A cookie by any other name ...

Currently, the Smitten Kitchen's ginger snap is on heavy rotation in 

my kitchen. Soft and spicy, and oh so yummy. Highly recommend.

... may taste just as sweet, but I feel like an idiot when someone is using another name and I don't know what they're talking about.

I like to bake. I don't know if it's the stirring or creating or smells of something yummy in the oven, but I find baking a great stress reliever (fortunately, baking is my #2 de-stresser and working out is my #1, because eating is a very close #3). 

Plus, people get happy when someone comes along with fresh baked tidbits to share and I like to be around happy people. One of my tricks for producing a tasty treat on short notice is to mix a batch of cookie dough when I have time, roll it into cookie-size balls and freeze them. Then when the need arises, just pop the frozen cookie balls onto a baking sheet, 12 minutes in a 350 oven and voila, you've got cookies. 

My stash of freezer dough has also come in handy for playgroup, too. 

M's Monday playgroup has a shared morning tea. Everyone brings a little something (fruit, crackers, cheese, etc.) and the snacks are served family style to the kids. I've raided my stash a few times when I didn't have anything handy in the pantry to take. Yesterday, out came the ginger snaps.

As the kids were eating their snack, one of the mom's asked, "who brought the bickies?"

I start going through my mental filing cabinet. Bickies, bickies ... need a definition for bickies (note, it could be spelled bikkies, I'm not clear).

Since no one claimed the bickies, the mom started asking people directly. She'd asked two people when the mom I had been talking to said, "Pamela brought them."

Shoot, I missed the connection. American cookies = Australian biscuits, which gets shortened to bickies/bikkies.

I stammer something about not knowing what bickies were. Yes, I brought the cookies. Sorry, I didn't realize that's what you were referring to. Everyone was very polite and understanding, even talking briefly about what American biscuits are, but I still wanted to shrivel up and disappear.

Oy. I've spent the last 24 hours feeling like a dolt. 

I wrote previously about how unnatural, awkward and fake it felt for me to use Australian words, but clearly I need to know them in order to fit in here (and maybe more importantly, for M to fit in here). Time to start studying an Australian into American English primer. 

Or start baking more to ease stress caused by my cringe inducing cultural faux pas.

USPS, yes!

I'm a big fan of the US Postal Service.

No, really, I am.

I think there's something magical about being able to send a card or letter from Alaska to Florida for less than the price of a Snickers bar.

I am also a big fan of the handwritten thank you note. If you've known me for long, worked with me or served on a volunteer committee with me, chances are you've received a thank you note in the mail from me. I believe a mailed note demonstrates putting more time and effort into the thank you than an email thank you. The USPS has been my partner in saying "thank you" for years.

The Australia Post isn't living up to the standards I've come to expect from my general mail delivery provider.

First, they DO NOT pick up outgoing mail from your mailbox. I know, right?! It took me a long time to wrap my head around this one. You have to take your letter to a post office or drop it into a postal box. I mean, the postal employee is already there, delivering your mail, doesn't it seem more efficient to have them pick up your outgoing mail?

Second, no Saturday delivery. You wouldn't think just one day could slow things down so much, but it does. I know the USPS is considering dropping Saturday delivery to meet budget constraints and I think this will be a huge loss.

Third, when we moved from the holiday house to our permanent home, I wasn't allowed to have my mail forwarded. You have to be a citizen with an Australian passport or have permanent legal resident status (and documents to prove it) to even request forwarding. On top of that, you have to pay about $20 for each month you want it forwarded AND it takes about four weeks to process your request.

Fourth, they don't deliver direct mail. Now, you may think that's good, but stay with me on this one, because I still receive junk mail ... lots and lots of junk mail. However, the publishers of the weekly store ads and such pay people to go around and deliver them to each mailbox. These various groups aren't connected or coordinated and I often end up getting "mail" delivered two or three times a day (this is in addition to the Australia Post delivery). 

Fifth, not only am I getting less service, I'm paying more for it. For example, the price of a USPS First Class stamp is .45 compared to .60 in Australia. To send a letter from the US to Australia is $1.05.  To send a letter from Australia to the US is $1.65. And I suppose that's the bottom line difference.  Australia Post appears to be a financially healthy organization by doing less and charging more. The USPS is facing major financial shortfalls and looking at major organization overhauls to stay viable.

Which makes me sad, because I really am and have always been a huge fan of the USPS.

Having a ball

I'm blessed to have several rather spectacular mommies in my life to watch, learn from and (try) to emulate. I've asked questions and gained tools to make mommyhood easier and less scary. Personally, I often still feel quite clueless and hesitate to offer advice to new mommies I encounter.

However, I do have one piece of advice I'd like to pass along: get a yoga ball. 

My trusty blue friend has served me well beginning with pregnancy through to today. To be honest, I don't know how parents manage it without one.

Pregnancy:
From about 28 weeks on, my joints ached ... a lot. Walking and sitting became very painful. I had been using my yoga ball for preggo yoga routine and discovered it was a more comfortable sitting option for my hips. Thus, I rolled it out into the living room area and it became my "chair" of choice.

When we wrote our birth plan, I included the yoga ball as one of the options. I wasn't particularly keen, but figured I'd rather have it available and not use it, than regret not having it. Of course, as is often the way with plans, ours went by the wayside when circumstances required a cesarean performed prior to me going into labor.

Newborn:
We found great success with the "Happiest Baby on the Block" method and M responded perfectly to the motion from bouncing on the yoga ball. We eschewed rockers and gliders, and bounced him to sleep.

Once we hit the six week mark and I could workout again, it was great to have the ball there to use to stretch my back or sneak in a few crunches in my few spare moments.

Baby:
I continued using the ball to bounce M to sleep for several months after we stopped swaddling and shushing. I gradually used it less and less, but kept it nearby for those times when nothing else worked.

The ball became a sort of baby massaging tool. I could place him on top-either on his back or stomach, hold onto his ankles and give a few small rolls. He loved it. 

Toddler:
Even now, when M can't sleep, he'll say "bounce" and he's usually out after two rounds of "Twinkle, twinkle little star". Granted, it's a bit more difficult to hold, balance and bounce a 19-month-old, but I like to think I get a quick core workout in while helping him fall asleep.

Plus, he has a giant blue ball in his room to play with. And what little boy wouldn't love that.

The ball may just work for me and M. I've never read or heard of anyone else using it as we did/do. But, who knows, maybe it's the thing you've been searching for and didn't know you needed. Consider or disregard as you see fit.