in back in the late 1960's and into the late 70's. The funny thing about being mindful (thinking) about eating, is that I am having a hard time finding food that I want to take pictures of [meaning that I want to eat them, but have chosen a better alternative]. Although I said I wasn't going to talk about the food I did eat, I do want to say my first stop was to my favorite place to eat at The Big E. The Lyons Club BBQ Chicken. They cook the chickens on a huge BBQ grill and serve it up with salad, corn, a roll, and french fries. YUMMY!

The choices I passed along the way included the best fried dough in the world (sorry Hampton Beach NH with Blinks as a close second). That, of course, would be desert. The main meal could have been a steak bomb sub with cheeze-whiz ooooo...cheeze-whiz (I actually don't like it!)

The second day I passed on Chicken Pitas and/or LONG corn dogs. I don't care for the corn on the "dogs" but like regular 'ole hot dogs.

Day three included a 'walk-by' the Firehouse, a Big E breakfast favorite for many! It was the ice cream sign that caught my stomach's eye...

I am now home, taking a couple of day break from the action. I have found that I've eaten more while at home than on the road... Which is disappointing. I'll be heading back soon and will update the 2/3 soon. Until then here is a list of "Food at the Fair". Let me know where you want me to NOT go next!

The Big (m)E

Those of you who know me (and follow me) know each year, in September, my life stops as I know it and I, along with 75 of my closest friends, volunteers, and associates, head down to Springfield Massachusetts to run the New Hampshire Information Booth at The Big E.  Someone recently asked me why I do it. The answer is simple, I love the camaraderie of the event (oh, yeah and they pay me ).

Yes it is tough work preparing for the event. Yes it is tough on the body standing on a cement floor for 12 hours every day for 17 days (although I do come home twice this year!). And yes, it is tough on the psyche to be "on" for 12 hours a day greeting between 50,000 and 150,000 each day! But the hardest part, for me, is the food! The first year I gained 10lbs while I was there. The next year almost as much. Last year I decided not to try and I didn't gain (or loose) one pound. Go figure!



This year I had and idea. I decided not to diet, just to eat "good-for-me" food. Try to eat whole foods and try to eat something raw at each meal (fruit, veggie, nuts, etc.). Seems simple. I've been trying my theory out this past week and I have lost 5.2lbs. I've been eating anything I want with the exception of fast and highly processed foods.

In preparation of leaving next Thursday, I've baked some of my favorites. Apple Spice Bran Muffins and Buckwheat Pancakes in muffin form (I LOVE them as pancakes, never tried making them as muffins before but figured with NH Maple Syrup readily available in the NH Building it will be good no matter what!). I've also packed prunes, raw sunflower seeds, raw cashews, and walnuts. So I'll be set for breakfast each morning.

I NEVER WANT TO
LOOK LIKE THIS AGAIN!

My theory is that if I have to document my Big E eating journey here in my blog, in front of you and the world, it might help keep me in check. Rather than posting the foods I've eaten, I am going to post the foods I DIDN'T eat, but wanted to! I'll post pictures and stories of my adventure. Let me know your thoughts, your ideas, and if you know of any "good-for-me" food stops inside The Big E. If you are visiting, stop by the Information Booth in the New Hampshire Building and say HI!


 Here are some new Big E foods I may be featuring but won't be eating:

• Fried Jelly Beans
• Fried Butter
• Fried PB&J Sandwich
• Fried Cookie Dough Bits

and my last year's favorite: THE CRAZ-E BURGER (only 1,500 calories)
Until then...

The Legend of the Lost Souls

For the last13 years I have spent one day each week all summer with my boys. Years ago, before they became disappeared into teenagers, Eric, Zach and sometimes Evan & Casey spent those days with us. Now I find my oldest grandchild is about to be thirteen, the time when our family celebrates the departure of teenagers with the song, "Nana,na-na, nana,na-na, hey, hey, hey, good-bye"..... allowing them safe passage and no-guilt disappearance from not only family life but from sanity. They usually return at age 21. Most make it back and some do not. Today I am enjoying the first of my last "Grandma Fridays" with my 13 year old.(pic above is from 2003)

Canobie Lake Park is always our first summer stop. Canobie opened in 1902. Today Canobie is one of the most beautiful, small, parks in the country. And speaking of beautiful, today has to be the most beautiful day God ever created. The Yankee Cannonball is our first stop and my 7 year old's first 48" ride at Canobie. Today is monumental. For 3 years he has been wanting to ride the bigger rides but without enough height his attempts have been unsuccesssful - until today! Phew! The Yankee Cannonball is (and has always been) my most favorite rides of all time! And now, his too! We screamed so loud on the way down the first hill that I almost lost my voice. I think his face tells his story without words.

We are quickly hopping from one ride to another and I am being careful not to capture too many "face" pictures of the older guys (my grandson & his friend) as they are camera shy. But I can't help smiling while taking this picture as they walk by the haunted mine. It is a 'haunted' ride which tells the story about how two boys disappeared looking for gold. Isn't every teenager looking for gold? The hard part is letting them find it on their own.

As we continue our quest for the best rides, I lag behind keeping my distance as every good Grandma should. One thing I find very hard not to do, while trying not to be "Grandma", is to be continually working. As a "Granite State Ambassador" I can't help to think about customer service, our New Hampshire image, and how guests see a property whether it is an attraction, hotel, road-side, or airport. I just can't help myself. Canobie is as perfect of an example of Dennis Snow's theory of "Everything Speaks" as I have found outside of Disney. The park is beautiful, clean, and organized. It sounds good, it smells good. The staff is friendly and they work together. I noticed many walking with garbage pick up sticks. Talk about EVERYTHING SPEAKS!

They have plaques with histoical content (which they could even add more of as I know some other stories told to me when visiting with Granite State Ambassadors, that would interest other guests visiting the park. Here is a quick video overview with more details.) They pay homage to New Hampshire's Old Man and utilize the lumber from the grounds to build parts of the park as they expand. The grounds and trees have lots of history and are historic themselves. There are flowers, shade, and benches everywhere. The smells and music flow from theme to theme. At each stop I wonder how they know what I want to hear and smell. From woodsy smells and the sweet food smells to 70's  rock and the cooning of good ole' Frank and his friends. I am happy. I am enjoying myself. The kids are happy. The kids are enjoying themselves. Life is good. 

Each year after our visit I reminisce by looking at old pictures. I wonder if the fun house mirrors of my mind depict the true story of our lives or does it just reflect how I remember it to be?

  How does THEN... become NOW so quickly?

 









I have decided just to enjoy today and let the memories of each day wafted by me like the smells and sounds of a fun day at an amusement park.

Visit my Picasa page for all our pictures from today's visit of Canobie Lake Park 2010. Love and kisses from Grandma Judi enjoying the best ride in the park... the Cheeseburger in Paradise chairs.

In The Blurry Eyes of Spring

Spring is my busiest time of year. Well, fall too with the fun of planning for and being at Big E... but spring is filled with conferences, speaking engagements, trainings, tours, and the kick off of tourism season in New Hampshire. Not that I am complaining, as I always say, it's a hard job...but...someone has to do it.

Over the past week I've attended business meetings in Portland Maine, Meredith and Portsmouth NH. With a quick 3 day Family trip to Washington DC (Our Grandkids got to meet with NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen), The fun never stops and neither do I. I do, however, miss my 3 yoga classes a week, only getting in one, maybe two. Yoga grounds me and allows me the fortitude and capacity to do my job(s) as a Granite State Ambassador, entrepreneur, wife, mother, and grandmother.

As most people who know me know, Granite State Ambassadors is my passion and I am really excited and looking forward to working for a new boss, Gretchen Zeigler (pictured to my left). This will be the first time GSA, Inc. has had a new Board Chair in 14 years. Bill Petersen (one of the organization's founders and a person I respect and LOVE working with) is transitioning from a leadership position to a board position, as well as, transitioning from a University Dean to a Pastor.

