TAMI TAYLOR IS PREGNANT!!!!
(note: this is on friday night lights, not real life. why am i excited like it is real life???)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
today
today was the ultimate in doing productive things. if by "productive" you mean "entirely optional but really fun."
things i did:
1. got a haircut. good haircut...bad amount of mousse (spelling? SEE: I DON'T USE THIS PRODUCT, HAIRDRESSER!) and hairspray, and thus i looked like a character in steel magnolias when i met willis and andy for
2. brunch at the original pancake house (blueberry pancakes and hashbrowns - delish). then willis and i
3. went to get pedicures. my feet were that winter-gross where there are calluses and dry skin everywhere. now my feet are BEAutiful. and the salon owner let me and willis sit next to each other. YES.
4. then i got a car wash, because oh, a week ago when i was driving home from rocky mount after visiting jenny, we got behind a truck that was salting the roads in preparation for the snowfall that did actually fall (it would be SO like north carolina to do that and then have no snow). my car was covered in salty yuck until now.
5. i watched an obscene number of episodes of friday night lights. will the panthers win state? with tyra and landry become more than friends? I'M ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. and there is no irony here.
6. i went to a much needed yoga class, then the grocery store, and came home to
7. make a yummy dinner (asparagus and ricotta with whole wheat linguine) and make a yummy dip to take to mike and kelly's new year's party tomorrow.
8. i ate the yummy dinner and 1/4 of the yummy dip (oops).
it was, really, the most perfect day. i need to marry rich so that every day can be like this...rich men: let it be known that i make a mean chocolate cake and a mean black-eyed pea salsa. among other things.
things i did:
1. got a haircut. good haircut...bad amount of mousse (spelling? SEE: I DON'T USE THIS PRODUCT, HAIRDRESSER!) and hairspray, and thus i looked like a character in steel magnolias when i met willis and andy for
2. brunch at the original pancake house (blueberry pancakes and hashbrowns - delish). then willis and i
3. went to get pedicures. my feet were that winter-gross where there are calluses and dry skin everywhere. now my feet are BEAutiful. and the salon owner let me and willis sit next to each other. YES.
4. then i got a car wash, because oh, a week ago when i was driving home from rocky mount after visiting jenny, we got behind a truck that was salting the roads in preparation for the snowfall that did actually fall (it would be SO like north carolina to do that and then have no snow). my car was covered in salty yuck until now.
5. i watched an obscene number of episodes of friday night lights. will the panthers win state? with tyra and landry become more than friends? I'M ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT. and there is no irony here.
6. i went to a much needed yoga class, then the grocery store, and came home to
7. make a yummy dinner (asparagus and ricotta with whole wheat linguine) and make a yummy dip to take to mike and kelly's new year's party tomorrow.
8. i ate the yummy dinner and 1/4 of the yummy dip (oops).
it was, really, the most perfect day. i need to marry rich so that every day can be like this...rich men: let it be known that i make a mean chocolate cake and a mean black-eyed pea salsa. among other things.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
friday night lights
let's talk about my newest obsession.
it is embarrassing.
becky has been telling me to watch friday night lights for pretty much forever. it is one of her favorite shows. it is about a high school football team. LAME-O. i have been putting off her recommendation for a long time.
until a couple weeks ago, when i was up in new york visiting her.
friday night lights is available to watch instantly on netflix. so we watched the first episode. i made fun of it the whole time. vocally.
then she fell asleep and i watched another one. i didn't tell her.
the next day, i watched another.
and now i am obsessed.
I DO NOT WANT TO LIKE THIS SHOW. but i do. curses! when i was at home for christmas i watched a bunch of episodes and i kept saying to becky, "smash williams annoys me" and "tim riggins needs to get his life together" and "ohmygoodness julie taylor and matt saracen went out on a date!!" i am officially obsessed and i can admit that it is a good show and BECKY WINS. but i don't want to like it because it's about football, which interests me not at all, and high school, which i live through my students every day and is too much drama for its own good.
i'm nearing the end of season 1 and it just keeps getting better. don't ruin any plot lines for me, readers.
it is embarrassing.
becky has been telling me to watch friday night lights for pretty much forever. it is one of her favorite shows. it is about a high school football team. LAME-O. i have been putting off her recommendation for a long time.
until a couple weeks ago, when i was up in new york visiting her.
friday night lights is available to watch instantly on netflix. so we watched the first episode. i made fun of it the whole time. vocally.
then she fell asleep and i watched another one. i didn't tell her.
the next day, i watched another.
and now i am obsessed.
