i have been having bad dreams all about the same thing.
i'm in oxford this summer, except i've been asked to move to work in a different college.
the program i work for is housed in two colleges at oxford (think of it as two dorms at a US college) that are located a five minute walk apart. i've been at pembroke college, but all three deans from pembroke are returning this summer - whereas only one dean from oriel college is returning. we've been told that one of us from pembroke would have to move over to oriel to add experience there. i don't want this to be me. i love pembroke - both physically (it's beautiful), but more importantly it's where the people i know best live and work. and we like each other. and work well together. so i don't want to move. none of us want to move. back to the dream. is it weird that the dream is in normal font and real life is in italics? perhaps it's actually that present day is in normal font and explanatory things are in italics. that seems reasonable.
so i'm working in this other college but instead of it being five minutes away it's like half an hour away and i don't like the people i'm working with and i'm moving super slow when i try to walk back to see my friends and i never get there.
i have had this dream four or five times in the past couple weeks. in the daytime i'm not nervous about the potential of having to change colleges, but i keep dreaming about it. i think my unconscious is nervous. nervous that if i have to change colleges i won't be happy.
yesterday i found out that i have to change colleges.
italics now - but to tell you what the email that formally offered me a contract said:
I hope this finds you well. After a successful summer last year, [name of the director] is pleased to invite you to return this summer. We are delighted to offer you the position of Program Dean. You will be living in college (Oriel College) with the program and providing residential supervision to students. (The reason for this switch is to provide some additional experience at Oriel, for which [director] is extremely grateful and we hope you understand.)
it makes sense that i would be the one moving - the other two deans in pembroke have more experience with the program than i do - so they ought to have their choice of location. i'll be fine in oriel. i like the returning dean there that i'll be working with. i'm up for the challenge of a new location. i'll be fine. i made willis talk through it with me - i am very verbal when it comes to working through problems - and i'll be fine. of course. it's not what i want, but it's what i've got. i'm being positive about it. the world really will not come to an end.
last night i didn't have a dream about this summer. i've worked through it in real life, i guess - there's certainty now. it's concrete. i'm good with concrete. my unconscious has moved on.
instead i had a dream i lived in a corn maze and was pregnant.
i cannot explain this dream either...other than i just visited my friend margaret and her three week old twins and they are freaking ADORABLE and i got to snuggle with them and i went a little baby crazy.
i promise that i neither live in a corn maze nor am i pregnant.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
my most recent baking adventure:
whoopie pies with mint filling and chocolate ganache
i found this recipe in a bon appetit magazine that i found at the gym. score! free magazine! probably covered in someone else's sweat, but no matter. it had this awesome recipe in it.
i was going to take some pictures to show you what the cookies looked like when i made them (pretty similar to the picture if you click on the link), but i apparently ate and shared the cookies too quickly and they were gone before i could take a photo. oops! but they were pretty and delicious and make you look like a professional chef. and they didn't stick to the pan when i baked them. that's my way of deciding it's a good recipe.
i found this recipe in a bon appetit magazine that i found at the gym. score! free magazine! probably covered in someone else's sweat, but no matter. it had this awesome recipe in it.
i was going to take some pictures to show you what the cookies looked like when i made them (pretty similar to the picture if you click on the link), but i apparently ate and shared the cookies too quickly and they were gone before i could take a photo. oops! but they were pretty and delicious and make you look like a professional chef. and they didn't stick to the pan when i baked them. that's my way of deciding it's a good recipe.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
oops. i disappeared for a little bit.
sorry, loyal readers!
i hate trying to fill people in about what i've been up to when i disappear. sorry. blogs where people just detail their day to day activities aren't very interesting to me. i worked. and ate and slept and watched tv. and my parents visited (yay!) and we didn't place at trivia twice in a row. LAME-O. but honestly - who knows how hard platinum is on the mohs hardness scale? or how many rebounds some NBA dude i've never heard of had in his career?
i think it's apparent that the answer is: not me. or my friends.
on tuesday i'm taking dinner to my friend margaret and her husband andy - they just had twins! 7 pounds each twins! she is a rockstar. i've been trying to plan what to take her - a mutual friend set up a schedule so margaret and andy will get meals three days a week and i kind of want to do something different than other people because i eat a little differently than other people. i imagine they're getting a fair number of heavy casseroles and things and mom suggested i do something light. good idea, mom. so i settled on three salads:
honey-balsamic bean salad (i haven't tried this one yet but i'll let you know how it turns out)
wild rice salad (this one has blueberries and artichokes and potatoes in it. it is delish.)
and a cold vegetable salad that joey's mom made for me a while ago and i make a lot - roasted peppers, asparagus, zucchini, and portabello mushrooms with a vinaigrette dressing.
margaret also likes this zucchini sweet potato bread that i've brought to work before, so i'm also going to make them a loaf of that.
so my night tonight will be cooking big batches of those salads (so i can keep some, too) and watching friday night lights reruns and reading and generally trying to relax before monday. right now i'm writing comments on my students to send home to their parents, and this is not fun. so...back to work. so i can get to the fun.
i hate trying to fill people in about what i've been up to when i disappear. sorry. blogs where people just detail their day to day activities aren't very interesting to me. i worked. and ate and slept and watched tv. and my parents visited (yay!) and we didn't place at trivia twice in a row. LAME-O. but honestly - who knows how hard platinum is on the mohs hardness scale? or how many rebounds some NBA dude i've never heard of had in his career?
i think it's apparent that the answer is: not me. or my friends.
on tuesday i'm taking dinner to my friend margaret and her husband andy - they just had twins! 7 pounds each twins! she is a rockstar. i've been trying to plan what to take her - a mutual friend set up a schedule so margaret and andy will get meals three days a week and i kind of want to do something different than other people because i eat a little differently than other people. i imagine they're getting a fair number of heavy casseroles and things and mom suggested i do something light. good idea, mom. so i settled on three salads:
honey-balsamic bean salad (i haven't tried this one yet but i'll let you know how it turns out)
wild rice salad (this one has blueberries and artichokes and potatoes in it. it is delish.)
and a cold vegetable salad that joey's mom made for me a while ago and i make a lot - roasted peppers, asparagus, zucchini, and portabello mushrooms with a vinaigrette dressing.
margaret also likes this zucchini sweet potato bread that i've brought to work before, so i'm also going to make them a loaf of that.
so my night tonight will be cooking big batches of those salads (so i can keep some, too) and watching friday night lights reruns and reading and generally trying to relax before monday. right now i'm writing comments on my students to send home to their parents, and this is not fun. so...back to work. so i can get to the fun.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
more basketball talk
(i know some of you are yawning and moving on...but allow me this for the next two weeks...)
11 big east teams made the NCAA tournament; 2 are left.
4 ACC teams made the tournament; 3 are left.
take THAT, big east!
(go duke!)
11 big east teams made the NCAA tournament; 2 are left.
4 ACC teams made the tournament; 3 are left.
take THAT, big east!
(go duke!)
Sunday, March 20, 2011
dog driver
on friday night as i was leaving dinner with friends we walked past this car in the parking lot.
i mean seriously: it really looks like this dog is going to shift into reverse and back out of the parking space.
[thanks to mike for taking this picture!]
i mean seriously: it really looks like this dog is going to shift into reverse and back out of the parking space.
[thanks to mike for taking this picture!]
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
an extra credit question from my test last week:
what country has the world's longest total set of land borders with other countries, slightly ahead of russia?
(taken from ken jennings' tuesday trivia emails. i like to have extra credit questions that are entirely unrelated to what we're studying - i think it's a fun addition to a test. if you have a guess, leave a comment!)
actual answers i received:
japan (a country with 0 miles of land borders with other countries)
the philippines (ditto)
ireland (only slightly better)
the vatican (ahh yes - pick the smallest country in the world)
crikey. who is taught these kids geography?? SERIOUSLY. i would like to speak to that person.
what country has the world's longest total set of land borders with other countries, slightly ahead of russia?
