Restaurant Brings Community, Art, and Great Food to College Town
March 7, 2010 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
I moved to Provo, Utah nearly 20 years ago to go to college at Brigham Young University. At that time, students were hard pressed to find decent restaurants and had to drive to Salt Lake City if they wanted fine cuisine or culture of any sort. It’s amazing what a difference 20 years can make.
Since I first moved to Provo, culture has sprung up everywhere. It abounds in Utah County with many museums, theatre, and yes! even amazing dining choices. One restaurant in particular has taken it upon itself to offer both cuisine and culture.
On Tuesday, March 9, Communal Restaurant will host its inaugural Dinner Club, bringing an idea to downtown Provo that will celebrate both art and food with a fixed four-course menu of Communal’s critically acclaimed food and an exhibit by renowned Utah artist Brian Kershiznik.
Dinner Club will be a monthly tradition at Communal. The purpose and format of March’s Dinner Club is a first for downtown Provo, not just for the style of dining but for blending a local artist’s work into the evening. Patrons will have an opportunity to meet the artist and all of the paintings on exhibit will be for sale and on display at the restaurant for a month after Dinner Club.
I’m not sure what the March menu includes, but after enjoying a long lunch there with these four fabulous gals and trying nearly everything on the menu, I can assure you it’ll be tasty! If they have soup, make sure to ask for a double bowl. Super YUMMILICIOUS!
March’s Dinner Group price is $42 per person, with wine pairing available for an additional $18. Reservations are available at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. To reserve your seat, call 801-373-8000.
Photo borrowed from the lovely Black Eiffel site. Check out this post for more delicious pictures from Communal.Teaching Children to Give—Reindeer Candy Canes as Thank You’s
December 2, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 34 Comments
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is my favorite holiday movie. I love it not only for its whimsical characters and witty rhymes, but also for the lessons it teaches in true Dr. Seuss fashion. The one that stands out to me the most is individual choice.
The Grinch ’s choice was clear: He wanted to do everything in his power to have a miserable holiday season and to ruin it for everyone else, including an innocent dog and the unsuspecting Whos in Whoville. But, in spite of all of his efforts, the Whos chose holiday cheer and togetherness over reacting negatively to their stolen Christmas.
When you are out in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, are you a Grinch? Do you focus on the increased traffic, lack of parking places, long lines, or when the person in front of you takes the last toy on the shelf—the only one Tommy really wanted? Or, do you choose holiday cheer? Do you let drivers merge into traffic, turn up the holiday tunes and sing with your children instead of focusing on the frenzied freeways? Do you notice cashiers and servers and postal workers that greet you with a smile? Those that stand in all sorts of weather to collecting donations?
Teaching children to fall in love with giving during the holidays is not only about choosing holiday cheer, it’s about looking for examples of it and showing gratitude for it. A tradition we started last year to do just that was to give out candy cane thank yous to people during the holiday season. Here’s what we did:
- Made a goal for how many candy canes we’d like to pass out and purchased them.
- Placed stickers on the candy canes that said: “Thank you for spreading holiday cheer!”
- Put them in a bag and carried them with us in the car wherever we went.
- Took a few into each place we visited.
- Took turns handing them out to people who served us, people we felt were examples of spreading holiday cheer, people that looked like they could use a pick-me-up, people who were lonely, and more.
- Squealed in delight when we’d get back in the car and talk about our experiences.
- At the end of the day, recapped together as a family the holiday cheer we witnessed, people’s reactions to the thank yous, and how awesome it was to give out the candy canes.
I think the last step is one of the most important in helping children fall in love with giving. The act of giving is necessary, but feeling excited and good about it stays with you forever and not only that, it is contagious!!!
What will you do this year to spread holiday cheer?
Click here to see the candy cane making process!
Inspiring Mom Recovers From Tragic Plane Crash Through Faith, Family, and Community
October 5, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 4 Comments
Christian Nielson describes his wife’s personality as green, because she’s “mild, lovely, and creative.” Even after only meeting Stephanie once, I would agree!
Stephanie, or Nie Nie, as many refer to her, writes the Nie Nie Dialogues. Her bio reads: “Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson returns from an almost fatal plane crash. Happy to be blogging again from Utah and recovering too. Four happy children and one sweet husband make her life as good as it gets.”
She inspires, she motivates, she shares. And people read. Lots of people! If you haven’t made your way over, grab a box of tissues and stop by, but make sure to start at the beginning because this is one inspiring mama!
August 2008 marked a time of change for Stephanie and Christian when their plane crashed near St. Johns, Arizona and more than 85% of Stephanie’s body was badly burned. After more than 3 months in a coma and now more than a year in recovery, Stephanie shows us how to overcome challenges through faith, family, and community.
