i have actually made a spreadsheet with two columns: columbia and stanford.

on the columbia side: cheaper/shorter flights home.  i know a couple people in the city.  but it's a huge city - boo.  (the spreadsheet literally has a line that says "boo city.")  new york city has cool cultural stuff.

on the stanford side: longer/more expensive flights home.  hiking!  weather!  (you will not be surprised to know that the spreadsheet has exclamation points in it.)  i know no one there; this is scary.  "yay not as big city."  california is more my style.

i am the luckiest, luckiest girl ever, in that i got into the educational leadership master's degree program i applied to at columbia and the one i applied to at stanford.

i am in the middle of a first world problem if ever there was one.  which one do i pick?

(the big unknown right now: cost.  will i get any scholarship money from either place?)

a woman i work with said to me today, "you don't have to make the responsible choice.  i'm 48 and have two kids.  i have to be responsible.  you get to do whatever you want - and you should."

(damn it feels good to be a gangsta twenty-nine year old.)

(cultural reference point for old people here.  everyone else should just go watch office space again.)

(okay, i got off topic.  sorry.  back to regularly scheduled programming.)

i have lived in atlanta for seven years and it is so familiar to me - so comfortable.  i wake up in the morning knowing what my day will be like.  i have INCREDIBLE friends.  they will be, hands down, the hardest part of leaving this city.  but i'm tired of the certain, the normal.  there are aspects of my job that i don't love, and i am eager to explore a new place and meet new people.  i've waited to apply for graduate school until now because it never felt like it was time.  it is time now.  i'm scared about the unknown, but i want it nonetheless.

so, i'm pretty sure i'm going.  i have been waiting to get excited about grad school because i didn't want to be disappointed if i didn't get in to one or both of these programs.  i have been cautiously optimistic, and now i'm over the moon.  there was jumping up and down.  this should not surprise you, either.  i kind of can't believe they want me.  hoo-ray.

so...i'm going.  but to which one - that is the question.

i. need. help.

comments/emails/phone calls are encouraged.  this i know about myself: in order to make decisions i desperately need to talk it out.

thankyouverymuch.

love,
miss claire

wedding weekend!

melanie - one of my rugby friends and housemate senior year at duke - got married this weekend!  the highlights:

the snow didn't stop anyone from getting into the city - hooray!  and, in fact, the snow was minimal, which was good for me and my driving of the rental car.

rugby girls (and a husband of a rugby girl) clean up nice.  ugh - it was so wonderful to see these girls and i am sad that we don't live in the same city.  but reunions like this are wonderful!

when the bride appeared with her father at the end of a long aisle, the whole place broke into raucous applause - i've never seen that at a wedding before, and it was wonderful - this wedding had such great ENERGY.  and the bride?  oh, that's right - she got hit by a car last week and broke her ankle, so she rocked this wedding in a broken leg boot thing.  and walked down a AISLE aisle in a boot.  and danced in a boot.  she's bad ass.

there was a mariachi band at the wedding.  amazing - such upbeat music - it was the perfect backdrop to cocktail hour and dinner.

obviously we needed a photo with them.  duh.  rachel is at least 6 inches taller than me, yet somehow i was in the back row and she was in the front.  me berating her to squat down is what caused this pose.  i am entirely responsible.  sorry, rachie!

the best man did a reading during the wedding.  or rather, he sang this song:



(this is adam sandler from the wedding singer, if you are not 30 years old and this movie was not a crucial part of your high school years.)  it was SUCH a fun and unique wedding reading, and the best man gave it the energy it so deserved.

and now i'm back to the real world...sigh...but it's only for a week!  then spring break - woo hoo!

uh oh moment #2

are you aware of this???

it is current airport delays, and appears to be frequently updated.  very helpful!

as i write this, the delay out of atlanta is 90 minutes (it's raining, and thus we must freak out down here in the south) and the delay into chicago is 70 minutes (presumably snow-related and legitimate).

uh oh.

the academy awards

since i'm traveling this weekend - i don't get back to atlanta until late-ish on sunday night - i'm going to miss the academy awards, which air on sunday night.  it also means i'm missing an oscars party with anderson (boo), but anderson: consider this my ballot.  i still want to win the pool!!