(taken from ken jennings' tuesday trivia emails. i like to have extra credit questions that are entirely unrelated to what we're studying - i think it's a fun addition to a test. if you have a guess, leave a comment!)
actual answers i received:
japan (a country with 0 miles of land borders with other countries)
the philippines (ditto)
ireland (only slightly better)
the vatican (ahh yes - pick the smallest country in the world)
crikey. who is taught these kids geography?? SERIOUSLY. i would like to speak to that person.
olympics update
so...i put my name (and credit card) in for two pairs of tickets at the london 2012 olympics: the gymnastics women's team final and the gymnastics women's individual all-around final. thanks for the thoughts from everyone - they confirmed what i was already thinking: that it would be amazing to get the tickets and if i can't use them, i can't use them. better than the opposite scenario.
here's how it works from here (i have learned more): people have a month to make requests. if you request an event and there are more tickets than requests, you get the tickets! if you request an event and there are more requests than tickets, there is a lottery to determine who gets the tickets. in either situation, if you get tickets your credit card is charged for them in early may. so...i'll be anxiously awaiting early may and news of whether i'm a winner. the tickets are divided up among every country imaginable, so i have no idea how many tickets are even available for this country of mine of 305 million people. i'm going to guess a lot, but less than england and some big european countries where people are much more likely to travel to london for the games.
i'm really excited. i'll keep you posted!
here's how it works from here (i have learned more): people have a month to make requests. if you request an event and there are more tickets than requests, you get the tickets! if you request an event and there are more requests than tickets, there is a lottery to determine who gets the tickets. in either situation, if you get tickets your credit card is charged for them in early may. so...i'll be anxiously awaiting early may and news of whether i'm a winner. the tickets are divided up among every country imaginable, so i have no idea how many tickets are even available for this country of mine of 305 million people. i'm going to guess a lot, but less than england and some big european countries where people are much more likely to travel to london for the games.
i'm really excited. i'll keep you posted!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
impatient
being #79 on the list at the library for a book you REALLY want to read is lame and frustrating, so last night i bought mockingjay (the 3rd hunger games book) on amazon.com for $7.98 and i'm considering it money well spent. to bring my order up to $25 and earn free shipping i was forced (happily) to buy some other books, too. now i just have to clear my schedule so that when mockingjay arrives i can read as much as possible in a short period of time. these books are THAT good.
in other news, who else is counting down the hours until march madness (really) starts? by my count we're less than 24 hours away. and 51ish hours away from duke's first game. with kyrie??? crossing my fingers! i LOVE this time of year.
in other news, who else is counting down the hours until march madness (really) starts? by my count we're less than 24 hours away. and 51ish hours away from duke's first game. with kyrie??? crossing my fingers! i LOVE this time of year.
hamstercide
mark bittman, you make a lot of sense. this is why i love you. this, and your delicious recipes (that don't involve meat, though i do eat milk and eggs, so farm animals ARE involved...).
"why don't farm animals get the respect pets do?"
"why don't farm animals get the respect pets do?"
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
basketball thoughts on a rainy tuesday:
(i promise i'm working, too...but one can only do so much actual work while one's students are taking a test and the internet is there being distracting.)
1. my seven year old friend has his bracket prepared and posted on the CBS site where we'll be competing. i pretty much can't WAIT to see which teams he picked. and i'm fearful that he will beat me, as he probably knows more about college basketball than i do. his aunt has upped the stakes for all people competing with him, and there are now cash prizes. yesssssss.
2. another friend (this one is an adult) does a "dead pool" every year, which i think is more fun than a bracket. here's what you do: every day there are games (so: thurs, fri, sat, and sun of the first weekends), you pick one team who you think will win. if that team wins, you move on. if that team loses, you are dead. and once you've picked a team you can't ever pick them again, so there's this balance: you want to pick a team that will win for sure, but not a team you think will go much further in the tournament because you can't ever pick them again. you're allowed to have two entries in his pool. my picks for thursday (feel free to judge) are a 4 seed (kentucky) and a 5 seed (kansas state). this is a fun game to play because you have a stake in every day's games - you're rooting for the teams you picked in the dead pool.
1. my seven year old friend has his bracket prepared and posted on the CBS site where we'll be competing. i pretty much can't WAIT to see which teams he picked. and i'm fearful that he will beat me, as he probably knows more about college basketball than i do. his aunt has upped the stakes for all people competing with him, and there are now cash prizes. yesssssss.
2. another friend (this one is an adult) does a "dead pool" every year, which i think is more fun than a bracket. here's what you do: every day there are games (so: thurs, fri, sat, and sun of the first weekends), you pick one team who you think will win. if that team wins, you move on. if that team loses, you are dead. and once you've picked a team you can't ever pick them again, so there's this balance: you want to pick a team that will win for sure, but not a team you think will go much further in the tournament because you can't ever pick them again. you're allowed to have two entries in his pool. my picks for thursday (feel free to judge) are a 4 seed (kentucky) and a 5 seed (kansas state). this is a fun game to play because you have a stake in every day's games - you're rooting for the teams you picked in the dead pool.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
since i last blogged i've eaten french fries again, tater tots, another chai latte, and i've drank (drunk?) several beers while watching duke games. spring break eating might be delicious while it's happening, but i feel like crap now that it's over.
i'm committing myself to a week long detox - no sodas, no caffeine, no alcohol, no fried foods, lots of vegetables. starting…6 hours ago. ideally, right, that would be how i ate and drank all the time, but, um, that doesn't always happen. (see: the last 7 days.) so! week long detox to stop feeling so YUCK.
also, let's be excited about these things:
duke beat carolina (convincingly)!
duke earned a #1 seed in the tournament!
my flight back to atlanta was overbooked, so i volunteered to give up my seat for a flight two hours later - and earned myself a $400 delta travel voucher. yesssss!
(that flight was then delayed an hour - BOO - but three hours of wait time [while reading half broke horses and watching the good wife] for $400 of delta money is still a pretty great deal.)
real world, i will greet you when my alarm goes off at 6:30 tomorrow morning.
i'm committing myself to a week long detox - no sodas, no caffeine, no alcohol, no fried foods, lots of vegetables. starting…6 hours ago. ideally, right, that would be how i ate and drank all the time, but, um, that doesn't always happen. (see: the last 7 days.) so! week long detox to stop feeling so YUCK.
also, let's be excited about these things:
duke beat carolina (convincingly)!
duke earned a #1 seed in the tournament!
my flight back to atlanta was overbooked, so i volunteered to give up my seat for a flight two hours later - and earned myself a $400 delta travel voucher. yesssss!
(that flight was then delayed an hour - BOO - but three hours of wait time [while reading half broke horses and watching the good wife] for $400 of delta money is still a pretty great deal.)
real world, i will greet you when my alarm goes off at 6:30 tomorrow morning.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
is it acceptable to eat french fries for three meals in a row?
because i have. along with sandwiches. both the sandwiches and the french fries were delicious. spring break is a little bit of an excuse to eat things you wouldn't normally eat (like french fries for three meals in a row). i've also had three chai lattes in the past week. those were pretty delicious, too. i love spring break.
in addition to french fries and chai lattes, we've played trivia (3rd place! and my visit to ketchum, idaho earned us a correct answer to one question. incredible, i know.), i spent yesterday afternoon at the newseum (incredible - i highly recommend it), and spent yesterday evening drinking fruity beers and watching duke beat maryland (always a good thing).
today nora and rachel and i are going to a craft fair and then to a bar to watch the duke-virginia tech game (eek i'm nervous). minus the nerves, it's looking to be a pretty excellent day. DC is treating me right.
rip 'em up, tear 'em up, give 'em hell DUKE!
because i have. along with sandwiches. both the sandwiches and the french fries were delicious. spring break is a little bit of an excuse to eat things you wouldn't normally eat (like french fries for three meals in a row). i've also had three chai lattes in the past week. those were pretty delicious, too. i love spring break.
in addition to french fries and chai lattes, we've played trivia (3rd place! and my visit to ketchum, idaho earned us a correct answer to one question. incredible, i know.), i spent yesterday afternoon at the newseum (incredible - i highly recommend it), and spent yesterday evening drinking fruity beers and watching duke beat maryland (always a good thing).
today nora and rachel and i are going to a craft fair and then to a bar to watch the duke-virginia tech game (eek i'm nervous). minus the nerves, it's looking to be a pretty excellent day. DC is treating me right.
rip 'em up, tear 'em up, give 'em hell DUKE!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
spring break from blogging
see what i did there? a little "before and after" a la jeopardy. you notice that watson didn't have to face any "before and after" categories because there's no WAY he could have gotten those answers. go ken!!
i'm headed up to DC today to visit some wonderful old friends and regular blog readers (nora "the playlistress" from TIP, rachie from duke [we played rugby together and were roommates in the rugby house senior year - yes, readers, i lived in a rugby house], and morgan from duke [we took lots of history classes together]) and i could not be more excited. this weekend will be filled with really special friends, lots* of duke basketball watching, good food, trivia, a trip to the newseum, and other glorious things.
yay hooray.
i'll have minimal internet access while out of town, so excuse my absence. i'll be back in a couple days!