“My faith is everything,” Stephanie says when asked what has helped her overcome life’s challenges. “It is my life and my strength. I rely on the amazing power of prayer and being guided by the Holy Ghost. It is really a beautiful thing. It guides me and leads me to understand my children better. I believe that my children are precious spirits of our Heavenly Father and I am preparing them to be good parents and citizens themselves. I couldn’t do that if my faith didn’t play a role.”
Her husband, or her “Mr. Nielson” as she refers to him in her blog, has also been a strength to pull her through. “He took care of me when the accident happened as if I was his child. He became mother and father for almost a year. He has been there to lean on when times get frustrating and tough…and they did and still do. He is my listening ear, my best friend, and most importantly my greatest support in this life.”
When I chatted with Christian, I got a sense of the good friends that he and Stephanie are. He shared with me that at his last job, he used to have his desktop set to his wife’s blog. He said reading her blog was the first thing he did every day before delving into work-related tasks. He joked that he learned so much more about his family that way!
When Stephanie was unable to blog, her sister Courtney took over the writing for her, updating her growing readership regularly on Stephanie’s status and progress. The blogosphere cried together as Stephanie struggled to make it through each day. We were thrilled when Christian was able to finally see her for the first time after the accident, and we banded together to raise money to help offset the medical bills.
“When the accident happened,” Stephanie shared, “So many mothers and women sent me gifts, letters, cards and donations. My favorite was getting handmade crafts that they made for my children or me. They made me smile and cry knowing that other mothers were feeling my pain and using their creative works to help me heal. It was overwhelming and so kind.”
Now, Stephanie and Christian are reunited with their children, living near family in Utah, and are experiencing a lot of “AC” (after crash) firsts. When I visited Stephanie, she excitedly shared that she had just vacuumed the stairs for the first time since the accident. I sat in wonder, thinking how much I typically complain about vacuuming stairs. She commented, “I think the toughest part right now is not being able to help [my kids] tie their shoes, button their shirts, and run around with them. We really take those for granted.” I asked her what her favorite part of being a mom was and she replied: “I think the best part is being needed. I am nothing if I can’t serve them.”
Learn more about Stephanie and her family by reading Nie Nie Dialogues or CusineNie. You can also follow her @nieniedialogues on Twitter. If you’d like to hear her speak in person, be sure and check out her key note at next summer’s Evo Conference for women in social media in Park City, Utah.This Summer’s Last SOS Challenge—Giving the Gift of Cleaning and Organizing!
August 29, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 31 Comments
Does your spring cleaning ever turn into fall cleaning? Or, do you feel that the housework is never done? This week is the last in 14 weeks of Summer of Service challenges and is sponsored by Dyson, because it is all about making this week—starting with today!—squeaky clean for you, your friends and family, and/or your community. Here are 10 ways to do that.
- Make time to clean or organize one area of your house/apartment each day this week no matter how big or small.
- Put the days of the week on a different piece of paper and have your children draw a different day out of a hat. On the assigned day, help your child clean his or her room, teaching the skills needed to do it on their own.
- Go through all the sock drawers in your house, matching up all the pairs and throwing out those without a match.
- Have a family cleaning party. One example is to play songs like “Whistle while you work!” and see who can pick up the most things or get the most accomplished before the song ends.
- Be a clean person by living according to your values. For example, be honest and fair in all of your dealings, be a person of integrity, etc.
- Identify a friend or family who is sick, having a difficult time, or who could use a break. Stop by their house unannounced and do their dishes, empty their garbage, sweep and mop their floor, or clean the guest bathroom. If you know this person well and have access to their house, do it anonymously!
- Take your children to a local park or cemetery and spend 15 minutes picking up the trash.
- Call a local non-profit agency or church and make arrangements to help weed, pick up trash, or clean the facilities. If appropriate, take your children along to help.
- The next time you are at a friends, family members, or in laws for dinner, offer to do all the dishes after the meal.
- Have a laundry folding party as a family and play games as you fold and put away the clothes.
How Will You Give to Others This Week?
- What other ideas do you have for being squeaky clean this week?
- What are things that get in the way of cleaning for yourself, your family and friends, or your community?
- What are ways to overcome these challenges?
- How has being squeaky clean this week made a meaningful difference for you? For others?
Remember to enter this week’s giveaway where 3 lucky winners will get a Dyson vacuum cleaner!
National Volunteer Week—What Will You Do to Make a Difference?
April 19, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
April 19-24 is National Volunteer Week with Earth Day taking place on April 22 and Global Youth Service Days Happening April 24-26. What will you do to make a difference this week? How will you get your kids involved, teaching them the important skills and attributes of service, giving, and charity?
Visit Hands On Network to learn more and to find volunteer opportunities in your community.
