Disqus - Latest Comments for mrsalbrecht

Re: How I’m talking to my children about yesterday’s school shooting {words for younger and older children}

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 13:15:27 -0000

https://www.youtube.com/wat... I had a similar conversation with my 5 children. We also talked about loving people who are disturbed and hurting. Tough conversation!

Re: FITBOMB: Making Jerky

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:57:23 -0000

New link, as my blog is now a .NET : http://www.sarahjoyalbrecht...

Re: Meeting

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:41:14 -0000

Chris,

When you are pressed for time, how do you handle breathless people without seeming rude?

SJA

Re: Once You Have a Seat….

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:47:23 -0000

How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher (my reflections here -> http://www.sarahjoyalbrecht... ) is one of my favorite books on the topic of food and eating.

It changed the way I look at food and helped me to examine my heart towards cooking for my family. (Am I trying to impress them or show them my love? ) I loved her thoughts on food after going through the Great Depression. I loved her advice to have so much simple food on the table that people can concentrate on the fellowship and not on being amateur food critiques. :)

Looking forward to hearing about what inspires you!

Re: How To Stay Organized When Life Throws You a Curveball

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:32:13 -0000

Great tried-and-true thoughts.

I would add:

7. Know yourself. Remember that your crisis may challenge you in excruciating ways, but you are still you. Some curveballs may be medical conditions with the side effects of the cure is to make all of your hair fall out. You are still you, hair or not. Remember your values, your faith, and the things that you hold dear. Keep them in focus and remind yourself of them when you feel like giving up. If the crisis is over a decision, revisit the principles behind why you made the decision in the first place, and why you need to see it through to the end. Crises help to shape us not because they're a pain to go through, but because they bring our values into focus and help us to tweak, define, and hold fast to who we are at the core. Let the crisis refine you, not define you.

Re: Kitchen Hack: 7-Minute Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:50:33 -0000

Alas, Judi, it would seem I am only partially correct.

Technically, heating does break /some/ of the crystals, so it could be called tempering, but heat + manipulation of some other kind, such as stirring, is ideal.

Sarah

Re: Kitchen Hack: 7-Minute Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:12:50 -0000

Judi,

This recipe is actually a hack for tempering, as the chocolate is stirred as it goes into molten form, breaking down some of the V crystals in the chocolate.

Tempering is simply a process of breaking down chocolate crystals which help to retain the original shape of chocolate, so that, when cooled, they will re-form in whichever form the confectioner desires.

If you ever go on the Hershey's Chocolate World tour, you'll noticed big metal vats of molten chocolate being stirred with metal blades. This is tempering on a large scale.

Some prefer to use a double-boiler method, but this is mistakenly called "tempering" ... it is merely a way to slowly control the temperature of the chocolate.

The method I write about here will work for small batches; about a pound of chocolate or less.

As for chocolate sticking - I'm assuming you mean for strawberries not covered in a topping (such as banana chips or nuts), which creates a barrier between the fruit and the paper - I suggest two things:

1. Refrigerate the strawberries for a longer period of time prior to dipping, so that they are quite cold. If you have a larger batch, you might consider embedding the bowl of berries into another bowl of ice to keep them cold while you work with them. When the berries are cold, as mentioned in this recipe, the chocolate hardens very quickly; even as you take it out of the chocolate, depending on the temperature of the berries.

If you're using warmer berries, the chocolate WILL break from the berries if you chill them in the fridge after dipping them because the surface chocolate is cooling before the inside of the berry, instead of from the inside out.

2. Use waxed paper instead of parchment paper.

Sarah

Re: Why Being A Perfectionist May Not Be So Perfect

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 14 May 2010 02:30:46 -0000

Two books that have helped with my perfectionism habits:

Be Happy Without Being Perfect: How to Break Free from the Perfection Deception by Alice Domar

and

When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man by Edward Welch

The first book is practical and is aimed towards a female audience. The second gets to the root of perfectionism from a spiritual perspective.

Thanks for great post!
SJA

Re: 7 Caffeine-Free Ways to Increase Alertness

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:30:26 -0000

1) Stepping outside for a moment. Fresh air usually does the trick for me.

2) Splash of cold water to the face. (+ reapply make-up if you're into that sort of thing)

Re: My New Carry-On- Eagle Creek Tarmac 22

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 04:54:00 -0000

Sent this to my husband, the world traveler. If he likes it, I'll buy him one.

Do you have any recommendations for an equally cool laptop bag? :)

PS: Yes, kids do need to listen to their dads... but glad you have yours around playing nearby!

Re: Kitchen Hack: 7-Minute Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 07:04:47 -0000

For those who have made this recipe -- I'm curious to hear how they turned out for you, and even see your pics, especially of your lovely mise en place! :)

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for making these even better -- I always love to improve my skills in the kitchen.

Thanks for reading!

Re: 7 Reasons Women Stay in Abusive Relationships and How To Defeat Each One of Them

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 21:10:46 -0000

Saw this post in a friend's twitter feed and read it over breakfast.