I DO NOT WANT TO LIKE THIS SHOW. but i do. curses! when i was at home for christmas i watched a bunch of episodes and i kept saying to becky, "smash williams annoys me" and "tim riggins needs to get his life together" and "ohmygoodness julie taylor and matt saracen went out on a date!!" i am officially obsessed and i can admit that it is a good show and BECKY WINS. but i don't want to like it because it's about football, which interests me not at all, and high school, which i live through my students every day and is too much drama for its own good.
i'm nearing the end of season 1 and it just keeps getting better. don't ruin any plot lines for me, readers.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
a new cauliflower recipe
a couple weeks ago i tried a new recipe: cauliflower and chickpea stew with couscous (from real simple). i omitted the spinach and added almonds at the end, and it was DELICIOUS. very easy to make, really good flavors, and a perfect cool-weather recipe. i try to eat lunches that are almost entirely vegetables (and then i can eat whatever i want for dinner without feeling guilty), and this worked perfectly. i then made another batch to bring to a potluck at school, and it was a huge hit. hooray! you should try it.
Monday, December 27, 2010
it snowed
white christmas = awesome, especially since i watched the bing crosby movie white christmas on christmas eve. we're basically at general waverly's hotel in vermont, minus the song and dance numbers.
becky and the dogs:
looking down the driveway:
horses do not like snow, but they do like the hay they get when it snows:
not a great photo, but i wanted to show the scale - this is the christmas tree from my first christmas - my parents bought a tree with the root ball intact and then planted it after christmas. 28 years later, it is enormous...as in, twice the height of our house.
hope no one got stuck in the snow!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
claire's favorite books of 2010
i read 15 books in 2010 (not a bad number, if i do say so myself - a large number of them read over the summer when there is less tv to watch and much traveling to do - i find that that's conducive to me reading books). of those 15 books, my 4 favorites - my recommendations to you - are:
4. (don't you just love a good countdown? i know the anxiety is building just by THINKING of this countdown) the hour i first believed, by wally lamb. i LOVE wally lamb - he's one of my favorite writers - and this is just his third novel. i had been waiting for it to come out, and i found it in a bookstore in oxford this summer. the book takes a real life event (the columbine shootings) and creates a fictional story around it. i know this doesn't sound like a cheery book, and it's not really, but it was a good read.
3. the blind assassin, by margaret atwood. i bought this for $3 at a used book sale, and really enjoyed it. while reading it, people would ask me what it was about and i couldn't really tell them. i know this sounds like a bad sign, but there were two parallel story lines and the reader doesn't find out how they connect until the end. it's the kind of book you want to stay up late to keep reading. i think that's a good sign.
2. superfreakonomics, by levitt and dubner. do you want fun facts to share with your friends who probably don't care, but will say "oh, how interesting!" anyway? read this book. really really interesting stuff. maybe read freakonomics first, but they don't build on one another. i read this over thanksgiving break, and it's the perfect book to read over the holidays - you don't have to concentrate as much as with a novel, so i was able to read it in a room with lots of people around.
1. city of thieves, by david benioff. aunt monica recommended this to me a long time ago and i just got around to reading it this year and OHMYGOD I LOVED IT. best book of the year for sure - a simple premise, great writing, characters that you fall in love with. read this book.
4. (don't you just love a good countdown? i know the anxiety is building just by THINKING of this countdown) the hour i first believed, by wally lamb. i LOVE wally lamb - he's one of my favorite writers - and this is just his third novel. i had been waiting for it to come out, and i found it in a bookstore in oxford this summer. the book takes a real life event (the columbine shootings) and creates a fictional story around it. i know this doesn't sound like a cheery book, and it's not really, but it was a good read.
3. the blind assassin, by margaret atwood. i bought this for $3 at a used book sale, and really enjoyed it. while reading it, people would ask me what it was about and i couldn't really tell them. i know this sounds like a bad sign, but there were two parallel story lines and the reader doesn't find out how they connect until the end. it's the kind of book you want to stay up late to keep reading. i think that's a good sign.