In my "side" job, I am loving speaking around the state and New England through my own company 311 Management Services. I've have been speaking a lot on Social Media. I am currently working on a training program for the Inn at East Hill Farm. Sheri St. Laurent and her staff are ramping up for the summer season and have invited me in to give a presentation on how to be an "ambassador" for the Inn. I've invited Whitney Tyson, Granite State Ambassadors Programs Manager, to speak along with me so we can give the 1-2 punch of how they can accomplish this task on and off duty.

So, forgive me if I've been neglegent in writing my blog. I hope to be back soon.
All my best
Judi

Two Almonds, One Small Raisin

Sitting is a circle with others of my kind, listening to our leader Funi. My hands in prayer position I stare down at my naked feet pondering her request.

My legs are getting fatigued in their yogic position. (Why do they call it "easy seated position", it is not that easy.) My mind wanders from its intent as I think about food noticing the pungent smells of turmeric, ginger, sucanant and other spices slip under the closed doors of our program room. I can hear the whispers of people in deep conversation as they pass by. Funi hands us each a tiny plastic cup, the size they give you in restaurants to take ketchup home in. She asks us to carefully lift the lid to look inside. The soft Oms of chanting music is humming in the background setting the mood for this exercise. We all stare into our cups. Simple. Now she asks us to make a choice from its contents. Smell it, feel it in your fingers. Nothing, yet. Now put it in your mouth, don't chew, just feel. It feels weird. I want to chew. Time ticks by, one minute, two minutes, seems like more. Now she instructs us to chew with one request... We must chew 100 chews! Do you know how long that takes? Class is dismissed for the evening.

Mary O, my roommate, and I walk slowly to our third floor room. My springtime green night shirt adorned with colorful fruit lay upon my neat, sparsely appointed bed with one flat pillow and a single white blanket folded at it's end. We rest. Mary reads.

At 5:00pm we dutifully walk to the second floor, cafeteria style, food hall. I show my badge, it says "Judi Window" with a little 5 circled depicting the number of visits to the Center. I carefully choose a fork, knife, plate, and blue bowl. I don't know why, I just always choose a blue bowl. I hesitate when I instinctively choose the non-vegetarian line. I am safe, within my comfort zone. I decide to move to the right, just this once, to see what I can see. My orange sarong scarf brushes the colorful, shatter proof, plates, I feel it in my hand as I quickly capture its remnant. Nervous to make a mistake, my eyes dart back and forth though the choices along what seems to be a quickly moving line of hungry people. I don't know what some of the words mean. Are they the name of the dish or of food? Are they ingredients? My mind feels hurried, I breath a deep breath and stop. It is only food. They are only people. I take my time. I choose to fill my bowl with Quinoa, some kind of beans, kale, a pinch of sunflower seeds, and a scoop of (what looks to be) eggplant with tomato sauce. There. Mary smiles. She knows.

We choose a seat near the door where only a few others have been seated. We talk about the time we came to meditate with Deepak Chopra. We've come a long way in 8 years and 5 visits.

Open Window: A Six Sentence Story for Blog Class

It is 5:07am and in the surreal moments between wake and sleep I feel a bird signing, "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet"; "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet"; "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet". I am suddenly teetering atop a black wire overlooking my son-in-laws running car below, in the driveway. I want to fly down to his car to tell him it is me, but all I can do is sing "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet"; "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet"; "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet". My mind was filled with thought of worms, eggs, bigger birds, falling off the wire, and firemen, along with jumbled thoughts of work, Tweeting, Facebook, and blogs. "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet"; "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet"; "tweet-Chirp, Chirp, chirp-Tweet" the vortex of the morning light sucked me back to my pillow. Ah, it was only a dream tweet.