Your last point is SO true! How many women go to their pastors for HELP, risking anger at home, practically have to coerce their husbands to go to counseling, if at all, only to have the pastor NOT follow through or side with the husband without even giving the wife the opportunity to present her case. I don't understand this. It is as if pastors are intimidated by the men in their own church. Do they not have enough faith in what they believe - how the Bible says that women should be treated by husbands - to confront? Pastors have no business preaching about marriage if they are not willing to pull men aside who are on an abusive path.

Re: Wise Money – 5 Tips From Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:14:55 -0000

Bonus for the Wheat Cents! (I wonder if my parents still have my collection of them in the safe?!)

Recently, we've been teaching our children about investing. We bought them the book, "The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens: 8 Steps to Having More Money Than Your Parents Ever Dreamed Of"

Even though the title ends in a preposition, it's still a pretty helpful book and has sparked some great conversations around our dinner table.

We gave our two oldest kids some real money to play with, and it's been fun to watch them starting out -- at ages 7 and 9. (Hehe... yes, they own shares in Mattel and McDonalds )

I'm emailing your article to them. I want to underscore #5 ... which is something that investment books tend to downplay, or, worse, emphasize loopholes and offer tips on how to get away with irresponsibility without getting personally burned.

Thanks!

Re: Do You Have A Morning Ritual?

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:22:14 -0000

Thanks to Mr. Simonds, I've been waking up earlier since the beginning of the year :D

-Wake-up b/t 5&6
-Throw in load of wash
-Boil water for tea, get dressed in mean time
-Stretch/pushups while tea steeps
-Multi-task Breakfast/audiobook or podcast/email
-Write for about an hour
-Hang laundry outside
-Prepare breakfast for kids
-Wake up kids

Re: What this year’s Oscar race can teach us about business…

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:23:57 -0000

Scott,

Love this post.

This can be applied to so many areas of life. The overload of options is overwhelming and can kill productivity, end product, sales... and even the way we play and eat.

Ever been to a restaurant with 10 pages of menu options? It takes forever to order because you get stuck in the details, fretting over whether you should have the marinara or the bolognese sauce. Often, you have to ask the waitstaff for assistance to help you make a decision over the nuances of the menu. It wastes their time and yours.

Tullys, my favorite chain coffee shop in my middle-of-nowhere Japanese town, has a monthly specialty drink. In March, it Mocha Orangere. By rotating their products and limiting choices, they can create hype and anticipation of their next special, showcase their creativity, and keep orders simple. The decorations in the shop change based on the Month's special. Right now, there are posters of the drink, and orange and brown decorations around the shop to create a subliminal message :) (The drink's pretty good, too...)

One of the ways I apply this idea to playtime is that I have storage bins of collections of toys (play food/restaurant, cars + car mats, barbies, dinosaurs... you get the idea) and rotate them each month. I have found that my children as able to focus on the toys in front of them, and actually delight in them and have more imaginative play. Certainly, if they want a box of toys that is not available, it can always be obtained upon request.

In contrast, when my children are in a room with many toy options, everything gets dumped, and they flit aimlessly from one thing to the next and quickly get "bored".

If a company has many options available, simplifying the decision making process can be a good way to still offer the same number of options, but only show the customer what is pertinent and interesting to their needs. This can be done with packaging solutions based on the type of business (solution for food industry, solution for salons, solution for publishers, etc.), or offering module based solutions with questions that help the customer narrow down choices. Each answer would eliminate a set of products. (An example of this can be seen during shopping online... Amazon ---> books --> children's books --> picture books ) Customers never have to see Harry Potter when they're looking for Where the Wild Things Are .

The adagium "Keep it Simple, Stupid" still applies in 2010 ;)

SJA

@mrsalbrecht

Re: I Guess I'm Interested In People

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:56:38 -0000

When talking to people about tough situations in their life, I like to ask ...

"What did you learn from your experience?"
"Did anyone help you? What did they do?"
"What gave you hope when you were at your worst?"
"What thought or event put you back on your feet?"
"What would you share with others who are going through a similar situation?"

Not only do these questions guide the conversation toward the positive, they also help people realize that they can make a difference regardless of their circumstances.

Enjoyed this post, Nate. Thanks :)

Re: Chocolat Brewery for chocoholics and alcoholics

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:39:06 -0000

Meh. I thought it was alright. I enjoyed the novelty, but it's not something I'd order for an everyday beer.

The consistency didn't support the strong flavor.

Fun to try if you like porters and stouts.

My video review is here:

http://bit.ly/aSZPtu

Re: http://blog.rainbowhill.com.au/2010/02/your-guide-to-ultimate-setsubun-party.html

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:53:45 -0000

Great post, Brett! The ladies at the BennyMart have been wearing demon masks these past few weeks. Wondering what the Tsugaruben folks chant? I'm going to ask around this week and find out!