Social Media and Group Psychology
January 8, 2009 by jyl johnson pattee · 5 Comments
Social Media Guru TS_Elliott, tweets her top ten list nightly at NetGenDesign.
How can you get the most from a group experience when using social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Youtube, etc.? The norms of social networking sites are somewhat different from the norms of different social situations. Your behavior online should be similar to what is appropriate in the “real world” if you want to build long lasting relationships.
1. Become an active group member. In order to fully appreciate any social networking site, you have to join. You can’t contribute anything without first joining and you wont be able to learn about what each site has to offer without trying it for yourself. Your experience with one group (or site) will help you when trying out another one. In these groups, your willingness to seek input from others and to give feedback to others can start a pattern that will allow you to give quality and value to the groups that you are in. If you start this process with reluctance, then the connections that you make may sense your insecurity and have trouble connecting to you.
2. Join a group with the goal of learning. If you find a way to be successful in a social networking medium, you can share this experience with others that are just starting out. It is true that humans perform better at new tasks when they are given instructions. The great thing about social networking sites is the freedom to use them as you wish. By joining a group and learning how it suits you best and then sharing this knowledge with others makes you a leader to new comers.
3. Commit yourself to a goal. If you join a certain social network, why did you join that one and what do you want to accomplish there. Your goals could be different for each site or the same. These decisions affect everything from your identity to your bio. Figure out your goals before you join and commit to a strategy that will help you achieve your goal. If your goal is to get as many friends to join you as possible, then stick to it. If your goal is to only find people that you know personally, then go for it. You may even be one of those individuals who don’t want to follow anyone else, but feels like everyone wants to know what is going on with you. Make your plan and stick to it.
4. Remember that trust is not something that automatically happens. You have to earn trust from others in social networking just like everywhere else. Don’t expect people to add you as a friend and then automatically answer personal questions or tell you their personal information. This is a fast way to lose friends. In return, do not trust people in an online group like you would in your local church group. Do not give out your personal information without first establishing a rapport and being selective with what you are willing to share. Everything that you publish online is available for public use, even if you think that you have all of your settings made private. Decide for yourself (not based on what others do) what, how much and when you will disclose personal facets of yourself. Higher levels of trust within a group allows members to take more risks which leads to sharing more personal information.
5. Be interactive. Don’t wait for people to notice you. Go out there and introduce yourself, talk about yourself and let others know why you are there. Fill out your profile and bio and add all the information that you want people to automatically know about you. That way they don’t have to ask you what you are about or wait for you to respond. They can decide right away if you have something of value to offer them. This will allow people to be flexible when making their opinions about you from their first impression. Others will not have a basis for knowing you unless you tell them something about yourself. Don’t go to the opposite extreme and overwhelm people with too much information about yourself.
6. Thank others for their contributions to you. If someone offers insight into something that you find interesting, let them know. If someones posting makes your day better, share that with them and others. By appreciating others you are helping yourself and everyone in your group. This is a good way to introduce yourself to people if you have a hard time doing so. Realize that others may not find you while searching through the other thousands of profiles if you do not speak up about issues that are important to you. People like it when others identify with them and this helps them feel closer to you.
7. Listen more than you speak. In a group with many people, there are many thoughts. Understand that your thoughts are not the only ones that matter or the best. If you are joining a group to be part of something, then you have to listen to what is going on in the group. By giving others the gift of your presence you are showing them compassion and understanding.
8. Experiment with new things. Allow yourself to try different things to see how the group responds. If you have some followers or friends and you have a question, don’t give up if no responds. Keep asking in different ways or move on to something else. If you do something that works, then that may be a good thing for you to do again. Share what you are learning and new things that you are trying with your group.
9. Do not impose values. In social networking the boundaries that once existed between cultures, demographics, religions, etc. are gone. Anyone with a computer has access to the websites that they find. It is common for people to have different norms from you and befriend you. If this happens, remember you are not there to coerce people to change or judge them for their personal beliefs. You can expose your beliefs and values if doing so will help you and the other members reach their goals. You should never use social networking sites to pressure others about your beliefs. Be sensitive to culture, sex, race, religious preference, lifestyle, age, disability and knowledge of the social networking environment.
10. Be someone worth following. People want to follow other people that offer something of value. There are different ways to offer value. Here are some examples: Listening, Providing Support, Providing Empathy, Providing Validation, Teaching, Providing Tutorials, Entertainment, Providing Knowledge. If you can’t get followers or keep losing them, ask yourself what you are offering of value.
If you try to use some of these things, you will see greater success in your goals. You may not be comfortable with all of them. That is ok, try one or two and go from there. To get the most out of the time and energy you have invested into building your online social networks, go through each tip and modify your online behavior and you will be more confident in what you are providing to the members of your groups.