2. superfreakonomics, by levitt and dubner. do you want fun facts to share with your friends who probably don't care, but will say "oh, how interesting!" anyway? read this book. really really interesting stuff. maybe read freakonomics first, but they don't build on one another. i read this over thanksgiving break, and it's the perfect book to read over the holidays - you don't have to concentrate as much as with a novel, so i was able to read it in a room with lots of people around.
1. city of thieves, by david benioff. aunt monica recommended this to me a long time ago and i just got around to reading it this year and OHMYGOD I LOVED IT. best book of the year for sure - a simple premise, great writing, characters that you fall in love with. read this book.
Friday, December 24, 2010
claire's best of 2010, part 1
first of all, merry christmas! mom woke us up (the exact opposite of the events of my childhood) at 9:30 to open presents, and it started snowing at 10. hooray!
now: regularly scheduled programming. i've discussed my love of lists before...in the coming days i'll give you some of my "best of" lists for 2010. here's part 1:
the top 6 (i couldn't narrow it to 5, okay?!) movies and tv shows i rented from netflix last year:
6. the first three seasons of the big bang theory. i rented the first disc of the first season when becky came to visit in september and then i went into a dead sprint of watching the first three seasons so i could catch up to the current season, which i successfully did. i miss watching several episodes a day. i miss sheldon and leonard. i love this show.
5. the young victoria made me love victoria and albert, as well as emily blunt and rupert friend, and i could not stop being gushy about their love. there was lots of dramatic sighing from me while watching. i really like historical quasi-fiction, and this is an excellent example of that.
4. the first five seasons of weeds, which i also watched at a dead sprint, because THAT IS WHAT I DO. a dead sprint because you can't wait to find out what happens next...coupled with a sadness because every episode you watch means there is one less episode to watch. i am such a dork. netflix made it so easy to watch these quickly because all five seasons were available to watch instantly - no waiting for the next disc to be mailed to me. i had been hesitant to watch this show because i thought suburbia + pot dealing was not something i'd be interested in. I WAS SO WRONG.
3. the hurt locker - i was cheering for this to win best picture and i'm so happy that it beat out avatar. do you see how i'm still talking about that nine months later? because i am. i will be happy for a long time about this little film. again: war movies aren't a genre i think of myself loving, but this film really hooked me, even though parts of it were very hard to watch.
2. (500) days of summer - i love films with an easy premise, so this goes into the same category as slumdog millionaire - in (500) days, we find out very quickly that we're going to see some of the days in the life of this relationship. in slumdog, we're going to learn about this guy's life through the questions on a gameshow. i think this is brilliant - it lets me know what the basic framework of the film is going to be, what to expect, where we're going. joseph gordon-levitt, whom i've loved since third rock from the sun, and zooey deschanel are awesome in this film. and parts of it are so HAPPY. the emotions aren't subtle here.
1. and the winner is: the first season of gavin & stacey. absolutely in love with this show - the music, the characters, how understatedly funny it is. only season 1 is available in the US, so right now i've been left hanging and waiting for the other seasons to be released. i love this show so much i bought it...the first DVD i've bought in a LONG time. this must mean something.
now: regularly scheduled programming. i've discussed my love of lists before...in the coming days i'll give you some of my "best of" lists for 2010. here's part 1:
the top 6 (i couldn't narrow it to 5, okay?!) movies and tv shows i rented from netflix last year:
6. the first three seasons of the big bang theory. i rented the first disc of the first season when becky came to visit in september and then i went into a dead sprint of watching the first three seasons so i could catch up to the current season, which i successfully did. i miss watching several episodes a day. i miss sheldon and leonard. i love this show.
5. the young victoria made me love victoria and albert, as well as emily blunt and rupert friend, and i could not stop being gushy about their love. there was lots of dramatic sighing from me while watching. i really like historical quasi-fiction, and this is an excellent example of that.
4. the first five seasons of weeds, which i also watched at a dead sprint, because THAT IS WHAT I DO. a dead sprint because you can't wait to find out what happens next...coupled with a sadness because every episode you watch means there is one less episode to watch. i am such a dork. netflix made it so easy to watch these quickly because all five seasons were available to watch instantly - no waiting for the next disc to be mailed to me. i had been hesitant to watch this show because i thought suburbia + pot dealing was not something i'd be interested in. I WAS SO WRONG.
3. the hurt locker - i was cheering for this to win best picture and i'm so happy that it beat out avatar. do you see how i'm still talking about that nine months later? because i am. i will be happy for a long time about this little film. again: war movies aren't a genre i think of myself loving, but this film really hooked me, even though parts of it were very hard to watch.
2. (500) days of summer - i love films with an easy premise, so this goes into the same category as slumdog millionaire - in (500) days, we find out very quickly that we're going to see some of the days in the life of this relationship. in slumdog, we're going to learn about this guy's life through the questions on a gameshow. i think this is brilliant - it lets me know what the basic framework of the film is going to be, what to expect, where we're going. joseph gordon-levitt, whom i've loved since third rock from the sun, and zooey deschanel are awesome in this film. and parts of it are so HAPPY. the emotions aren't subtle here.
1. and the winner is: the first season of gavin & stacey. absolutely in love with this show - the music, the characters, how understatedly funny it is. only season 1 is available in the US, so right now i've been left hanging and waiting for the other seasons to be released. i love this show so much i bought it...the first DVD i've bought in a LONG time. this must mean something.
i laughed out loud
this kid is so excited about christmas!
(this video is only 12 seconds long, no one gets seriously injured, and it will make you laugh - watch it!)
happy christmas eve, all!
(this video is only 12 seconds long, no one gets seriously injured, and it will make you laugh - watch it!)
happy christmas eve, all!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
two words: cosmic cantina
i had lunch there with today with jenny, fritz, mike, and kelly and the deluxe vegetarian burrito was just as good as i remembered it. it made me so happy. i've been eating at cosmic since 1998, when i was a junior in high school, and the memories are just as good as the food.
pre-cosmic i was in rocky mount visiting jenny and her family and post-cosmic i am home in mcgrady until wednesday. no one's exactly sure, but it sounds like we might get some snow this weekend! i love snow...as long as i have nothing to do but lie on the couch. and this weekend? nothing to do but lie on the couch.
pre-cosmic i was in rocky mount visiting jenny and her family and post-cosmic i am home in mcgrady until wednesday. no one's exactly sure, but it sounds like we might get some snow this weekend! i love snow...as long as i have nothing to do but lie on the couch. and this weekend? nothing to do but lie on the couch.
Monday, December 20, 2010
my thoughts on christmas shopping:
1. obviously i buy everything i can online...IF they will give me free shipping. duh. i've...
2. been to the mall, and lines are no fun. in fact, i went to the mall on saturday to buy a couple last presents, and that was a dumb move. i got my usual awesome parking space (in a sneaky parking garage that apparently few people know about), but that was the only good thing about the trip. people walked slowwwwwwly, carrying their huge bags of stuff and taking up as much space as humanly possible. i darted around them as best i could, putting my speed walking skills to the test. but the saturday before christmas at the mall? ridiculous. i waited in line at one store for 25 minutes, and when i left the line was twice as long as when i got in it. THAT IS A 50 MINUTE LINE, PEOPLE. BE WARNED. yes, the stuff in this store is great, but just consider the lines. the woman behind me appeared to have brought her husband to the mall just so he could wait in line for her. i think he got in line as soon as they entered the store, and she joined in the last five minutes. genius, actually. anyone want to be my line-spot-holder? i'll buy you an orange julius!
3. when i was little, my mom wouldn't allow me or becky to buy anything for ourselves in the month of december. we were supposed to be thinking about other people, not ourselves. good lesson, really. we also weren't allowed to be grumpy, or my mom would (/still does) say, in one breath, "ho ho ho merry christmas!" as an admonishment. (that is the first time i have ever typed the word "admonishment." i hope i am using it correctly.) as a grown up, i am allowed to (a) spoil my dinner, (b) go to bed late, and (c) buy things for myself during the month of december. i didn't do that on saturday at the mall (probably because i couldn't imagine waiting in any more lines than i had to), but when amazon.com is giving free shipping for orders over $25, you better believe i add some items for myself if the order doesn't get to $25 on its own. this is the great perk of being a grown up.
2. been to the mall, and lines are no fun. in fact, i went to the mall on saturday to buy a couple last presents, and that was a dumb move. i got my usual awesome parking space (in a sneaky parking garage that apparently few people know about), but that was the only good thing about the trip. people walked slowwwwwwly, carrying their huge bags of stuff and taking up as much space as humanly possible. i darted around them as best i could, putting my speed walking skills to the test. but the saturday before christmas at the mall? ridiculous. i waited in line at one store for 25 minutes, and when i left the line was twice as long as when i got in it. THAT IS A 50 MINUTE LINE, PEOPLE. BE WARNED. yes, the stuff in this store is great, but just consider the lines. the woman behind me appeared to have brought her husband to the mall just so he could wait in line for her. i think he got in line as soon as they entered the store, and she joined in the last five minutes. genius, actually. anyone want to be my line-spot-holder? i'll buy you an orange julius!
3. when i was little, my mom wouldn't allow me or becky to buy anything for ourselves in the month of december. we were supposed to be thinking about other people, not ourselves. good lesson, really. we also weren't allowed to be grumpy, or my mom would (/still does) say, in one breath, "ho ho ho merry christmas!" as an admonishment. (that is the first time i have ever typed the word "admonishment." i hope i am using it correctly.) as a grown up, i am allowed to (a) spoil my dinner, (b) go to bed late, and (c) buy things for myself during the month of december. i didn't do that on saturday at the mall (probably because i couldn't imagine waiting in any more lines than i had to), but when amazon.com is giving free shipping for orders over $25, you better believe i add some items for myself if the order doesn't get to $25 on its own. this is the great perk of being a grown up.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
i enjoy this blog from the new york times - it's all about modern world / pop culture words and phrases. loving it probably makes me a dork, but hey - what's new? the link above is to a particularly funny, i think, entry.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
hell yeah
big day for civil rights in america! (love that the photo in this article makes gillibrand and reid look like an old married couple.)
an excerpt of the article that sums up PERFECTLY what i think about this issue:
“I don’t care who you love,” Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said as the debate opened. “If you love this country enough to risk your life for it, you shouldn’t have to hide who you are.”
lots and lots of work ahead, of course. but obama wanted a legislative repeal of a law that congress enacted in the first place, and it's happened. and i think it's a good day for america.
an excerpt of the article that sums up PERFECTLY what i think about this issue:
“I don’t care who you love,” Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said as the debate opened. “If you love this country enough to risk your life for it, you shouldn’t have to hide who you are.”
lots and lots of work ahead, of course. but obama wanted a legislative repeal of a law that congress enacted in the first place, and it's happened. and i think it's a good day for america.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
on airplanes
the scene: me in new york city. raining. snow in atlanta. flight out in two hours. expected delay of my flight, according to delta.com: 1 hour. amount of reading material in my bag? 1.5 newsweeks.
PANIC.
the solution? becky lent me mennonite in a little black dress and recommended i download a movie on itunes ($3.99 for a 24 hour rental is a small price to pay for not dying of boredom). BEST. IDEAS. EVER. during my hour delay and two hour flight home i read 50 pages of the book and watched an entire movie: the kids are all right. which was really wonderful, and i was glad to see annette benning and julianne moore receive golden globe nominations for their roles, as did the film for "best picture, musical or comedy," when it isn't either. i am so confused.
(in slightly related news, it makes me really uncomfortable to watch movies with sex scenes in them while on an airplane, but i do it anyway. once i was sitting next to an old woman on a plane and i was watching part of the tudors. if you've ever seen this show, you know that there are some pretty scandalous sex scenes and torture scenes (not at the same time, mind you), one scene of torture in the last season that was so horrible i had to mute the computer and then close my eyes. is it rude to watch something like this on a plane, where the person next to you can't run away? i hope not.)
the kids are all right wasn't marketed in mainstream media...i mean, i know the movie is about a gay couple, but it was about everything BUT a gay couple, really. and, um, how did no one tell me that mark ruffalo is in this film? i have loved him since eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and i continue to love him. GREAT movie. if you haven't seen it, you should.
the end.
[sometimes i feel like i have to end a blog post with "the end." like, i've just told you a story, but it isn't complete yet. so let me tell you it's complete. annoying? possibly. but it gives me a sense of closure. the end.]