Re: 30 People On Twitter Who Care What You Think

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:34:55 -0000

_Thank you_ Nate. The feeling is mutual! I have been so blessed and inspired by @ItStartsWithUs. Thanks for rising to the occasion and doing what others were only thinking about. It is working, and it's awesome.

Someone asked me for a bio this week, and I was free-writing some random things that might be good to include, like some places I've been published. My Macbook trash was filled with proverbial wads of paper. Nothing stuck.

But, I love the description you wrote here. When I read it, I was warmly reminded that bylines and academic achievements are meaningless compared to raising five kids in Japan.... which is, btw, so much fun! Japan is fascinating!

Thanks for mentioning my love for people. My children taught me to look at the world with wonder, not cynicism. They have taught me how to love others, and not to be so selfish. They were not unplanned interruptions to my career, but the kick in the butt that I needed to care about people, feelings, the human condition and basic needs, and to better understand love. God knew what I needed.

We have a crowded table at our house, but we always find room for whomever stops by on short notice. I hope that my tweets/blog will make people feel at home, as my honored guest.

Thanks again, Nate. This made my week :)

SJA
@mrsalbrecht

PS: If you're reading this and thinking about following, please send me a tweet to introduce yourself. Tell me what you value most in life how I can be of encouragement to you. <3

Re: How Do You Respond To Racist Jokes?

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:27:08 -0000

Races, nationalities, genders and ages can be caricatured. Anything can, really. We joke about the "old lady driving in front of us" and we can all relate - we know she's probably doing 45 in a 65. She could be the sweetest lady in the world, and the joke does not take anything away from that.

Avoid jokes that are especially put-down and unkind. If the punchline is "this particular kind of person is intrinsically _____" than practice self-control, you oaf, and bite your tongue.

Consider your audience. Make sure they know who you are before you make a questionable joke or comment, so that it has context. Don't tell the joke about the bald guy in front of the new guy who happens to be bald. Unless you're very good at reading people, you don't have enough history between you to pull it off.

Be willing to laugh at yourself. If you aren't able to lightheartedly make fun of yourself, you have no business lightheartedly making fun of others. FWIW, I laugh the hardest at Irish jokes and sometimes the posts at http://stuffwhitepeoplelike... make me fall off my seat.

Always be ready to give account for what you said. "Yes, I did say that. I didn't mean for it to offend, please forgive me for offending you. I will try to be more considerate of you in the future." OR, "You know, you're right. Thanks for confronting me about that one. It did cross the line, and I should be more careful." If you can't own up or back down from a joke for someone else's sake, you probably think more highly of yourself than of others and shouldn't talk at all.

If you are kind and loving to everyone you meet, an occasional well-placed non-politically correct joke does not harm.

Re: On Mentorship & Memory

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:21:33 -0000

Someone must be peeling onions nearby... ;,(

"It was as if her memories had been strung together like tiny beads on an 84 year-long necklace only to scatter in gleaming rivulets when the string was cut."

Beautifully said.

Re: Whose Story Are You Telling?

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:19:09 -0000

Re: Whose Story Are You Telling?

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:56:54 -0000

Thanks Seth!

Not everyone's story is easy to tell, even if it's interesteing.

Here are three of my story-telling tips - whether it be about you (directly or indirectly) or someone or something else:

1. Think about possible metaphors. If this doesn't come to you right away, you might consider making a list of things that the person/concept/item reminds you. You can see this a bit in the Pantene ad. The violinist's hair is shining while she's shining while she's playing. You also see the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis. A little more subliminal is the brittle, cracked violin, being made new and whole again.

Questions to ponder:
"What does this remind me of?"
"Are there other situations where myself/my readers might relate to a similar feeling?"
"What senses are stimulated relating to this person/concept/item?" (sense words: fresh, pure, soft, glowing, loud, harmonious)

2. Work those similar metaphoric words into the vocabulary of the article. This paints a word picture that draws the reader in and helps them relate to your layers of points and glues metaphors and underlying concepts together.

3. Use a contrast/compare model : this shows the readers the difference between the person/concept/item and lesser/greater beings. In this commercial, the use of the nemesis, and triumphing over her, illustrated this concept. It gave viewers something to relate to you - and it made viewers feel a sense of triumph over the angry/negative/demeaning person. You also see a comparison between the young violinist and her teacher - both deaf.

Happy storytelling ;)

Re: Check Out This Video While It’s Still On Youtube!

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:59:57 -0000

Heh. You never said lawsuit. I tend to see red over this sort of thing.

Re: Check Out This Video While It’s Still On Youtube!

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:54:54 -0000

Wow. That was the most creative "walk down the aisle" I've ever seen. I loved it!

I hope that Jive Records realizes that it was one of the best free commercials for "Forever," as it shows how the song inspires people proudly break from the traditional norm, dance and enjoy life. It certainly made *me* want to listen to the song again, and I'm not even a Chris Brown fan!

May Jive give a mere warning and send a bottle of champagne to the newlyweds instead of a lawsuit.