note: these are the films that i WANT to win...not necessarily the ones that i think WILL win.  but whatever.  let's see how i do.

anyone else want to share their predictions?

best picture: the artist
best actor: jean dujardin
best supporting actor: christopher plummer (the beginners was really good, if you haven't seen it!)
best actress: i don't particularly care...but i think viola davis will win.
best supporting actress: melissa mccarthy all the way!
animated feature film: who cares, so i will pick rango.
art direction: hugo seems pretty from the previews
cinematography: i don't know what this means, so i will pick another pretty-seeming one: tree of life
costume design: okay, so it's turning out that i don't care about a lot of these categories.  the artist!  why not?
directing: i know from my oscar-watching in the past that best picture and best director winners often go together.  so i will pick the director of the artist.
documentary feature: paradise lost 3.  i have not seen this, but the first film was incredible.  i won't say life-changing, but it was close.
documentary short subject: no one cares, but it will probably be sad.  incident in new baghdad sounds sad.
film editing: no one cares, so i'll pick the artist.
foreign language film: i keep hearing things about a separation.
makeup: albert nobbs
music (original score): the war horse commercials make me want to cry.
music (original song): only 2 nominees????  is that allowed?  "man or muppet."
short film (animated): la luna, picked entirely at random.
short film (live action): tuba atlantic has the best name, by far.
sound editing & sound mixing: i will pick the girl with the dragon tattoo for both
visual effects: hugo
writing (adapted screenplay): moneyball
writing (original screenplay): please let bridesmaids win!

uh oh

4-6 inches of snow are supposed to arrive in chicago tonight.  i am supposed to arrive in chicago tomorrow night for a wedding of a friend.  uh oh.

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little coarse, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble. ”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

let me tell you the number one worst thing about my job: that sometimes my students don't appreciate what i'm trying to do for them.  in any number of ways.  i didn't give you a 70 on this assignment because i dislike you or take any joy in it: i did because you didn't perform well.  there were 100s.  this isn't me - your preparation for this assignment is up to you..  i didn't give you a detention because i want to spend my lunch hour with you: i did it because your behavior fell below our standards.  i care about our standards.  your behavior is up to you.

please don't be mean to me.

some days i wish i had a desk job.

...and even as i write this, i know that i don't want a desk job.  i know this is the job i want.

it's just...every day isn't a picnic.

what i'm listening to right now

"rivers and roads," by the head and the heart:

a year from now we'll all be gone
all our friends will move away
and they're going to better places
but our friends will be gone away



i heard this song on how i met your mother last week and immediately went to itunes and bought it.  as i'm hearing from grad schools i applied to and WAITING to hear from grad schools i applied to and considering moving away from atlanta...well, this song really resonated with me.

sorry to keep you waiting, internet, but i'm going to hold off on talking about my grad school plans until they are finalized, which is...not yet.  soon, though!  soon!

after yoga this morning i drove through the yucky rain to trader joe's and, as usual, went crazy in the frozen foods aisle.  (their frozen indian and thai food is pretty amazing.)  i checked out, walked out to my car, put the bag in the front seat, and then turned around and walked back into the store.  every time i go to trader joe's i gaze longingly at the flowers but never buy any because it seems so impractical.  NOT THIS TIME.  i bought two bunches of tulips - yellow and purple - that aren't fully flowered yet - i think they'll last for a long time.  the yellow ones are in the kitchen and the purple ones are right here next to my bed.

i have to remind myself that now and then it's okay to buy things that serve no purpose other than being pretty.  and $4.99 for some tulips is a small price to pay for a smile every time i look at them.

(bonus points if you know what book i'm reading based on the blurry cover you can see in the photo!)

i am rallying tonight to lead book club!  woo!  if you say it out loud, it must be true!

i have this for you.  it entertains me.

and...