PANIC.
the solution? becky lent me mennonite in a little black dress and recommended i download a movie on itunes ($3.99 for a 24 hour rental is a small price to pay for not dying of boredom). BEST. IDEAS. EVER. during my hour delay and two hour flight home i read 50 pages of the book and watched an entire movie: the kids are all right. which was really wonderful, and i was glad to see annette benning and julianne moore receive golden globe nominations for their roles, as did the film for "best picture, musical or comedy," when it isn't either. i am so confused.
(in slightly related news, it makes me really uncomfortable to watch movies with sex scenes in them while on an airplane, but i do it anyway. once i was sitting next to an old woman on a plane and i was watching part of the tudors. if you've ever seen this show, you know that there are some pretty scandalous sex scenes and torture scenes (not at the same time, mind you), one scene of torture in the last season that was so horrible i had to mute the computer and then close my eyes. is it rude to watch something like this on a plane, where the person next to you can't run away? i hope not.)
the kids are all right wasn't marketed in mainstream media...i mean, i know the movie is about a gay couple, but it was about everything BUT a gay couple, really. and, um, how did no one tell me that mark ruffalo is in this film? i have loved him since eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and i continue to love him. GREAT movie. if you haven't seen it, you should.
the end.
[sometimes i feel like i have to end a blog post with "the end." like, i've just told you a story, but it isn't complete yet. so let me tell you it's complete. annoying? possibly. but it gives me a sense of closure. the end.]
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
my holiday recommendation of the day
the reason to go to trader joe's in december: dark chocolate sea salt caramels.
my trader joe's was out when i went yesterday (frowny face) and they aren't getting any more this season (HUGE frowny face), but i ate some in new york with becky this weekend, and willis promises that he has some for when i go over to his house later today, so i think i will live. they are an amazing sweet-salty combination and you should try them.
my trader joe's was out when i went yesterday (frowny face) and they aren't getting any more this season (HUGE frowny face), but i ate some in new york with becky this weekend, and willis promises that he has some for when i go over to his house later today, so i think i will live. they are an amazing sweet-salty combination and you should try them.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
i sort of feel like this right now: "i am gonna make it through this year if it kills me"
do you know the mountain goats? they're a band with music that's really different from a lot of other stuff i've heard - their music and the lead singer's voice is SO distinctive. once you start listening to them, you'll recognize their songs immediately, even if you've never heard them. love them. i guess they're folk? bluegrass? itunes classifies them as "alternative," but what does itunes know.
this is a great collection of some of their best songs - check them out! i'm particularly in love with the first two.
(thanks to pandora for telling me - correctly - that i would like the mountain goats. thanks to nora for this link! nora is that friend who knows everything about any kind of music you bring up. i love this about her. and she has a new blog! so you should check it out.)
this is a great collection of some of their best songs - check them out! i'm particularly in love with the first two.
(thanks to pandora for telling me - correctly - that i would like the mountain goats. thanks to nora for this link! nora is that friend who knows everything about any kind of music you bring up. i love this about her. and she has a new blog! so you should check it out.)
stuff no one told me
some (wonderful) anonymous commenter on this blog (out yourself, anonymous!) recommended i read this blog: "stuff no one told me." the pictures are funny - and some are slightly inappropriate - but the messages are things that all of us need to hear sometimes. like:
i mean, OBVIOUSLY. but sometimes you need to hear that. you just need to hear it.
and:
and:
i was having kind of a bad day last week and i then read this whole blog (yes, every entry. sometimes i obsess like that) and the world felt better.
i mean, OBVIOUSLY. but sometimes you need to hear that. you just need to hear it.
and:
and:
i was having kind of a bad day last week and i then read this whole blog (yes, every entry. sometimes i obsess like that) and the world felt better.
