I spit, you spit, we all spit for pomegranate

Many of you may have heard my questioning of the sudden abundance of pomegranates in our society. What the heck is up with all the Pomegranates!?!?! Where did they come from!?! Why does everything suddenly come in "pomegranate"?!?! My inquiry began a couple of summers ago when my favorite lotion from B&BW came out in a "Pomegranate Martini". I realized then that I had no clue what a pomegranate was. I have therefore decided to embark on a quest to uncover the truth about pomegranates and to dedicate a blog post to my investigation on the famous fruit and its rise to stardom.

In searching the internet for information on the pomegranate, I found that I am not alone in my observation of the newness of its popularity. One online source cites that 190 new pomegranate flavors have been introduced in the US since 2005 - to include the Pomegranate Frappuccino from Starbucks. The US company of POM Wonderful fully launched it's campaign in 2003 and has continued to be the top distributer of pomegranates in the US.

I love useless facts so here are a few of the more interesting facts on pomegranates that you may not have known:

• Pomegranates were displayed in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 7:17-20).
• Some even suggest that is was a pomegranate, not an apple, that was consumed in the Garden of Eden.
• Historical evidence also suggests that pomegranates were one of the first five domesticated crops, along with olives, grapes, figs, and dates. The first evidence of them was around 3000 B.C. in Jericho.
• Romeo and Juliet:
  "Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree.
  Believe me, love, it was the nightingale" Act 3 Scene 5
• A pomegranate is found in the coat of arms of Catharine of Aragon, first wife to Henry VIII.
• Pomegranates are known for many symbols: health, fertility, eternal life, and rebirth; with references in mythology, various legends, literature, and works of art.
• (this one is my favorite)
  The pomegranate gave its name to the hand grenade from its shape and size (and the resemblance of a pomegranate's seeds to a grenade's fragments). In many languages (including Belarusian, Spanish, French, Polish, Russian and Hebrew) the words are exactly the same.
• In China, the pomegranate symbolizes abundance, prosperity, and numerous offspring, making it a popular wedding gift. They also opted for covering the floor around the wedding bed with pomegranates instead of the typical rose petals.

And some of its medicinal benefits:

• The antioxidants found in pomegranate juice reduce low-density lipoprotein oxidation and lower blood pressure in hypertensive humans.
• Pomegranate juice has more polyphenol antioxidants than red wine, green tea, blueberry juice, cranberry juice, and orange juice.
• Pomegranate juice may be effective against prostate cancer and osteoarthritis.
• Ancient uses include: treatment of inflammation and aid in digestion, bronchitis, and dysentery.

Though I doubt that my luscious lotion has any medicinal value or makes me immortal or more fertile, I am still appreciative of the influx of pomegrantes in our society. It's a very yummy smelling lotion. So it seems that we Americans were late to jump on the band wagon in figuring out just how cool the pomegranate really is. If all the US ends up making out of the pomegranate craze is a new flavor at Starbucks and yummy lotion for Kelley, then I say the jump on the band wagon was worth the wait... for thousands of years... Now that I know how great the pomegranate really is, maybe my next goal will be to try the pomegranate option wherever possible.

mobius strips of our lives

This was my Daily Dilbert today. Every now and then I get one that really fits the office life in my world. Pretty much anyone who has to work with and rely on others to complete tasks or that has anything remotely complicated in their job can relate to this feeling. There's nothing like getting jazzed and rolling on a project only to have it derailed because you're waiting on a phone call or document in the mail. Unfortunately, not all individuals in our lives understand our lack of completion - in whatever applicable area of life - due to circumstances out of our control. I often feel that life is very much like a Mobius strip - one aspect is influencing another, that's influencing another. Ok, now I feel like I'm talking in a Mobius strip.

Client case study number 257:

"can we see a paper trail of the phone calls you've made regarding our case?" "No. They were phone calls." "How do we know you've been working on our case?" "B/c we were" "We didn't see that" "That's b/c we file at the courthouse" "Could you have updated us?" "We did." "That wasn't the whole truth. We didn't know there were problems with our case." "There weren't" "Then how come our case isn't done." "B/c it's not time yet" "but you haven't done anything yet" "Yes we have" "Why didn't we know? Could you have sent us updates?" We did" "What did you do to fix the problems?" "There weren't any problems. We called to ask questions to move it along in it's proper time" "What time was that?" "Six months" "What were the problems to make it take so long?" "Six months isn't long" "Why was the case in a holding stage and incomplete at the courthouse then?" "Because all cases go there until they are finished" "How come ours isnt' finished then?" "Because it's incomplete" "Then what is the problem" "There is no problem" "Why didn't you tell us you needed more paperwork?" "Because it wasn't paperwork from you" "But why didn't you tell us?" "Because we had it taken care of" "What did you do about it" "We called the courthouse" "Why didn't they call you back, but they called us back and that's when things finally started getting fixed." "I thank you for making that call b/c it got things taken care of for us." "Why did'nt you make the call" "We did" "Do you have a paper trail showing that" "No." "Why not" "Because they were phone calls" "Why didn't our case get done in 2 days?" "Because that's not possible" "Why didn't you let us know there was something wrong" "There wasn't anything wrong" We've been here before... I recognize that tree.

Thanksgiving

I've finally gotten around to posting updates from Thanksgiving, etc.

I finally got a trip planned out west to see my brother and his family for Thanksgiving. I flew out with my parents for about a week. We ate an awesome dinner and enjoyed the leftovers for days after!! My mom, Elisa, and I along with the kiddies were swallowed up by IKEA for a couple of hours. I love IKEA. I always feel inadequate about all of my housewares when I go there.

We went to a family night Christmas celebration for the town of Riverton. It was sooooo cold and I was reminded why I don't want to have 200 children. It snowed one day! Probably the most snow I'll see all winter since it's 70 degrees in Raleigh. It was so great to hang out with my family and play games and chat. Too bad it only happens about once a year... :(

For more pictures and info, see Scotty's blog.

Here a few of my favorite pics from the week: