Distracted By Genius

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've been doing this for a few years: 2010 , 2009
The questions I use are found many places, but I found them from Sundry.
I'd love to hear about your years too!

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

Parent a toddler, spend an entire year outside of an office or classroom (well, since I was 3 years old at least). Celebrated my husband's college graduation. Celebrated my daughter's first birthday and my nephew's 7th. Took baby music & swimming lessons.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I worked on all of them. I successfully got back to running- I ran a 5k this December. We still use cloth diapers, but I don't think I can claim 50% usage for the whole year. And I've definitely improved my listening skills, though I imagine that's a long-term kind of thing.
I have new resolutions planned for the coming year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes! This was the year several friends had second children, my best friend's baby was born on Lydia's birthday, some friends had twin boys and some neighbor/friends had their first baby.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?

None! The only other state I've visited this year was California. My travel record is downright pathetic and I am absolutely fine with it. We have big plans for travel with Lydia is a little older, but for now we love it right here.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn't have in 2011?

More patience.

7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

August 13th- Wil's graduation day. May 5th- Lydia's first birthday & my friend's son's birthday.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

While I always wish for more patience, I do have more patience than I thought I did and that and my occasional bursts of parenting creativity feel like huge achievements.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Controlling my temper.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not especially, plenty of little colds, but nothing bad.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My new-to-me laptop. Lydia's Christmas presents.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Wil's. My family's. Those people who paid off the K-Mart layaways for kids across the country.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

The Republican presidential candidate clowns.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage and other general life upkeep.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Lydia. Really getting to know our neighborhood. Finally running a 5k again.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

"Proud to be me", "Walking to the zoo", pretty much all the Signing Time songs...

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Happier/Sadder: probably about as happy, maybe a little happier?
Fatter/Thinner: neither, but that is about to change for the thinner
Richer/Poorer: a little poorer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Sleeping, relaxing & enjoying

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Wasting time on the internet...

20. How did you spend Christmas?

We were home with our family. Santa stopped here and then really went crazy at the grandparents' house! We had raclette for Christmas Eve dinner at our house and spent Christmas Day at the grandparents'.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

All the time.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I finally discovered Parks & Rec in the spring and then we watched Doc Martin this fall.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

What is this? Middle school?

24. What was the best book you read?

Cutting for Stone

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

As a rule, I am not a music discoverer. If it isn't on OPB or Baby Signing Time, it didn't happen musically.

26. What did you want and get?

A healthy, happy, growing toddler, my husband to have his degree in hand, to finish the 5k in a reasonable amount of time, a decent computer.

27. What did you want and not get?

Effortless weight-loss. A butler. More sleep.

28. What was your favorite film of 2011?

Hm, I'm not sure. But I was excited to see two movies in the theater this year- The Help and Bridesmaids (neither of which is in the running for favorite).

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 33 on the 30th. I had a nice day with Lydia & Wil, they sent me off for a massage and Wil & I went to dinner with some of our closest, oldest friends while Lydia had a blast with Grandma & Grandpa.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

A sunnier early summer? More exercise? I'm quite satisfied overall...

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011?

Limping along...

32. What kept you sane?

Yoga, running, nap time.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?

Gay marriage, health care

34. Who did you miss?

Geographically distant friends & family

35. Who was the best new person you met?

I have been so fortunate in 2011 to get to know some fabulous people. The first to come to mind are Liz & Simon and Ashleigh & Lucy- what wonderful additions to my and Lydia's year! We are sad that Ashleigh & Lucy had to move this month!

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Life is sweet & full, fuller of joy and sorrow than we can imagine.
Also, mistakes will be made.

18 Months

2011-11-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

Lydia turned 18 months on November 5. I suppose it is time to start counting her age in half years instead of months (except to other parents of toddlers, as the difference between an 18 month old and a 22 month old can be pretty staggering, but to outsiders they're both about a year and a half).

Her official weight is 27 pounds and her height is 34 inches (I think they got her height wrong, but I haven't attempted my own measurement yet). That means she's grown 14.5 inches and gained over 18 pounds (only 8 ounces in the last three months though) in 18 months. She's still at the top of the growth charts and doing wonderfully all around. She has about 35 words and about 50 signs and more words are popping up every day. She says a few things in two word combinations (Mama! Up!). It is so neat to learn sign language along with her and to see her use sign to get her point across really clearly.

Lydia's been absolutely delightful to hang out with lately. She loves leaf piles and puddles, the local dogs, chickens and, perhaps most of all, cats. She'd be over the moon if we had a neighborhood horse. Reading books continues to be a huge hit, especially lift-the-flap books. (She's also sleeping better these days! Huzzah!)
The long autumn we've had in the Northwest has allowed for lots of crisp, clear days at our neighborhood parks and we have taken full advantage. Music class, story time, parks, playmates and the occasional music performance, trip to the pool or day at OMSI fill our time lately. We continue to feel incredibly lucky to have an awesome group of nearby toddlers, so there's almost always someone at the park or ready to meet us somewhere or come by to play.

We had a fun family trip to California in October, visiting friends and enjoying the warm sunshine. Lydia's a pretty good traveler, though her parents aren't planning any long flights for the next two or three years!

Halloween

2011-11-01T21:22:00.000-07:00

Halloween with a child in the family (and not just a tiny almost-6 month old like last year- though she was a very cute baby bear) is fun on a whole new level for us.
We celebrated by attending two toddler Halloween parties and then went trick or treating with Lydia's cousin Calvin in Grandma & Grandpa's neighborhood.

My sweet little duck

She was very pleased with her reflection in the mirror!

Graduation Day

2011-08-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

On August 13th, 18 years to the month after he started college, my husband got his bachelor's of science degree.
He started college at the College of Santa Fe and his collegiate career took him through several majors at Santa Fe, a year and a half at Reed (as a math major, arguably his most successful college years- no degree, but he did get a wife...) and then off and on at Portland State University for the last decade or so.

He's the first in his family to graduate from college. His hard work and determination have been impressive. He has worked full time for the last decade, all the while taking one class at a time. He's found the time, energy and discipline to write essays and programs and do his studying after a long day of office work. He's managed to be a loving, present, supportive husband and father over the last 15 months while also wrapping up his last 4 classes (he got an A on his capstone project- and on nearly every other class in the last 7 or 8 years!). It has not been easy for him or for us. He has given up a great deal of his time with friends, plenty of sleep, leisure time and made career decisions partly based on his educational goals. We've made joint sacrifices of time and money. He hasn't cut corners. He has worked hard and long and carefully. He didn't opt for a general degree to save himself a year or two, he completed the degree he wanted (though I did talk him out of the film minor). He has more than earned the letters after his name.

Congratulations Wil! Lydia and I are so proud & happy.

14 Months

2011-07-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

Lydia is 14 months old today. She walks & runs, she can climb and dance too.
She says dog, duck, mama, dada and cat. I think she might have said 'car' today.
We've done a little sign language with her and she knows the signs for milk, eat, more, fish, bird, and all done (and, of course, she waves hi & bye-bye).

She's been sleeping much better in the last month or so, which is fantastic. Most days she still takes two naps, but I think she'll probably move to only one nap a day by the end of the summer. It is exciting to watch her grow up! She loves to bring us books to read. Right now her favorite book is called "Sara's Potty". It is a lift-the-flap book and she loves it so much because she gets to shake her head 'No!' when it asks if a zebra (or a giraffe or a sheep) sits on the potty.

We've been spending our days at neighborhood parks, going for walks, visiting friends, hanging out on the deck with bubbles and reading stories. Well, and doing laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning etc... Lydia helps with the laundry and grocery shopping and also enjoys washing her hands every chance she gets.
Wil, on the other hand, is spending his days working and trying to finish up his final project for his degree- graduation is just over a month away! We're excited to have "Dada" finished with school so he can hang around with us more and get a little more sleep :-)
Dada does bath time with Lydia, always with plenty of toys and splashing. They water the garden and our new tree together. They like to go for walks as well, often to the park. Lydia likes to ride on Dada's shoulders and tries to stick her fingers in his ears or steal his hat for a game of peekaboo!

We celebrated the 4th of July at a local park with a little water fountain area. Miss Lydia enjoyed the fun!

One Year

2011-05-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

The last week was a whirlwind. Lydia's grandparents flew up for her birthday and Wil took a few days off work. We celebrated, dined out, went to swimming lessons and had all kinds of family get-togethers. By Sunday night all of us were pretty exhausted! I even celebrated Mother's Day by walking a 5K with Lydia (she opted to ride in the stroller as her walking skillz aren't quite up to 3.1 miles).

Lydia took her first steps on Easter Sunday to much applause. Last week, just in time for her first birthday and grandparent visit she was feeling up to showing off and stringing multiple steps together.
First steps

Two weeks later, she's practically speed-walking.

On her birthday we had a Cinco de Mayo lunch at Cha Cha Cha and then went to the shoe store for her very first official walker-baby shoes. We picked out this adorable pair. We did not pick them as a tribute to Portlandia, but the connection was impossible to miss. We ended her birthday with a multi-generational trip to the park and some birthday cake. I thought for a while that I would make her a no-sugar, organic first birthday cake and while normally she does eat an incredibly healthy diet (and we mostly do too), we ended up giving her the polar opposite- ice cream cake! She had just a little, but she LOVED it (and we did too) (and also, calcium!).

If birthdays aren't the time for treats when does that time come? Right?
Even with all the sugar, she went to bed happily and I spent extra time gazing down at my beautiful, sleeping one-year-old, absolutely amazed at how fast the year had gone by.

A sleeping photo would be ideal here, wouldn't it? I should take some. I don't take them these days because the last thing I want to do after bedtime is wake her up! Oh, but I love that little girl and her wonderful smile.

2011-04-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

I emailed the sender of the apostrophe-catastrophe email. It appears my first email had no effect. Within days the sender sent another email with lots of apostrophe errors. I resorted to sending her a link to Bob the Angry Flower.

I haven't contacted my elementary school about the poorly phrased fund-raising letter. That one is more important as I am significantly more interested in the school's image. However, I also want to take the time to write a good note to them and as yet I have not opted to carve out the time.

On the other hand, I did find the time to make this Best Baked Spinach, which I am looking forward to eating for dinner tonight.
Last week I made these crackers in honor of Passover and because I love dessert. They blew my mind. If you can think of any good reason I should make more of them please let me know, I am looking for excuses.

Also, have you read The Help? I just finished it yesterday and would love to talk about it!

Conundrum

2011-04-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

I recently received two professional pieces of writing, one electronically and one via old-fashioned post. This is not an infrequent occurrence. I often find that my inbox and my mailbox are full (though not always with particularly enticing items). These two pieces of mail caught my attention because they were so bad.

The first was a letter from the board president of my elementary school. It was a development piece. Now, I receive these letters regularly from my previous schools (high school and college primarily) and from various nonprofit organizations to which we have donated in the past. Usually these letters are polite and to the point. This one, however, was brow-beating and rude. Why would anyone think that might be a successful tactic? Is that the image the school wants to project to its alumni base? Also, why haven't they figured out that I do not live with my parents? It's only been 14 years...

The second was an e-newsletter. My problem with it was the blatant misuse of apostrophes. The author of the newsletter is under the impression that apostrophes make something plural. This is one of my special pet peeves. In fact, the cape I mentioned in that post has been realized.
No, I am (unfortunately) not kidding.
My husband designed and sewed an Apostrophe Avenger cape.
For my 30th birthday (every woman's dream, right?).
Yes, we are still married.
I know.
It is a stunning cape. He's really good.
Do you want a cape too?

We all get the occasional piece of poorly worded mail. If you watch TV you probably see lots of terrible marketing all the time. My conundrum is whether or not to take a step to share my displeasure with the authors of these particular examples. In the case of the development piece I am tempted to make contact because I would prefer that my elementary school, a place I have great respect for generally and of which I have happy memories, present itself better. I am much less invested in the business advertising with the newsletter, but it would be an easier correction. Have you corrected anyone's grammar lately?
Watch for a swirling cape as I fight the good fight for grammatical literacy.
(I don't claim to be grammatically perfect, please feel free to correct my grammar and spelling in posts in the most polite and gracious manner possible!)

Meals

2011-04-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

I've always been the one who cooks around here, historically because I enjoy it, currently because my husband works full time and goes to school and I'm home with our daughter. The crock pot has become essential in my ability to make dinner in the last few months. I've learned some really good recipes and shortcuts for it: Butter Chicken, Beef Stroganoff, Chicken With A Jar Of Salsa Dumped In etc... Occasionally, I also manage to make dinner when Lydia is asleep or partially occupied. Back in the day (6 weeks ago?) when she could be contained in the exersaucer, dinner prep was easier (though not as easy as it was when she was in the bouncy seat or Moby wrap!). Now she's constantly on the move and I have to be careful when I open or close the door of the refrigerator so as not to bump into her.
Lydia is also eating more and so I'm considering her skills as a new eater when I plan and prepare dinner.
The last two nights' meals were particularly successful. Yesterday we had spaghetti and Trader Joe's meatballs, peas and salad. This evening after swimming we had pancakes, bacon and watermelon.
What do you and your children like to eat? What are your cooking strategies with little ones under foot?

One place I've found some good inspiration is FoodLush.
And I love Smitten Kitchen. I am making that Baked Spinach this very weekend.

Swimming

2011-03-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

We started a new adventure this week- learning how to change mama and baby into swimsuits and then back out of them in a crowded, damp locker room! Let the fun begin!

Fortunately, we had some help from Grandma and Dada at the two lessons this week, but it is still a bit of a trick to keep everyone appropriately dry and clean and not let anyone put their mouth on a bench etc...
We have a great pool in our neighborhood and the neighborhood is full of babies around Lydia's age. The swim instructor said the class is one of the largest he's taught (it is for 6-18 month olds). It has been nice to get to know the same babies and parents at library story time, the park and now the pool.

2011-03-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

We've been a little busy around here.

Winter has been full of adventures, from travel to the hard work of developing a good immune system to enjoying the rain. Now we're happy to welcome spring, complete with beautiful blossoming trees in our neighborhood park.
Lydia has eight teeth (and is working on a few more). She crawls and cruises and is chatting up a storm lately. She'll be one whole entire year old in just over a month.

Year in Review

2010-12-31T21:57:00.000-08:00

2010 in Review

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?

Had a baby, became a parent, stopped working in an office (I hadn't been out of an office for more than 3 months since college), and so much more.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?  

I kept the most important resolutions from last year! This year my resolutions are to use cloth diapers more than 50% of the time, to get back to running and to listen better.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?  

Yours truly. And all the new friends in our play group.

4. Did anyone close to you die?  

No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?  

Just this one.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

A little more sleep would be nice. More patience is always welcome too. Otherwise, I've got it made.
  
7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

May 5, 2010: Lydia's birthday.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?  
Taking good care of my daughter and my family. On a more vain level, finally figuring out how to make my skin stop freaking the hell out.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Oh, let's not get into that.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Just a couple colds. Oh, and De Quervain's tenosynovitis

11. What was the best thing you bought?

The downstairs changing table? My nursing bras? The glamour never ends!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My friends & family, I am surrounded by some very good people.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?  

Tea Party & their hangers-on. People who want to hurt other people or who do, intentionally & violently.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Savings, baby gear, mortgage/insurance.

15. What did you get really excited about?

Lydia

16. What song will always remind you of 2010?

Old MacDonald Had A Farm and Good Night Irene

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: 

– happier or sadder? happier
– thinner or fatter? I'm a bit thinner, but I still have a ways to go.
– richer or poorer? about the same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?  

Chillaxing

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?  

Worrying about what other people think. Worrying in general.

20. How did you spend Christmas?  

In Louisiana with the in-laws.

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?

Well, duh.

22. What was the best book you read?

I really liked Factory Girls by Leslie Chang, Perfect Soldiers by Terry McDermott was impressively thought-provoking and both Anne Lamott books I read this year were lovely- I have parts of Operating Instructions memorized, I liked Imperfect Birds because it was nice to catch up with the familiar characters. Reading Mary Ann In Autumn by Armistead Maupin made me very, very happy- I didn't know it had been written so when I heard about it, the day after it was published, it was a delightful surprise. The Multnomah County Everybody Reads book was intriguing this year: The Ghost Map.

23. What was your greatest musical discovery? 

I discovered that my poor pitch is pretty irrelevant when it comes to the magic that my voice can do to calm my little girl.

24. What did you want and get?

My amazing, healthy, happy baby girl (I'm sorry, I'm biased I know, but I can't help it)

25. What did you want and not get?

A gelato cake for my birthday.

26. What was your favorite movie watched this year?
Lars and the Real Girl
I really liked Whip It as well.

27. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

My birthday was the second to last day of 2010, I turned 32. We got back from Louisiana just minutes before midnight on the 29th, so we spent my birthday resting up, grocery shopping etc... My parents brought us dinner (coq au vin & quinoa & salad) and we had a delicious cake from New Seasons.

28. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

An exercise regimen? A butler? I'm pretty satisfied overall.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Comfy pants and shirts that I can pull up or down easily. I know, such a cliche. Maybe a fashion concept would have made my year immeasurably more satisfying?

30. What kept you sane?  

Wil, my family & friends, chocolate.

31. What political issue stirred you the most?  

health care reform, immigration, war

32. Who did you miss?  

Far-away friends, our dog Buddy

33. Who was the best new person you met?  

Lydia! We've also met lots of new friends this year from our play group. It's been a great year for meeting new people!

34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.  

Patience is a virtue. I need much less sleep than I thought. Life is much, much too short.

Inspired by Sundry. I'd love to read your thoughts on 2010 or if you're so inspired your very own year in review surveys! I've found myself re-reading my post about 2009 so I plan to keep this annual tradition going.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our girl is growing up!

2010-10-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

Lydia turns 5 months old on Tuesday, October 5!
She has two teeth, weighs in at 19lbs and is over 27 inches tall and she's the sweetest, most adorable human I've ever met (not that I'm biased), though she is still a bit of a night owl.
She can roll over both ways and is working on sitting up.

Guest post by Lydia

2010-09-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Won't you join me in a reading of my favorite book?

Peek-A-Who!

Peek-A-Zoo! Peek-A-Choo-Choo! Peek-A-Lydia!

My goodness, that is one seriously excellent book!

Lydia's Favorites

2010-08-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

Lydia's favorite books are Peek A Who, Busy Chickens and a tie between I Am A Bunny and Squishy Turtle.
Who wouldn't love this bunny?

I am hoping that she'll come to love lots and lots of books. Her father tries to read her poetry whenever she'll put up with it.

She has had a busy 14.5 weeks of life so far. She's done a huge amount of growing (currently our at-home-baby-scale puts her weight just under 18lbs) and made lots of new friends. Today she rolled over for the first time. Right after her bath today when she was unencumbered by a diaper she rolled from her back to her belly and then a little while later she rolled from tummy to back! I wasn't expecting this for a while (her doctor even said that chubby babies roll later), but Wil predicted that it would happen really soon last night.

She loves playing games and listening to us sing. She hates the car seat (most of the time) and doesn't love having her clothes changed. She usually loves baths. So far she's not quite sure how she feels about having her picture taken.

Baby!

2010-05-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Our lovely little Lydia arrived on May 5th. She is wonderful. We are a little tired, but mostly just thrilled to have her with us! She has already outgrown her newborn sized clothing and has already wrapped her grandparents around her little tiny fingers- quite a lot to accomplish in 3 weeks, especially considering she sleeps about 20 hours every day!

Books, Books, Books

2010-02-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

This time of year I usually find myself creating a little escape from the chilly, gray days of Portland by obsessively planning a trip, usually for May or June. Well, as you might imagine, we're not jetting off to Mexico or even the Oregon Coast this May.
Instead, this winter I'm playing an unhealthy amount of Bejeweled on Facebook and reading as much as I can fit in for pleasure between the never-ending reading of college applications (and occasionally entertaining myself by baking something incredible from SmittenKitchen (my household heartily endorses the Cream Biscuits. So. Delicious)).

Anyway, back to the reading. I'm currently reading the Multnomah County Everybody Reads book, The Ghost Map. I've just started it, but I'm enjoying it. The writing is fluid and interweaves public health and urban development history with personal stories that keeps me very engaged. When I checked it out the librarian said she'd heard it was a good idea to not start the book while having a snack and I'm quite certain I agree with her! Maybe not a big glass of water, either. Next on my list is Commencement: A Novel by J. Courtney Sullivan.
While I get many of my ideas about what I'd like to read from friends sitting around the lunch table or from my on-going addiction to NPR, I've been using GoodReads for quite some time now and really enjoy seeing what other people are reading and their opinions on the material. If you're a reader and haven't joined up I'd love to see your book recommendations too!

Auf Wiedersehen 2009

2010-01-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

2009 in Review

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Took hot yoga classes, joined a dragonboating team, visited Mexico, swam in a part of the Pacific ocean that won't freeze your toes off in 2.5 seconds, swam in the Mediterranean Sea, vacationed in Provence, got pregnant, completed half a pregnancy (and still going strong!), provided end of life care to our sweet dog, watched my nephew turn 5

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?  

I kept some of them, but not others. This year my resolutions are simple and yet so complex: stay healthy, have a healthy baby, be happy, take care of my family

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?  

Yes! Several friends had babies this year, a coworker & friend (& boss) had her second child.

4. Did anyone close to you die?  

Our dog, Buddy, died on December 26th.

5. What countries did you visit?  

Mexico, France, The Netherlands (the airport counts, right?)

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

I would like 2010 to be free of health crisis for my family and I hope to have a healthy baby!
  
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

January 20- the inauguration of Barack Obama, October 20- the first time we saw our baby move on an ultrasound

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?  

Having a healthy pregnancy, doing all that yoga this summer, trying new adventures

9. What was your biggest failure?

Succumbing to hopelessness

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

yes- but all has been well since July thank goodness and I haven't run into any fire hydrants in at least a year and a half

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Our trip to France

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My husband's. Barack Obama's. My parents'. My brother's (esp. in the last 4 months).

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?  

Joe Lieberman's, Sarah Palin's, Jon & Kate's, Tiger Woods', Dick Cheney's, Republicans in Congress...

14. Where did most of your money go?

Mortgage, health care, vacations

15. What did you get really excited about?

travel & pregnancy (not at the same time!)

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar from the Juno soundtrack

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: 

– happier or sadder? happier
– thinner or fatter? fatter, for sure
– richer or poorer? about the same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?  

I wish I'd found my way to intensive yoga sooner, I wish I'd been a little kinder to myself and a little nicer to everyone else.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?  

Feeling defeated and/or anxious

20. How did you spend Christmas?  

With my parents and husband, opening presents and eating a delicious brunch!

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

Oh gosh. Probably not in the way this question is being asked, but yes.

22. What was your favorite TV program?  

We seemed to stop watching TV this year, but I still enjoy The Office sometimes and I've come to appreciate The Colbert Report more and more (have you seen the rap battle yet?). Last winter we got into the Dog Whisperer for a little while (i.e. for the two days we had cable at a hotel).

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?  

Not really.

24. What was the best book you read?

My Life in France by Julia Child, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? 

This just isn't a good question for me, I don't generally discover music.

26. What did you want and get?

a healthy pregnancy (so far! keeping fingers crossed!)

27. What did you want and not get?

A massive savings account, a way of curing doggie bone cancer

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

My birthday was the second to last day of 2009, I turned 31. My husband made a delicious dinner for me, I had a prenatal massage and we had dessert at Papa Haydn!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Laser eyes.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

See the dress & bag in this picture? That mostly sums it up. Add a black cardigan sweater to the dress and you have my work fashion concept. Lately, however, my "fashion concept" seems to consist of yoga pants and long tank tops.

32. What kept you sane?  

Yoga. My husband. My mom & dad. Dr. Lynn. Reading days.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I'm a pretty big fan of our current president, though I wouldn't describe it as 'fancying', perhaps more like 'admiring for integrity & hope'...

34. What political issue stirred you the most?  

health care & the lack thereof, the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan & the prisoners at Guantanamo

35. Who did you miss?  

My grandmother, she died in 1997, but I really missed her this year.

36. Who was the best new person you met?  

Tough question. I don't have a good answer.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.  

In the 8th grade my piano teacher wrote an Emerson quote in my yearbook... I finally understand exactly what she meant. "In the mud & scum of things, there always, something sings".

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.  

Let's leave it with the above quote.

Inspired by Sundry. I'd love to read your thoughts on 2009 or if you're so inspired your very own year in review surveys!

2009-12-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

About six and a half years ago, back at our old house, I was in the office on a sunny Sunday afternoon in July. Our dog, Matilda, was suddenly fascinated by something on the front porch and launched into some serious barking. Since one never knows when Matilda might attempt to launch herself through a screen or out a window when she's excited I knew I needed to investigate. I peeked out the door and there on our porch was a large black dog!

He didn't have a collar and looked a bit skinny and dusty, so we put him in the backyard and tried to find the family that had lost him. We put posters up around the neighborhood and took him to the vet to see if he had a microchip, we paraded him about on walks hoping that someone would see him and claim him. And then, after a few days, we started hoping that no one would claim him and he could be ours. Our attempts to find his family failed and that's how Buddy moved in, it turns out he was much better at finding his family than we were.

Buddy was just what we all needed. He helped Matilda eat more regularly, she's a confirmed pack dog from her Husky heritage; and he was an avid and quick learner with commands and leash etiquette (well, except how he always liked to grab his leash and carry it to the door for you). He is a dog who has always loved food, sometimes our food- he's famously stolen and eaten an entire birthday cake and most of a dozen bagels. He always comes out none the worse for wear. The vet said he was probably a combination of basset and lab, perhaps with a little mastiff thrown in and the result was a terrifically sweet dog with basset front legs and lab back legs whose ideal weight is around 95 pounds (he's usually closer to 105 if he has his druthers).

As adorable as those legs are, they've always given him a bit of trouble, it was easy for him to strain his back knees with too much playing in the park or an extra long walk. More recently, he developed a serious case of arthritis- aging is no fun for dogs or humans. In October one of his legs was once again giving him trouble, but this time even after doggie aspirin and plenty of rest it just wasn't getting better. A trip to see our wonderful vets gave us a diagnosis we weren't expecting at all: bone cancer. Buddy wasn't a good candidate for current treatments (amputation & chemo), so we've opted to help him stay as comfortable as possible as long as possible. For a while the pain meds were able to give him his old life back, but in the last month he's had to have more & more medicine and has become unable to use his leg at all. He's hanging in there, but we know his time is short. He's going to leave behind a giant Buddy-shaped hole in our hearts.

Thanksgiving Story

2009-11-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

If you're curious about how our Thanksgiving celebrations got started, I've written up a narrative history and posted it over at TurkeyTracker, you'll find the story of our Thanksgiving on the blog.

This is how much fun it is!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-20T11:24:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is a BIG DEAL around these parts. A big enough deal to make me come out of my three month blog hiatus to tell you a little bit about it. You may remember from last year that our Thanksgiving is sort of famous. In fact, this year it is getting more famous! Last night, my friend Michael presented about 'Thanksgiving 2.0' at Ignite Portland. He did a great job, but you can see for yourself at Ustream, Turkey Tracker begins at minute 38.
Stay tuned for lots of Thanksgiving fun and delicious food in the coming days!

France

2009-08-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic trip to France, visiting Nice, Avignon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Antibes, with side trips to Mt. Ventoux and the Pont du Gard.

Here's the town where we stayed the longest, Chateauneuf du Pape

The lavender fields were a highlight

(photos courtesy of my dear friend)

We had a wonderful time in Antibes on the Mediterranean too, I really enjoyed swimming in the sea and checking out the huge aloe plants and the Picasso museum.

The food wasn't bad either, this is lavender and coffee ice cream on a hot afternoon in Sault.

You'll find all sorts of photos on our flickr pool. Many, many thanks to our friends for inviting us on this adventure, not to mention their patience as we agonized over our decision to go... I think we made the right choice :-)

Pool Party

2009-07-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

On a very hot and sticky Sunday afternoon last summer I called our local pool to find out their hours. I was told that all Portland area pools were closed to the public after 5pm on Sundays for private events. In the Willamette Valley late afternoon and early evening is often the hottest part of a summer day, the part of the day least likely to have fog or breeze in high summer. When I put down the phone I decided right then and there that what I needed was a private event at the pool on a hot summer afternoon.

Last August we successfully rented a pool and invited 25 friends to join us. A delightful afternoon was had by all! It was a beautiful summer day and we squealed down the slide, played in-water basketball and capped it all off with a great potluck picnic in the park. We had so much fun it was decided that it had to be an annual event!

Back in early June I made our pool reservation... for today. For those of you not in the Northwest today you might think it's a great day for a pool party. You would be very, very wrong. Right now the weather sucks and it is actually supposed to get slightly worse (though a bit warmer) with actual thunder predicted for this afternoon. We almost never have thunderstorms in Oregon! Of course though, the Parks & Rec rules don't allow for changes or cancellations within 7 days of the event, so my heartiest friends and I will be enjoying a lovely evening at the pool, rain or shine...

16 days til France...

2009-07-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

It really is who you know.
Due to lucky connections and the kindness of friends, my husband and I have been invited on two fabulous vacations this summer. In early May we spent a week in Mexico with my parents (thanks to my dad's connection to a generous person with excellent taste in vacation homes) and in 16 days we will join our dear, dear friends for 10 days in the south of France (thanks to their willingness to hang out with us and to win charity auctions). Obviously, if it were up to us alone we would not be nearly so well-traveled.

So far, my favorite part of our trip to France is all the planning I get to do...
My traveling companions have been kind enough to allow me to book the car rental and train tickets, in addition to arranging for two of our hotels. I've found Orbitz to be quite helpful, but even more so TripAdvisor and Rick Steves with their personal recommendations and Rick Steves' years of experience with travel.

The internet has made planning overseas travel so much easier in the last decade. Before I went to Germany as an exchange student in 1995 I had no way of looking directly at the street where my host family lived or checking out the nearby restaurants. It removes some of the mystery, which might be sad, but for me it just makes it more exciting and real. I've already used Google's Street View to trace the route from the train station in Nice to our hotel!

My latest obsession, now that everything's booked and the logistics are settled, is packing. I haven't started yet, of course, but I have started organizing. I know I'm not the only person out there who adores packing, but what a surprise it was when a friend of mine introduced me to PackWhiz. Not only has it been a great way to organize and plan, but it is very flexible as well. PackWhiz will generate a list for you or allow you to start a list from scratch and either way you can then go in and edit, add or delete items from the list. You can also share, email and print the lists. I haven't put it to the ultimate test of business travel yet, but I intend to use it this fall to help me finally go on a trip without forgetting one crucial item. Perhaps not traditionally a 'fun' activity, but for us geeks it's a total blast. As great as PackWhiz is, it still doesn't replace tried & true advice from veteran travelers like Kristin Luna.

Testing, testing

2009-06-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Neurotic dog pawing at my leg this morning, just like yesterday. Why is she so clingy?
She likes to squeeze between my knees and my desk when I'm at the computer, or lay right by my feet in the kitchen, perfectly poised to cause maximum required leaping between the stove and the counter. Some days she's totally normal and happily barks at nothing and strides around like the living room is her kingdom.
Now all I need is a video of her head-shaking, crazy tail-chasing dance...

Oops

2009-05-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

So my memory seems to have completely blocked out any note of a blog. I suppose I should just accept that I'm not a regular poster and no one has the expectation that they'll get regular postings, eh?

Spring Awakening

2009-03-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hey! Remember me? Oh... you don't? I guess I'm not surprised. Well, moving right along.

I have a book post brewing and maybe some vacation planning to share, but first, the excitement of the week!

Last night I went to see Dooce and I did not go alone! Two of my friends without blogs attended, as did the ever-gracious Blythe (who has officially been recognized on the street due to her internet presence and is therefore a bona fide bloglebrity or whatever one calls such a famous person). We had a fun evening people-watching, fawning over a new baby and even enjoyed delightful post-reading snacks and conversation (despite my poor social skills and tendency to be the interrupting cow). I even got to see Rhiannon from a distance!

Getting to see Dooce was really exciting. I'm not usually much of a fangirl type, but I've been reading her blog since 2005 and dooce was really a gateway blog for me, the opening to the blogosphere. Heather B. Armstrong was in town promoting her new book It Sucked and then I Cried. While she's certainly had her share of hatemail, her community base is mostly really supportive and I loved seeing that in action last night. I'm sure doing a reading is quite nerve-wracking, but the audience at Powell's looked at Heather like she was their favorite niece reporting on her adventures- we hung on her words, laughed with her, nodded encouragement and asked questions that were sympathetic and interesting (for the most part- there were some slightly overenthusiastic people too). I hope she enjoyed the evening, though I imagine the crowd exhausted her eventually. According to the Powell's reading coordinator there had never been a line for an autograph so long at any of the readings the coordinator had attended!

In summary, I felt like I was leaving the house to go to a big-name concert (I even wore fancy earrings) and it turned out to be just as fun, but in a much more sedate way and the fans didn't actually do very much screaming.

Happy Birthday Oregon!

2009-02-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

Today the state of Oregon turns 150 years old! This is certainly a state worth celebrating and since it also happens to be Valentine's Day the husband and I plan to do it up in grand style. While we won't be going to any of the official balls we will soak in the atmosphere of festivity in Northwest Portland, take a long walk in Southeast Portland and enjoy a dinner of local food at a delightful (I hope) Portland restaurant.

Oh, and it turns out that 30 is pretty damn good after all.

Recovering

2008-12-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

Your trusty blogger is currently recovering from surgery, which is no excuse at all for the past few weeks of non-posting, but a great excuse for yesterday. She is doing fairly well and happy to share that she's sitting up and walking on her own this morning. It was day surgery so she got home at 9:30 last night and was delighted to hear from her doctor in the recovery room that all went well and she's in great shape after he fixed just one thing. She's a little embarrassed that when he told her this she said "Thanks John!", instead of calling him doctor... You know, that anesthesia is powerful stuff and he WAS two hours late to surgery.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Merry Christmas!

My Purpose

2008-12-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

A flash of brilliance has hit me!
As I was pondering the mission of this blog (okay, so I was moaning to the Husband that it was lame and pointless and I needed to write something decent), it came to me. I can use this blog to share with the world (or the four of you readers at least!) my passionate advocacy for the proper use of the apostrophe.

I know, you're impressed.
Well, here's where I always like to start my lessons on the subject- with Bob the Angry Flower.

Though I know I am very, very far from reaching the heights of genius to be found here and here (do not get me started on restaurant menus and their misuse of both apostrophes and quotation marks on the same word ("Best Taco's"), my head might explode), I hope to use my little corner of the internet to reveal my alternate identity as the Caped Avenger of the Apostrophe.
In case you need to brush up on your apostrophe rules, allow me to suggest:
Purdue's Tutorial
WikiPedia
The Brits have trouble with this too

Oops, it looks like someone beat me to this idea: Apostrophe Abuse. Well, at least I can join the Apostrophe Protection Society. Besides, once I get my cape I'll be busily avenging apostrophe mistreatment worldwide.

Capes for Grammar Superheroes appear to be difficult to come by...

Time to Celebrate

2008-12-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

The dress I've been excited about since last February is finally mine!
I thought this dress would be a perfect bridesmaids' dress in some of my wedding adventures last summer (and the bride agreed), but for all kinds of good reasons it didn't work out. My cousin, who has excellent taste, actually wore this dress in aqua to her senior prom. It's a lovely dress and now that I have my very own I can say that it is nearly universally flattering too. My cousin is tall and skinny and I am not and we both look pretty good in it. I ended up buying it in a color I don't usually wear, but I've been so excited for it and JCrew had it on sale for a fantastic price that I could not resist. I got it for about 20% of the original price and I'm thrilled with it so far (even though all I have done is tried it on over the tights and shoes I wore to work today).
It is this: only in BRIGHT YELLOW.

Also worthy of celebration- DistractedByGenius is now its very own domain! So, point your links to www.distractedbygenius.com at your convenience. Many thanks to my lovely husband for handling much of the actual work involved with that process (and for helping me figure out the tag for yellow text).

December! Already?

2008-12-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have a cold :-(
But it isn't too bad!
I beat it back quickly with lots of Airborne, vitamin C, tea and a little good, old-fashioned rest. And for once it seems to have worked.

In some of my recent browsing of the blogs I've stumbled upon I found Camels and Chocolate. As you'll see if you read about her surfing escapade, some people out there are having more adventures than I am currently. I would like to change that.
What shall I try next? I ran a 5k. I am keeping up with the running since then too! I need a new challenge, something fun and engaging that is not necessarily aimed only at self-improvement. At this time of year I read a lot of essays and letters of recommendations about 'moving out of one's comfort zone', so many in fact, that it sounds like a cliché so elderly it is mere minutes from retirement. However, that is exactly the sort of adventure in which I am interested.
Surfing is out because I live in Oregon in the winter and I'd like to be able to have my adventures locally and without too much death involved. Maybe I should take up snowboarding? Have you got any ideas?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

I'm now at home making pies, but we got started early this morning with the turkey over at our friends' house (we alternate hosting duties each year).
This morning we found out that our Thanksgiving celebration was featured in the New York Times blog! You can learn about us at Turkey Tracker and read what people are saying about us at The NY Times

This is the 10th year that we've celebrated Thanksgiving in this manner. The composition of the group has changed a bit over time, but the idea has remained the same: good friends, good food and a chance to slow down enough to appreciate it all.
I'm so thankful today for the people who have made Portland home for me and celebrated so many wonderful Thanksgivings together.

Pie

2008-11-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

A while back I mentioned something about pie, didn't I?
Finally I've gotten around to uploading the pictures so I can tell you a little more without having to ask you to just imagine everything.
Blythe was kind enough to point me to Smitten Kitchen (my baking & photography PALE in comparison. PALE) who does lovely things in the kitchen and has some tips on making the perfect pie crust. I followed her suggestions here because I'm always on the look out for a new pie crust recipe and frankly I've been a little disappointed with Joy of Cooking's.

So I got to work

I've always made pie crust by hand. I don't trust food processors (not even my beloved KitchenAid) with pastry dough.

While Smitten Kitchen has changed her mind about the vodka now I thought the suggestion was brilliant as one of my big issues with pie dough is messing around with teeny teaspoons of water that don't do the job I want them to do. The vodka was a great help in bringing the dough together without making it sticky.

I didn't one my friends to starve before we got to the pumpkin and apple pie so I made soup too.

It was quite tasty, I must say, lentil with the last of the fresh garden tomatoes and some Yukon gold potatoes.

After rolling out the crust and mixing up the filling (basic pumpkin pie filling, I'm making a fancier one for Thanksgiving) I popped it into the oven-
The oven light makes it look almost like a haunted pie, don't you think?

My apologies for not getting the perfect shot with whipped cream and all, but we were busy making tasting notes by then.

Oh, and if you were wondering, the apple pie was also pretty good, but the non-vegan crust won out in the end.

2008-11-13T22:04:00.000-08:00

How glad am I that I did not attempt the challenge of NaPoBloMo?
The season in which I disappear into my house and sit, for hours at a time, at my dining table is upon us. Just me, my highlighters, a pen, a calculator, a reference folder and stacks of applications, day after day, communing in my office, at my dining table or in a cafe. Oddly enough, this often impacts my social life.

Oh yes, we have a new president. Finally. President Obama. I am so grateful, so energized, so relieved to have an individual I respect taking the helm of the United States.

This weekend- pie!
I'm making two kinds of pie and inviting friends over to taste it so I can make sure I have my crust recipe just right before Thanksgiving. I often leave the crust making til the last minute and forget to focus on it more fully. Pies are my Thanksgiving territory and I am very possessive of my domain so I want to perfect my monopoly further by making my pies irreplaceable. I plan to document the pie process for the blogosphere. Unless, of course, I am distracted by genius and decide to paint my bedroom instead.

Recipe

2008-10-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I made Sweet Potato Risotto from a recipe I found in Real Simple magazine.
Sweet Potato Risotto
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 small sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the sweet potatoes and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.

Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until absorbed.

Measure 3 1/2 cups of water. Add 3/4 cup at a time and cook, stirring occasionally and waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. It should take 25 to 30 minutes for all the water to be absorbed.

Stir in the Parmesan and oregano.

I discovered that risotto is really easy to make and is a tasty winter meal about a year and a half ago. It has an unfair reputation of being extremely labor intensive, but it's really quite straightforward with a little bit of practice. My favorite risottos are very simple with just a few additions like artichoke hearts or even just a handful of fresh chopped tomato. This recipe was a great fall option. I made a few changes, I didn't have any white wine on hand -shocking, I know- so I used chicken broth. I must have used a different variety of sweet potato in this recipe as well, because the picture in the magazine showed much brighter chunks of sweet potato. Apparently, there is quite a lot of confusion when it comes to sweet potatoes. I ended up skipping the oregano too, but the flavor was good without it. The recipe made 5 generous servings instead of 4 and my lunchtime companions were jealous when I brought the leftovers this week!

In which I babble

2008-10-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Maybe we'll have some more giant-ego-fun later, I have all sorts of odd bits of trivia I can share. Don't hold your breath or anything, but I do have an awesome party trick involving my toes...

What have you been reading lately?
On my list recently:
Real Simple & Self magazines (what?? I've been in AIRPLANES)
Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks
Bagdad Without A Map by Tony Horwitz (Geraldine's husband)
Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Wedding Season by Darcy Cosper
Toujours Provence by Peter Mayle
Oh wait, maybe I should just update my damn Goodreads account and link you over there... For some reason I can't remember to use that site for more than a few days in a row.

I can recommend all of the above with the exception of Wedding Season. I was hoping for a light-hearted look at attending too many weddings in a row (you have shoes in how many colors?), but got something that was semi-deep and happy-tragic. Adult relationships written for teenagers, perhaps?
The books I read by Geraldine Brooks and Tony Horwitz were absolutely delightful. I felt like I gained insight into the Middle East and Australia from their adventures and had a little bit of my travel bug tamed by reading about their experiences. Nine Parts of Desire, which I read earlier this summer, was really outstanding and prompted me to add the others (by Horwitz and Brooks) and the book on Central Asian Jihad to my reading list.
I really appreciated the complex simplicity (or maybe simple complication?) of Bel Canto. The writing was a nice treat as well. As the winter months close in around me in the coming weeks I'll have less and less time to read. I just put three books on hold at the library and my guess is, aside from some Christmas week reading, those will be the last books I read before April.

Mourning My Vanishing Youth

2008-10-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

Oh my lord- people- in 2.25 months I will be turning 30. THIRTY! Remember, never trust anyone over 30... Does that still hold true? I'm pretty sure it doesn't. I mean, the people who said that are closing in on 70 now and while it is probably wise not to trust Bob Dylan (he never really makes clear statements anyway), I'm thinking I feel pretty good about trusting my dad. Also, many of my best friends are over 30 and again, they appear to be generally trustworthy. Perhaps that is just a symptom of my rapidly advancing age?

Any good tips on the best way to celebrate?
I started celebrating by running a 5k two weeks ago. It seemed like a good accomplishment to have gotten out of the way by age 30. It feels like I should maybe try to achieve a little bit more before the big day (you know, like decide what I'm going to be when I grow up), but I'm not sure where to start. I am fairly certain that the fact that I have three full-blown white hairs now is not a very good place to start.

Things about me

2008-10-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

You know how other bloggers tell you about themselves in all kinds of unique ways?
I'm totally going to copy one of those ways now!

1. My favorite bagel as a child was plain, topped with cream cheese, olives & walnuts.
2. One of the many delightful nicknames I had as a child from my parents was 'Program Director'.
3. This is a nickname my family would still use if they remembered it, I think.
4. I have lived in four states.
5. I have lived in two countries.
6. The longest I have ever gone without speaking with my mom is one month.
7. Usually, we talk every few days.
8. This year I have completed nine round-trip flights.
9. Since January I have been in 15 states.
10. I have silly putty at my desk.
11. Today I have had six cups of tea.
12. I normally do not drink more than one cup.
13. This year is likely to be my last with frequent flier status.
14. You can't imagine how sad that will be for me.
15. Am total geek.
16. I have been a regular NPR listener since the age of 11.
17. In the town I grew up in we didn't have to dial anything but the last four digits of phone numbers to call other people in the town.
18. Now I live in a city where I have to dial all 10 digits all the time.
19. I might be slightly afraid of cows.
20. Right now I am wearing grey tights.
21. Yesterday I talked to a woman at the airport who reminded me of my grandmother.
22. Maybe I'm doing this wrong.
23. I had a piano lesson every Saturday from 5th-8th grade.
24. Almost every week when we got to my piano teacher's house I would get nervous and ask 'Is this the right day?'
25. I re-read my favorite books.
26. I love the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin.
27. On my desk is a Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me calendar.
28. Going to that live performance was great.
29. I am 29.
30. This process is making me feel like an ego-maniac.

That seems like enough for now, don't you think?

The Academic Year, you say?

2008-10-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

Right... from September to May the time I have to enjoy the full offerings of the internet is somewhat limited due to my occupation. I've had more than enough inspiration for blog posts this fall as I visited the far corners of the country, but I haven't made the time.

There are other reasons I haven't written too though and those are probably more and less interesting. I'm having what you might call an 'off' year. Things haven't been going my way in many areas and while I'm generally fine, I will be very happy to see the calendar flip to 2009. I'll be hoping that the upsides are a little more evident in 2009. I spend a good amount of energy looking for bright sides. Despite my expert cynicism and penchant for sarcasm, I'm an optimist to the core and that's evident even more when life isn't looking as bright and shiny as I might like it. It's also evident that I'm rather spoiled. None of the mishaps of the year are actually fatal. Also, I think the fact that I got up this morning at 5:45, trekked to the Oakland airport, flew to Portland and went to work may be slightly affecting my ability to look at the bright side right now.
Therefore, I'm off to eat some Chinese take-out, see my husband and go to bed early.

Country First

2008-09-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

A new fresh scent from the Republican Convention... or at least that's what The Daily Show's very own Senior Black Correspondent- Larry Wilmore- tells us from the convention floor at the whitest convention in 40 years. I can imagine many uses for this delightful household scent. Imagine for yourselves the delight you'll feel when Country First wafts up at you in your bathroom. You'll know then and there that the USA is with you, from the bathroom tissue to the toothbrush holder. But don't you dare try to run away from it- Country First will hunt you down and find you in your cave, it's a scent with power.

I was going to make some funny jokes about how Bristol Palin must be quite the wanna-be of Juno MacGuff (geez, Bristol, just because she too was named after something in Alaska didn't mean you had to get yourself knocked up...), but without the witty, sharp attitude and decision-making abilities. However, right now, with the Republican Convention on in the background I'm feeling a little too overcome with disgust to be my usual hilarious self. The pure power-hungry desperation, the hatred, the fear-mongering, the disgusting, burning desire to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and all along our coastlines leave me in a state of fear and disbelief. Who are these people? Why are they trying to make the world a scarier place than it already is?

I like rosé and I cannot lie.

2008-07-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

My dirty little secret is that I adore rosé.
Rosé is often thought of as a bit passé. It's the cousin of a good red, even sillier than a decent white. A lot of wine snobs think rosé is a drink for girls who don't know anything about wine. Fortunately, in recent years rosé has become more well respected and has begun to earn its rightful place on the shelves of good markets.
My very favorite wine is this lovely sparkler:

Totally a respectable, upmarket wine, right? Absolutely!
However, my love affair with rosé began many years ago with the purchase of a magnum of Oregon's own Pinot Noir Blanc by Shafer Vineyard. I think the magnum cost around $6. My best friend from college and I found it at Trader Joe's and thoroughly enjoyed it, though we also thoroughly objected to the label and were at several moments inspired to call the vineyard to express our opinion that their wine would be much more successful with a more modern label. They listened patiently to our criticism the first time, but you'll notice that they have yet to upgrade their label. Oh, well- you win some you lose some.

Ew! Feet!

2008-07-19T16:49:00.001-07:00

I showed up to summer a few months late this year. I got a pedicure today for the first time since my best friend and I found our way down to a windowless suite of rooms in Washington, DC late on a Sunday afternoon back in February. I love a good pampering as much as the next girl, but I'd curled my toes and avoided much foot-related exposure for the past months because... well, because I had a toenail 'thing'. At first it was just a normal nail thing I thought, but then one day... Well, one day almost half my toenail fell right off. I was completely horrified.
I googled podiatry and tried not to wear open toed shoes. Then, one day, I noticed that my nail was growing back! Huzzah! Finally, this week I realized it was time and now my toes are all ready for the weeks of open toed shoes and pretty sandals ahead!

You know you're an old person when...

2008-07-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

...the big excitement of the last two weeks of your life involve new large appliances.
Pretty soon I'll be sitting in my backyard for hours exclaiming over different varieties of birds and yelling at the neighbor kids to get off the lawn.

Husband and I had several discussions this spring about whether it was time to start thinking about selling our house and moving to a new one where we would have amazing things like closets and modern electrical wiring. (Did I mention that our house was built in 1900 and apparently back then no one ever needed to keep their clothing anywhere so they didn't put closets in many houses?. Okay, they put one in, but made it really hard to get to so no one would get any ideas about changing their clothes regularly). However, we decided that perhaps a better plan for now (crashing housing market and all) would be to make our current house better. That would also enable us to not actually have to pack and move and do all the cleaning and such that is required and also we wouldn't have to leave our beloved slate tiled kitchen floor (lovingly installed by Father-in-Law).

Long story made unnecessarily long... over the 4th of July weekend we bought a stacking washer and dryer in order to reclaim the utility room and make our space work better and actually give us some storage! And also improve our energy use!

Lowe's is delivering the washer & dryer today and we sold our old ones yesterday. The excitement never ceases!

Books

2008-07-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

When May rolls around each year I am excited to dive into a year's worth of reading that I missed over the dark months of winter when I sat hunched over a huge stack of applications, my eyes too bleary to open a novel at the end of the day.

Over a year ago I discovered goodreads.com, but this year enough other people have discovered it that it is now a wonderful resource in my never-ending quest for new books to read and love. I'm still always looking for more ideas though!
Recently, the highlights of what I've read include: Interpreter of Maladies, Snow Flower & the Secret Fan, Anybody Out There?, Three Cups of Tea, Made in America, A Year in Provence and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2007. I'm slowing working my way through The Omnivore's Dilemma and while I find it really interesting it's just not the kind of book that sucks me in with a great story or beautiful writing. I've got some quiet weekends and a little vacation coming up and I would love more material.

Let's make a deal- I'll give you my reviews of three of the above books and in exchange you'll suggest one or two really great summer reading books that I might adore. I have The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime on my list for reading next, but I will definitely need some new reading material later this summer!

Snow Flower & the Secret Fan by Lisa See:
Incredibly well researched, Lisa See is able to dive whole-heartedly into historical, rural China. She writes the story of tragedy and the everyday with beautiful language and draws wonderful pictures of the time and place with words. The story is powerful and sometimes very painful. I really like this kind of historical fiction and find myself often drawn into books that tell a life story in a larger context. It's not a light read, but it does go very quickly.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin:
I found this book to be really interesting and informative, I read it quickly and happily, curled up at a bed & breakfast on the coast. Great perspective- an outsider insider's view of Pakistan & Afghanistan at a pivotal time in history. Some poor turns of phrase- the writing is fine, but not great, it gets somewhat disjointed at a few spots, I think because it's a project the author wrote, but also a collaboration and that presents challenges not simply overcome. An easy and thought-provoking read. I think it's really important that Westerners get a better sense of the plethora of issues plaguing Pakistan and Afghanistan and this is a pretty accessible way to do so.

Made in America by Bill Bryson:
Are you a language geek? Do you care very sincerely about the proper use of apostrophes? I care. I care a great deal. Let me tell you, being an advocate of the apostrophe is all heartbreak. The good news is Bill Bryson understands my pain and cares deeply about the history of language, but not so deeply that he doesn't find it absolutely hilarious. While I find Bill Bryson's travel writing to be my favorite, this is a really fun book of history and language, told with a delightful sense of humor.

Your turn!

Parties and Pants

2008-05-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

I swear I have not been reduced to posting about nothing but the weather.
I've been thinking a great deal about weddings and bachelor/bachelorette parties lately as much of our summer social calendar is consumed with such. What did y'all do for your bachelor & bachelorette parties? Would you do it the same way again?
My "bachelorette" party involved my three favorite friends and a weekend at the beach- we hung out on the beach, had a bonfire & drank wine and I got silly presents and a huge chocolate cake. It was pretty awesome. And by silly presents I mean really silly, most of them came from Archie McPhee and none of them were dirty, unless you think wind-up sushi and fake mustaches are particularly unclean. Husband's involved going to a shooting range, riding around in a party bus, having a BBQ and going to some 'clubs'- rather traditional really, though the BBQ did feature exotic meats like ostrich and wild boar.