*nolan, kyle, seth, mason, and ryan (or as nora calls him, r. kelly): the amount of duke basketball watching i get to do depends on you. fight for it!!
i'm headed up to DC today to visit some wonderful old friends and regular blog readers (nora "the playlistress" from TIP, rachie from duke [we played rugby together and were roommates in the rugby house senior year - yes, readers, i lived in a rugby house], and morgan from duke [we took lots of history classes together]) and i could not be more excited. this weekend will be filled with really special friends, lots* of duke basketball watching, good food, trivia, a trip to the newseum, and other glorious things.
yay hooray.
i'll have minimal internet access while out of town, so excuse my absence. i'll be back in a couple days!
*nolan, kyle, seth, mason, and ryan (or as nora calls him, r. kelly): the amount of duke basketball watching i get to do depends on you. fight for it!!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
tragedy
creepy dude on american idol with overly white teeth - apparently your name is paul - you have not done ryan adams proud. to make my heart stop hurting, i've had to listen to the real version.
whew - that's better. love you, ryan adams.
whew - that's better. love you, ryan adams.
gay men draw butch things, part 2
last night at trivia (2nd place! final question: which of these authors was a spy and ladies man during world war 2? choices: maurice sendak, roald dahl, a.a. milne, dr. seuss) we continued our game of making a gay man draw a butch thing. willis was instructed to draw a man cutting down a tree with a chainsaw. this is a very butch thing, obviously. his work has improved considerably, though the tree is a little bizarre:
why the man chose to cut down the tree while standing on the hill to the left of the tree instead of the flat area to the right of the tree - we'll never know. perhaps because he didn't want to fall off the cliff where the world ends?
good work, willis.
you should also know that willis played in a gay volleyball tournament last weekend (the men playing are gay - not the volleyballs themselves) and not only did his team win 3rd place, but willis was voted onto the all-tournament team! go willis!!
why the man chose to cut down the tree while standing on the hill to the left of the tree instead of the flat area to the right of the tree - we'll never know. perhaps because he didn't want to fall off the cliff where the world ends?
good work, willis.
you should also know that willis played in a gay volleyball tournament last weekend (the men playing are gay - not the volleyballs themselves) and not only did his team win 3rd place, but willis was voted onto the all-tournament team! go willis!!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
dilemma
help needed for my current dilemma.
as you readers know, i have worked in england for the past two summers and have plans to work there again this summer. 2011, for those keeping track.
in 2012 the summer olympics are in london during the time i would be in england if i worked for the program again that summer (a year and a half from now).
!!
i am a huge fan of the olympics and it would be AMAZING to see some of it if i'm going to be in england anyway and wouldn't have to pay for travel, housing, etc. i could travel into london for the day and back out to oxford (about 2 hours each way) to sleep. assuming i could get the day off from work, which is likely.
here comes the dilemma: tickets go on sale next week - it's a whole lottery system based on your country of residence, so there's no guarantee i'd even get tickets. however: once you get them you can't return them and who knows if i could find someone to buy them from me if i don't end up working in england and being able to use them. the tickets aren't horribly expensive, but they aren't free either.
so - do i put my name in the lottery for some of the tickets, on the off chance that (a) i get some tickets, and (b) i work in england again in 2012??
thoughts, please. comment away!
i'll be having a couple girl scout cookies while i ponder this one.
as you readers know, i have worked in england for the past two summers and have plans to work there again this summer. 2011, for those keeping track.
in 2012 the summer olympics are in london during the time i would be in england if i worked for the program again that summer (a year and a half from now).
!!
i am a huge fan of the olympics and it would be AMAZING to see some of it if i'm going to be in england anyway and wouldn't have to pay for travel, housing, etc. i could travel into london for the day and back out to oxford (about 2 hours each way) to sleep. assuming i could get the day off from work, which is likely.
here comes the dilemma: tickets go on sale next week - it's a whole lottery system based on your country of residence, so there's no guarantee i'd even get tickets. however: once you get them you can't return them and who knows if i could find someone to buy them from me if i don't end up working in england and being able to use them. the tickets aren't horribly expensive, but they aren't free either.
so - do i put my name in the lottery for some of the tickets, on the off chance that (a) i get some tickets, and (b) i work in england again in 2012??
thoughts, please. comment away!
i'll be having a couple girl scout cookies while i ponder this one.
Monday, March 7, 2011
les mis
last night PBS aired a concert of les miserables from london in honor of the show's 25th anniversary. of course i watched - i love this musical. i saw it in london 11 years ago when i was a senior in high school. my high school had a week right after spring break when you were supposed to take on some special project and study it in detail. one year you could take a trip, which is what i did my senior year - went to london for a week. i have very vivid memories from seeing this show and being so swept up in the music that i almost forgot where i was. yes, i will join you in your revolution! make space for me on stage!
you should know that i have journaled as long as i've, you know, been able to string sentences together on paper. and i have all these journals because i'm a hoarder. it is mostly awkward to reread what i wrote in my angst-y years, but occasionally fun to remember what i was thinking at that moment. this blog, of course, is an extension of those journals.
so, you ask, if i've got the journals what WAS i thinking when i first saw this show? funny you should ask:
3-13-00
[lots of blah-blahing about what we did that day...]
...then to "les miserables" - AWESOME! was great...i'll have to listen to katie's CD when we get back. note to self: [learn to] paint like salvador dali, marry marius.
yes, friends. at 17 my life goals were to paint like salvador dali and marry a fictional character from les mis. good times. i wonder if my 17 year old self would be disappointed that i have achieved neither of these goals. (yet.)
you should know that i have journaled as long as i've, you know, been able to string sentences together on paper. and i have all these journals because i'm a hoarder. it is mostly awkward to reread what i wrote in my angst-y years, but occasionally fun to remember what i was thinking at that moment. this blog, of course, is an extension of those journals.
so, you ask, if i've got the journals what WAS i thinking when i first saw this show? funny you should ask:
3-13-00
[lots of blah-blahing about what we did that day...]
...then to "les miserables" - AWESOME! was great...i'll have to listen to katie's CD when we get back. note to self: [learn to] paint like salvador dali, marry marius.
yes, friends. at 17 my life goals were to paint like salvador dali and marry a fictional character from les mis. good times. i wonder if my 17 year old self would be disappointed that i have achieved neither of these goals. (yet.)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
boo
"storming the floor is probably not necessary when a team is ranked 13 and beats #4. poor form."
--text message from becky to me, received at 10:03pm
"okay: classless to storm the court when you are ranked #13 in the nation."
--text message from me to becky, sent at 10:03pm
we sent essentially the same text message to each other at the same moment, our little messages passing one another in the magic text message ether between our phones. that's pretty much the only fun thing about tonight's game.
--text message from becky to me, received at 10:03pm
"okay: classless to storm the court when you are ranked #13 in the nation."
--text message from me to becky, sent at 10:03pm
we sent essentially the same text message to each other at the same moment, our little messages passing one another in the magic text message ether between our phones. that's pretty much the only fun thing about tonight's game.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
21
i am in love with adele.
this is a new love. i'd heard (and liked) a couple of her songs before, but when her new album 21 came out people were raving about her everywhere i looked, so i listened to the album for free (yay!) on NPR's website (you can stream it here) and immediately bought it from itunes. in three days this has become my driving home music, my on-in-the-background-while-i-work music. i came back to my office at the end of the teaching day yesterday, tired, and i said out loud (i do that a lot), "i need some adele right now." wikipedia tells me this: "The Official Charts Company announced that that Adele is the first living artist to achieve the feat of two top five hits in both the UK Singles Chart and the UK Album Chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964."
woah.
you need to hear some adele.
and, in fact, you can hear her singing dylan.
she has got one amazing voice. i think that's what i love about her music - it's all talent, no fanciness, no fussiness, no fame.
do it, adele.
this is a new love. i'd heard (and liked) a couple of her songs before, but when her new album 21 came out people were raving about her everywhere i looked, so i listened to the album for free (yay!) on NPR's website (you can stream it here) and immediately bought it from itunes. in three days this has become my driving home music, my on-in-the-background-while-i-work music. i came back to my office at the end of the teaching day yesterday, tired, and i said out loud (i do that a lot), "i need some adele right now." wikipedia tells me this: "The Official Charts Company announced that that Adele is the first living artist to achieve the feat of two top five hits in both the UK Singles Chart and the UK Album Chart simultaneously since The Beatles in 1964."
woah.
you need to hear some adele.
and, in fact, you can hear her singing dylan.
she has got one amazing voice. i think that's what i love about her music - it's all talent, no fanciness, no fussiness, no fame.
do it, adele.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
vegetarian chili
i made the best vegetarian chili last night - it was so good because it had chunks of sweet potato in it and i love sweet potatoes. the recipe is from real simple and you can find it here. do i own a slow cooker? no way jose. i just cooked it on the top of the stove, so i made these changes: sauteed the onions and peppers first, then added all the rest of the ingredients (except the sweet potatoes) and let simmer for a while. (a while = about half an hour because that's all the patience i have.) at the last minute i added the sweet potatoes, which i had chopped into bite-sized pieces and cooked separately - tossed in olive oil and roasted in the oven at 475 degrees for 15 minutes. i brought some for lunch today - heated it up and sprinkled shredded cheddar cheese on it. heavennnnn. maybe it's not really chili season any more, as the weather is heating up, but i don't care one bit.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
february: 3 4 5
month two on my quest to read 25 books in 2011. woo hoo! i'm right on track, and read three books that i really enjoyed.
assassination vacation, by sarah vowell (great recommendation from nora - really interesting read on the assassinations of lincoln, garfield, and mckinley, and yes: this sentence reveals that i am a history nerd. but sarah vowell is hilarious, so it's a hilarious romp through assassinations. if that's possible. this book also allowed me to get a question right at trivia night recently, so another bonus! the question: the dry tortugas are islands off the coast of what us state? and, you see, samuel mudd (doctor who set lincoln's assassin's broken leg after the assassination) was imprisoned on the dry tortugas. so i knew it was florida. don't say "i could have gotten that without reading this book," because that will dampen my excitement.)
the hunger games, by suzanne collins (I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. i read it in probably three sittings, but would have read it in one if my schedule would have allowed. this is a young adult book, but one that willis and andy read before me and recommended strongly, so i took the plunge. every chapter ends with an incredible cliffhanger and i kept saying to myself "just one more chapter!" nora and rachel: i put my name on the list at the library for the next book in the series, catching fire, so you were right on track with your recommendation! i can't recommend this book any stronger than: you neeeeeed to read it. in particular, i'm talking to you mom, becky, and abby. get on the list at your library. because OH THERE WILL BE A LIST.)
blink, by malcolm gladwell (my uncle mark let me take this off his full bookshelves when i was in california in october, and i just got around to reading it. i liked this book a lot - falls into the freakonomics vein for me. but maybe not as good as freakonomics? if i'm being honest. still really enjoyed it, though.)
and that, friends, was february.
assassination vacation, by sarah vowell (great recommendation from nora - really interesting read on the assassinations of lincoln, garfield, and mckinley, and yes: this sentence reveals that i am a history nerd. but sarah vowell is hilarious, so it's a hilarious romp through assassinations. if that's possible. this book also allowed me to get a question right at trivia night recently, so another bonus! the question: the dry tortugas are islands off the coast of what us state? and, you see, samuel mudd (doctor who set lincoln's assassin's broken leg after the assassination) was imprisoned on the dry tortugas. so i knew it was florida. don't say "i could have gotten that without reading this book," because that will dampen my excitement.)
the hunger games, by suzanne collins (I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. i read it in probably three sittings, but would have read it in one if my schedule would have allowed. this is a young adult book, but one that willis and andy read before me and recommended strongly, so i took the plunge. every chapter ends with an incredible cliffhanger and i kept saying to myself "just one more chapter!" nora and rachel: i put my name on the list at the library for the next book in the series, catching fire, so you were right on track with your recommendation! i can't recommend this book any stronger than: you neeeeeed to read it. in particular, i'm talking to you mom, becky, and abby. get on the list at your library. because OH THERE WILL BE A LIST.)
blink, by malcolm gladwell (my uncle mark let me take this off his full bookshelves when i was in california in october, and i just got around to reading it. i liked this book a lot - falls into the freakonomics vein for me. but maybe not as good as freakonomics? if i'm being honest. still really enjoyed it, though.)
and that, friends, was february.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)