...be read and remembered.

"It takes intelligence, even brilliance, to condense and focus information into a clear, simple presentation that will be read and remembered."
- Mary Helen Briscoe (1995)

My Applied GIS professor included this quote on an assignment outline last semester. It struck me as an important concept. I want to be intelligent and brilliant. I often go on and on about things in my head, in conversation, or in correspondences. I don't think that pouring myself out in waves of words is bad, however I think there is value in learning how to distill myself into easily conveyed, to the point expressions. In other words, less tangents. Less back story.

Alphabet Drawers

I found this set of drawers via @LyndsieRoss on Twitter.



Wow! The first thing that popped into my head was, "This would be great for kids!" Look at all the shapes and textures their little hands could explore. Then I thought, "What would you put in that?" which is a question Lost Boy asks me whenever I want to buy a cool box or organizing gadget. I would put things that start with the letter L in the L drawer. Like a lollipop, a lozenge, a lock, a lady (a miniature doll or toy), a lime (for a day or two), a lid and anything else that my kids could find that started with L (and fit in the drawer). What would you put in this set of drawers?

This set of drawers is super expensive: £2700. That is $4429 (I did the conversion on Wolfram|Alpha). Um. Whoa! Maybe someday I'll make my own set (when I have kids) and just stamp or paint the letters on the front or something. How would you do it?

Why you should vote for Homespun Light

One of the very first blogs I started reading was nominated for the June Spotlight at Mormon Mommy Blogs. If you haven't already been reading Emily's blog, Homespun Light, go check it out! Emily is a Mormon Mom with a few young kids and she writes and hosts book reviews for "clean reads." She recently wrote a great post on how to help young children develop language and vocabulary, and she posts fun and uplifting anecdotes about being a mother.

I think she's great. If you agree, hop on over to Mormon Mommy Blogs and vote for Homespun Light in their Spotlight area (right-hand banner, scroll down a bit).

An Avocado from Lost Boy

Lost Boy feels that liking avocados is a serious character flaw.

He married me anyway.

And he brought one home from the grocery store just for me.

I mashed it up and added some diced tomatoes and a bit of salt. We didn't have limon, otherwise I'd have added that too. I brushed some sesame oil (you've gotta try that stuff!) on white corn tortillas with a little salt (but not half as much as the stores put on) and baked them for about 7 minutes (until I couldn't wait any longer to eat them).

So yummy.

Now I am finishing my last bite.

Thank you for the avocado, Lost Boy!