On a completely separate note:
Husband added to his pants collection yesterday while we were at the coast. He is now planning to look for more activity specific pants. He does not have beach pants or video game pants, though I imagine he could use his lounging pants for video game purposes in a pinch. He also has a large number of shoes. Some of them seem to be identical, perhaps part of a rotation scheme? Further investigation is undoubtedly warranted.

2008-05-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

The spa was fabulous! Never hesitate if someone says "Hey, how about we go to a spa?" The only acceptable response is "Great, my bags are packed, shall I meet you at the airport?"

And also, it was 98 degrees on Friday. It is 55 degrees today and the morning weather report featured the words 'snow' and 'above 4,000 feet'. Make up your mind weather!

Recommending Jon Smith, A Classic

2008-04-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Admissions Committee,

As a graduate of Harvard and a teacher in one of the best English programs in the United States, I'm writing today to recommend Jon to you. In my professional opinion Jon would be an excellent fit with X University.
In my class the students are required to read deeply and think critically. The 11th grade course includes readings from Thoreau, Hemingway, Twain, Hawthorne, Hurston, Kincaid and assorted others. Undoubtedly due to my superior education and 5 years experience as a teacher, these students are well prepared for college and often return from their first semester at the nation's best colleges asking me for more homework!

Jon has matured a great deal over his years with us here at J High School. He began his career as a quiet, awkward freshman, but has always displayed a great deal of enthusiasm for his education. Following his sophomore summer of building houses in Honduras she returned to the halls of J with a renewed sense of confidence and purpose. He started our Helping Hands Helping Honduras club and even got her SCUBA certification! It has been such a pleasure to work with Jon, he is truly a Renaissance man. He gives his time and contributes his energy to our community here at J, always participating actively in class and is happy to lend a hand to his fellow students if they are struggling with the material. In his spare time Jon paints murals in the downtown area that is just starting to recover from the devastating effects of the new Walmart on the edge of the city. He also has primary responsibility for his young siblings, twin boys with spina bifida, as his mother must leave the house each morning before the boys are awake. Somehow he also has time for his lawn business and the bassoon! Jon always has a smile for everyone and I've never heard him say anything negative.

Based on my knowledge of X University, I can recommend Jon heartily. You will be glad to have him on your campus, he's the kind of student I'd want my child to have as a roommate. I know Y University is Jon's top choice and he's committed to working hard both here at J and once he matriculates. Don't let this one get away!

Sincerely,
Generic Teacher Who Finds and Replaces

Distracted by Genius

2008-03-16T22:31:00.000-07:00

I think I may have come up with a million dollar project idea. I'm going to write the perfect college admissions essay. You'll have to wait for it til later this week, but rest assured it will be certain to involve everyone's favorite transcendentalist and maybe a few canoes.

Also, what is with the new trend among teachers to refer to their students as Renaissance people in letters of recommendation? Was there a memo that went out last summer or something? Now if high school seniors are not 'quiet, lead by example" types or young people with 'a great deal of potential', chances are extremely high that they are a Renaissance man or woman. I'd characterize it as an outbreak, at this point.

Preconceived notions

2008-03-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

I have very specific ideas about cruises and bus tours and charter flights and the kind of tourist who goes to Mallorca. Based on my stereotypes, none of the above are considered 'cool'. Now, they can be made cool- if the cruise were on a smaller boat or had an outdoor/adventure theme or if the charter flight happened to be full of my friends, I could be convinced to reconsider my snap judgments.
I know some people who I like and respect who have been on cruises and enjoyed them. So far I'm fairly certain they're still not for me though. I might make an exception for the Mediterranean or cruising along the Alaska coastline has always seemed like a great way to see the fabulous scenery, but generally I'm not a package vacation type.

Let me give you an idea of some of my favorite vacations. There was the time that Husband told me we were going fishing in rural Louisiana and instead we ended up spending a fantastic weekend in New Orleans. There was my 12 day trip to Hong Kong and Thailand, on the cheap, in slummy guesthouses and third class Thai trains, lots of walking and sweating and wonderful food.
I like short road trips around Oregon. I'm comfortable in tents and youth hostels. My travels in Europe have involved long slow train rides, getting lost in the Czech Republic, overnight bus rides and plenty of picnics on bread, cheese and chocolate in public parks. I love to plan trips, but I'm not into other people providing me with a schedule.

Maybe that explains both my glee and embarrassment about the next vacation I have planned.
I'm going to a spa.
It has activities, a daily schedule, workshops, seminars, AN ORIENTATION for crying out loud.
Oh, but I'm excited about it. Three nights of relaxation and programming, a few spa treatments, and my best friend of the last 10 years. What's not to love?
Well, um, me? At a spa? Going on a scheduled hike? It causes me to question my identity. What happened to my rough and tumble on-the-cheap days? I've hitch-hiked before! Will I be surrounded by over-indulged wealthy women of leisure?
What would my seventeen year old self have to say about it? Probably a lot of sullen, not so nice things.
Will I most likely have fun anyway? Yes.
And in the end I'll still like camping and hiking and staying in youth hostels, getting lost and finding a great deal. I think it is going to be okay.

How's your OCD today?

2008-02-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

Are there routines and patterns that shape your daily lives? I suspect the patterns of which I speak are more common than many of us might think at first. My husband has lots- he has pants that he wears indoors only and has to change his shoes and pants before we go anywhere, he has designated water bottles for taking to work and staying at home and ones that he mixes sports drink in and so on. His routines actually leave him very organized, but it's still a bit funny to see him taking a moment to figure out which pen he uses for which notebook.

I have a few little quirks too (imagine!). The first one that comes to mind is that whenever I get on an airplane I place my palm on the outside of it just as I step through the door. If I forget this routine it actually makes me a little anxious. As much as I love traveling, I'm still nervous about the plane crashing and therefore have devised thought patterns and actions that end up being helpful in keeping me calm about the whole thing. I told one of my friends about this for the first time a few weeks ago and she admitted to having similar thoughts about airplanes, so I started to realize that I wasn't the only one bizarrely pressing my palm onto the airplanes of the world.
Now what I need to do are develop routine closet-cleaning quirks and I'll be all set.

Moving on down the road

2008-02-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

Well, all odds point to staying in Portland for the coming year. I think that's pretty exciting- now the spring and summer are spread out with exciting things that I want to do, not just a series of things I have to do. Opportunity sometimes knocks in funny ways, but it almost always shows up.

No energy left for blogging tonight. Perhaps something witty and insightful later this week.

Two roads diverged...

2008-02-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

By 7am tomorrow I'll have a good idea of what the year ahead holds for me. Since I have not yet gained a following with my fantabulous blogging skillz no one will be waiting on tenterhooks to find out what my fate holds, but it should make for a good post anyway.

Speaking of what the year ahead holds: presidential politics.
Whether it is Clinton or Obama who wins the Democratic nomination, the person who runs against John McCain will make history. In fact, both of them are making history right now. Never before has a major political party seen its strongest candidate for president be female or African-American. It would only be a more radical if an African-American woman or perhaps a biracial Hispanic/Latino ran for commander in chief.
I haven't decided whom I prefer, though I know I'll be voting for the Democrat. What are your thoughts?

Entering the wide world of public blogging

2008-01-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

I may be a little late to the party, but I'll even bring spinach and artichoke dip and champagne cocktails so let the blogging begin! Um, or continue...