Monday, December 13, 2010
nyc, part 2
the biggest surprise in new york city this weekend? how not-too-cold it was. i wore a winter jacket and gloves everywhere we went, but during the day i would get hot and have to unbutton my jacket. when i came back to atlanta last night at 11pm (after my flight being delayed an hour because of silly flurries in atlanta) and i stepped out into the 26 degree weather with snow flurries it was colder than it had been all weekend in new york. and that is craziness.
becky and i ate at shake shack and okay falafel and grey dog cafe and OHMYGOD WE ATE AT YUM-YUM AGAIN AND IT WAS JUST AS WONDERFUL, i bought brown leather boots (!), we went to the union square holiday market, i may or may not have become a fan of friday night lights even though i tried desperately not to, we saw nathan lane in the addams family on broadway (yes the critics hated this show but it was really fun and entertaining and i don't care what the critics think), we got manicures. honestly: the best weekend. i needed to get away before this last crazy week of school and exams, and it was perfect. HOORAY.
becky and i ate at shake shack and okay falafel and grey dog cafe and OHMYGOD WE ATE AT YUM-YUM AGAIN AND IT WAS JUST AS WONDERFUL, i bought brown leather boots (!), we went to the union square holiday market, i may or may not have become a fan of friday night lights even though i tried desperately not to, we saw nathan lane in the addams family on broadway (yes the critics hated this show but it was really fun and entertaining and i don't care what the critics think), we got manicures. honestly: the best weekend. i needed to get away before this last crazy week of school and exams, and it was perfect. HOORAY.
Friday, December 10, 2010
nyc bound, part 2
this is what awaits me in nyc:
sister time! a whole weekend of it!
and shake shack, the union square holiday market, more shopping, a show, more food, and lying around in our pajamas and watching movies. last weekend i was in new york city, too, but that weekend was about duke basketball and bars. and then lying around. i realized after the fact that we could have done those things anywhere - the location wasn't important. (though i did have some of the best - and cheapest - thai food of my life - so thank you yum-yum thai restaurant and new york city for that.) this weekend is about getting out into the city and doing things (with my sister!). and then lying around. we are skilled at that.
so i guess there WILL be some similarities.
i. can't. wait.
sister time! a whole weekend of it!
and shake shack, the union square holiday market, more shopping, a show, more food, and lying around in our pajamas and watching movies. last weekend i was in new york city, too, but that weekend was about duke basketball and bars. and then lying around. i realized after the fact that we could have done those things anywhere - the location wasn't important. (though i did have some of the best - and cheapest - thai food of my life - so thank you yum-yum thai restaurant and new york city for that.) this weekend is about getting out into the city and doing things (with my sister!). and then lying around. we are skilled at that.
so i guess there WILL be some similarities.
i. can't. wait.
i have this to look forward to: productivity
i called my mom last night. here is a transcript of a portion of that phone call:
me: so how much snow did you end up getting?
mom: about 2 inches! school was cancelled on monday and we had a two hour delay on tuesday.
me: yay!
mom: so on monday i was really productive. i called the doctor's office and got a prescription filled, i went to lowe's to look at carpeting, i mailed something to becky, i returned that [insert name of tractor/bush hog/lawnmower part that i don't recognize] that dad wanted me to return, and then i went to habitat [for humanity].
me: um, if i had a day off, i would have done this: slept until noon, had lunch with willis and probably had a margarita, and spent the entire afternoon on the couch watching tv.
mom [in that mom voice that says "stop kidding me"]: no you wouldn't.
me: mom, i literally would have. that is exactly what i do when we have snow days!
mom [still not quite believing me]: well...this is what happens when you get old.
me: so how much snow did you end up getting?
mom: about 2 inches! school was cancelled on monday and we had a two hour delay on tuesday.
me: yay!
mom: so on monday i was really productive. i called the doctor's office and got a prescription filled, i went to lowe's to look at carpeting, i mailed something to becky, i returned that [insert name of tractor/bush hog/lawnmower part that i don't recognize] that dad wanted me to return, and then i went to habitat [for humanity].
me: um, if i had a day off, i would have done this: slept until noon, had lunch with willis and probably had a margarita, and spent the entire afternoon on the couch watching tv.
mom [in that mom voice that says "stop kidding me"]: no you wouldn't.
me: mom, i literally would have. that is exactly what i do when we have snow days!
mom [still not quite believing me]: well...this is what happens when you get old.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
hot air balloon
we've entered the period of the year where every publication has their "best of 2010" lists going. want to know a secret? I LOVE THESE LISTS. to news organizations, i say: please tell me what you think are the best songs, photographs, books, moments of the year. i like lists. and i'd rather you wade through the millions of songs/photos/books/moments and tell me what is interesting, as opposed to doing it myself.
this one caught my eye - reuters' "55 best photographs of the year." some (most) of them capture tragedies that have occurred this year, on some scale, around the world. i like this photo* best because it isn't sad, it isn't political...it's just beautiful.
*give it a minute to load!
this one caught my eye - reuters' "55 best photographs of the year." some (most) of them capture tragedies that have occurred this year, on some scale, around the world. i like this photo* best because it isn't sad, it isn't political...it's just beautiful.
*give it a minute to load!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
“How paramount the future is to the present when one is surrounded by children.”
--Charles Darwin (1809 -1882)
over the past two days, i've shown my classes parts of when the levees broke, spike lee's documentary about hurricane katrina and the aftermath in new orleans. we spent half an hour discussing what we'd seen today before they embark on a mini project on the film. and ohmygoodness, what a great discussion we had. some days are like this - kids are on the ball, take the issues seriously, really think, really listen, have insightful things to say. not every day is like this. but i was so heartened that today was.
--Charles Darwin (1809 -1882)
over the past two days, i've shown my classes parts of when the levees broke, spike lee's documentary about hurricane katrina and the aftermath in new orleans. we spent half an hour discussing what we'd seen today before they embark on a mini project on the film. and ohmygoodness, what a great discussion we had. some days are like this - kids are on the ball, take the issues seriously, really think, really listen, have insightful things to say. not every day is like this. but i was so heartened that today was.
Monday, December 6, 2010
trapped
i will NOT be seeing the new film 127 hours, about mountain climber aron ralston's self-amputation of his arm in order to survive being trapped in the utah desert. why will i not be seeing it? because this is what the new york times said about why it was rated R - for "a very graphic scene of self-mutilation."
uh, yeah. won't be watching that. apparently some people in the audience at the premier fainted during this scene. this is not for me.
however! i recently subscribed to http://sendmeastory.com/, which, um, sends you a (good, long, nonfiction) story every week, with links to others. recently they sent me "trapped" (from outside magazine, 2004), which is aron ralston's first person account of what happened. so i read that and now i don't have to feel bad about not seeing the movie. and it's an incredible story, so if you have some time you should read it.
the end.
uh, yeah. won't be watching that. apparently some people in the audience at the premier fainted during this scene. this is not for me.
however! i recently subscribed to http://sendmeastory.com/, which, um, sends you a (good, long, nonfiction) story every week, with links to others. recently they sent me "trapped" (from outside magazine, 2004), which is aron ralston's first person account of what happened. so i read that and now i don't have to feel bad about not seeing the movie. and it's an incredible story, so if you have some time you should read it.
the end.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
the abyss = worst movie ever made
only a new yorker would save a man from being hit by a subway train - not because he didn't want the man to die, but because he didn't want to be late to work and miss his time-and-a-half pay. hahahaha...
"hero rescues man"
i'm on my flight back to atlanta after being in new york city for the weekend; delta's free wireless for the holidays is pretty awesome. new york was a lot of fun, perhaps the funniest moment being hearing dolan quote top gun, line by line, while we watched it two nights in a row. or rather: while we watched the first half hour of top gun two nights in a row. also, if you would rather watch millionaire matchmaker than the abyss, we can certainly be friends.
"hero rescues man"
i'm on my flight back to atlanta after being in new york city for the weekend; delta's free wireless for the holidays is pretty awesome. new york was a lot of fun, perhaps the funniest moment being hearing dolan quote top gun, line by line, while we watched it two nights in a row. or rather: while we watched the first half hour of top gun two nights in a row. also, if you would rather watch millionaire matchmaker than the abyss, we can certainly be friends.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
nyc bound
i'm heading to new york city tomorrow, and i'll spend the weekend hanging out with good friends, eating yummy food, watching/egging on dudes who are participating in man-offs, watching duke basketball (!), seeing becky, and soaking up new york at christmas. this same group went to new york almost a year ago and had really the best time ever. and there wasn't even duke basketball involved last year.
I CAN'T WAIT.
i packed my suitcase tonight and it was so easy that i didn't even roll my clothes to make them fit better. i've spent seven weeks living out of that suitcase. two days is CAKE.
mmmm - cake.
I CAN'T WAIT.
i packed my suitcase tonight and it was so easy that i didn't even roll my clothes to make them fit better. i've spent seven weeks living out of that suitcase. two days is CAKE.
mmmm - cake.
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