Get Fresh - You Can Do it Spaghetti Sauce - Great Taste that Builds Community

It's Lent and I'm still not shopping, so I've gone up to my elbows into another love, cooking.

Spaghetti sauce. Like the lusty moist goodness of North Carolina barbeque, it is one of those foods that lives in a special place of the heart. It is a warm and tender reminder of the comforts of childhood and an excuse for endless fist shaking debates. With good reason too. Done well it can transport us the recesses of our youth, yet it is cheap enough to prepare that serving an army is totally within reason.

Why You Need Lent, Even if You're Not Christian

A lot of folks probably know that Tuesday was Mardi Gras. It's long been adopted as a secular excuse to eat green and purple cake and party like a rock star. Big parades, bead throwing and a little flashing, what's not to love? But what about the morning after? I'm sure for some of the same folks that is the more understated, hangover day, best honored kneeling at a porcelain altar, aspirin on standby. But for the religious minded it is Ash Wednesday, or the start of Lent.

If you're not Catholic or Lutheran or Orthodox or any of the other denominations that hold this tradition you might not know that Lent is a ritualized time of sacrifice. That's pretty straight forward, after a bender like Mardi Gras it should be easy logic to at least give up drinking for a while. But can it be something more? I believe that Lent is a tradition that can teach us some powerful lessons if we are willing to take it on.

Whitney Houston - Who Really Deserves Flag Honors Anyway?

In case you haven't heard, singing legend Whitney Houston passed away on 11 Feb 2012, and she was laid to rest on Sat. the 18th. The outpouring of love an grief has been so great that I almost missed the coverage about one less than overwhelmed dad, John Burri. He was already in mourning for the death of his son Eric Burri, who lost his life in 2005 to an IED while serving in the Middle East.

According to reports, John Burri burned a New Jersey state flag "...to show Gov. Christie how offensive it was," that the flags in his state were lowered to half-staff in honor of the passing of Whitney.

I thought that was a very curious reaction, but it did get me to think. Who do we value, why and how much? To a lesser degree there is also a question letting bygones be bygones. In other words, is it still appropriate to honor someone who has fallen from grace.

What is Success? 5 Toxic Myths

Boy was it disappointing to discover that my phone company was doing me wrong. I hope that folks have found my story informative and helpful. It's the kind of thing that I hate doing, yet corporate personhood aside, I believe that we have a duty to call out bad behavior in business, just like we must act to maintain healthy boundaries with other people. So now I'm gonna grab my cultural warrior coat.

WARNING! AT&T Hidden Charge Phone Scam - Unwanted Tips

It takes a lot to work up my ire, but phone companies have a knack for it. I learned today about a new way that AT&T has discovered to reach into my pocket and loot my wallet and I want to share my tale with everyone. For the last few months one of the household cell phones has been popping up a text that said:

"Lovegenietips Flirting Tips; 3msg/week for $9.99/m T&Cs: lovegenietips.com Msg&data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel. PIN 2QRH

Suspecting it was a phishing scam...

Toe-Curling Flavors #2 - Truffle Butter - Truffle Salt

Dieters, we must unite! We are under attack by our reptilian past. It wants to dine. It wants to bring that spoon to my lips, pry open my jaw and fill my belly with the nearest, stickiest calorie. I have clamped my mouth shut. I have even covered it with my hand...and some tape... and some magic marker saying 'No'. But it's the second week of February, it's snowing and between you and me that toffee bar and pasta is a heck of a lot closer than bathing suit weather. I need help... I must combat the need for sweet!

Whew! Can I peek my eyes now? The craving has passed, but not without

Playful Crows and Animal Consciousness

It's been about a year since I started feeding the crows and it has been amazing to see what other people have observed them doing. So far shared toboggan rides and ball games are still a long way off with my crew, but they are showing signs of wanting to communicate. They watch me put out the food from the safety of the trees, but when I'm late coming out in the morning one will stand on the back rail and give me a squawk.  Then she'll look in through the glass door at me until I get up. It's not a round of hoops but for these parts, where plenty of folks do their best to chase the crows away, I think it's a pretty good start. I'm looking forward to seeing how they are in the spring when they have new chicks to feed.

And it will be a good time for it. With first ever Conference on Animal Consciousness coming up in

What are You Teaching Your Kids About Money?

When I was growing up the only thing that I knew about money was that we didn't have any. Or more specifically, I didn't have any. Other folks did, even a few distant family members, but it was often a source of contention. From a child's vantage point, hidden under the skirts of the dinner table, I quickly came to understand that money could make you more equal when it came to excusing bad behavior, but also secretly reviled, especially if you had the nerve to talk poor-mouth.

As an adult I can now see that it wasn't just me growing up with weird attitudes. Americans have issues with money. We love it, we want it and we hate you if you have it and we don't. But guys...come on...seriously, is this healthy?

Money is a funny thing. We do need it, at least so much as