One Painted Wall; 3 Dingy Walls

Over the course of the past two weeks I have been to the doctors office 5 times and have had multiple tests including blood draws, CAT scans, etc. I went in for a simple problem and left with 3 new problems. Why is it that in business we have to 'solve' problems and in medicine they only 'find' problems?  It reminds me of trying to paint just one wall of my house.... it makes the rest of the walls look old and dingy.


In business painting just one wall doesn't help your customer service image. You can say what you think your customers want to hear (unlike doctors), but the reality is they will only see the 3 dingy walls or the 3 new problems. Take this picture, for example. (Yes, I have an obsession with clean bathrooms, given my background in restaurant and visitor center management.)

Although the management tried to "do" customer service and the bathroom was not that dirty, the door (where the sign was posted) was not reflecting its message. Take time to look at your business and life. See it through the eyes of others. Pay attention to small details. Allow for error, plan for corrections, and recalculate your course.

I am feeling much better, am looking for the small details I may have missed and am continuing a forward path to good health.

10 Minutes A Day

I am in a blogging class at the Nackey Loeb School of Communications. We are doing a 10 minute writting exercise. So I figured I'd write about that. Writing is really hard... for me. Every time I think about what I want to write about I get "writers block". Is there something I can take for that you ask? Well I suppose I should approach that the same way as I approach being overweight. I always wished there was a pill for that. But alas, it involved hard work, whole foods, consistency, and time.

Writing for 10 minutes a day might be the same. Hard work... finding 10 minutes a day. Whole foods... hum, maybe reading other blogs for ideas (recipes) to help learn to cook these new (whole) foods. Finally consistency and time. Write, write, write, write (just wasting time here).

We are not supposed to read over our what we write. Which makes me think about meditation. My friend Mary O and I went to a 3-day retreat with Deepak Chopra who began each day with 45 minutes of meditation (and 15 minutes to prepare). Each day for 1 hour we meditated. He suggested we chant "I Am" to ourselves to keep our focus. He also suggested that we, when other thoughts come into our mind, simply accept them and put them to the side while we meditate. I Am, I Am, I Am (yup, wasting time again). I love to meditate. I don't love to write. But I want to learn to write. So this is day one of the rest of my blogging life. OM.

45 seconds to go... 44 43 ...... 23..... 15 1.... DONE!

They will never find me there!

Welcome to my 2nd attempt at blogging. I do have another blog at http://judiwindow.wordpress.com/ but haven't posted to it since last April. I read back and think, hum... not as bad as I remembered.

I would like to thank all my Facebook friends for helping me to name this blog. I finally decided on "Window of Opportunity" suggested by my brother Jeff. Thanks Jeff!

I am going to begin with a story read to me (us) by my yoga teacher Elizabeth Vlangas at Riverflow Yoga Studio in Hooksett NH. I don't have the author, but will get it and post it when received. The story will be a nice basis for my journey into blogging.... Although I am a good talker, writing isn't my forte. My spelling is poor, my english worse. So let me appolizie up front. But I do have a lot to say.

I believe in coincidence, serendipity, instincts, and taking every opportunity that life has to offer. I also strongly believe in consensus and group thought as a basis for my decisions (hence asking for suggestions to name my blog). So I've picked this story to show that I am in good company. Follow as I trip, fall, and glide through my everyday life. At least until I decide what I really want to write about (or until the end of my blogging class).

"It seems God had just created human beings. Realizing that he had made a terrible mistake, God called a council of the Elders to get some help. When the Elders were gathered, God reported 'I have just created humans and now I don't know what I am going to do". They will always be talking to me and wanting things from me and I won't ever get any rest.' Upon hearing God's dilemma, the Elders made several suggestions telling God he could hide on Mt. Everest, or the moon, or deep in the earth. God responded hopelessly to all of these suggestions saying, 'No, humans are resourceful, eventually they will find me there.' Finally, one Elder walked up to God and whispered something in his ear. Then God shouted in delight, 'That's it! I'll hide inside of each human, they will never find me there!"