...i should also note that in addition to spring break plans, i have a yucky cold that makes breathing difficult.  ugh.  for the past two days i've come home immediately after work and have alternated lying on my couch and my bed while trying to rest up and kick this thing.  it isn't exactly working, but at least i'm comfortable through the uncomfortableness of it.  boo.

when you are sick, coming up with interesting things to blog about isn't an appealing prospect, so that's the reason for my recent lack of posts.  apologies!

spring break!

other claire and i have spring break plans!

after searching for a caribbean/mexican vacation plan that was within our price range and not finding one, we took a risk and asked lindsey's mom if she would let us use their vacation condo in pensacola, florida, and she said yes!  it will be cheap, as we just have to pay the cleaning fee and the fee to use the pool, gym, etc., and we are so so thankful for her generosity.  woo hoo!  other claire and i will be road-tripping the 6 hours to pensacola on the tuesday of spring break (in three weeks!) and coming back on sunday.  i plan to do the following things while in pensacola:
1. read books
2. drink fruity drinks, preferably containing alcohol
3. sleep late
4. go to yoga classes at the resort (yes, i have already checked the schedule)
5. watch the ACC tournament and yell at the tv
6. eat delicious things

and yes, that's pretty much it.  I. CAN'T. WAIT.  hope the rest of you have spring break/vacation plans in the works to get excited about!

today i made two very exciting discoveries:

#1: oxyclean powder, mixed with water and made into a paste, can be rubbed on armpit stains on white tshirts, let to sit for 20 minutes or so, and then washed and - voila! - armpit stains gone!  not "better" - gone!  (i feel like an oxyclean commercial right now.)  this is a trick courtesy of my sister becky, and she gets a GOLD STAR for her efforts.*

#2: i love corn chowder.  (this is not a discovery from today, but this is necessary background information.)  i've been wanting to make my own corn chowder, but sometimes when you make things you realize that they are not good for you, and i am in denial about corn chowder's caloric content and/or fat grams.  i found this recipe today, and decided to give it a go.  i only made a half recipe, using vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth, omitting the bacon, and using 2% milk instead of half-and-half.  and no bread bowl - i made some biscuits to go alongside it.  IT WAS AMAZING.  a tiny bit sweet because of the fresh corn, and chock full of corn and onions and peppers - obviously the best part.  it feels healthy...enough.  i would really recommend trying it!


*a lot of times in class i will ask a particularly tough question and tell my students, "i will be so excited if someone gets this right!"  if someone does, i award an imaginary gold star to them.  (you might not be surprised to know that my class is a mixture of fun facts, positive reinforcement, and real world applications.)  the other day i was on the phone with someone who said (i am not joking), "of all the people i work with, you get a gold star for being the most prompt."  we were immediately best friends, as she knows the value of an imaginary gold star.  and people?  i was feeling good all day after she said that to me.  these imaginary gold stars work!!

as a high school teacher, i spent all day with 17 and 18 year old humans with all this potential.  they make mistakes, they (hopefully) learn from those mistakes, they experience new things, they hope, they dream, they grow.  they are entering the grown up world.  so many possibilities are ahead of them.

sometimes the grown up world comes crashing down.  real mistakes are made, mistakes that can't be mitigated or be used as learning opportunities.  that is incredibly sad to think about.

"how will i know"

i am making an assumption; the assumption that whitney houston died of a drug overdose.  i don't think i'm wrong, though i imagine tomorrow will shed more light on that.  how do we prevent this?  how does it get this bad?

above all, it is a reminder, i think, that wealth won't solve all your problems.

what i'm listening to right now

"brazilian diamonds" - a mashup by dj earworm of django reinhardt and paul simon.  pure genius.  i think the mashup is just as good as the original paul simon song - and the original song obviously kicks some ass.

movie review

the vow was a pretty entertaining movie, though veronica described it as "one step up from a lifetime original movie," and that is not an inaccurate statement.  the writing appeared to be done by a high school girl.  pieces fit together just too perfectly.  but channing tatum was nice to look at, and lily, veronica, and i made entertaining comments under our breath to one another throughout the movie.  AND!  the movie theater we went to serves alcohol, so i had a beer in the back row of the theater while watching it.  and that is nothing to complain about.

thus ends the movie review.

omg: "a very warm january"

now, i know that global warming can't be validated or disproven by a small subset of data, but this is still a pretty powerful graphic.

new obsessions:

1. the kitchn blog (spelled wrong for some reason that i don't quite understand) - this makes me want to own a house STAT.  note: the only reason i can think of to own a house is to decorate it and know you will live there for a long time and the time you spend decorating won't go to waste.  i NEED this kitchen.

2. what's good at trader joe's? - this validates my obsession with trader joe's and makes me want to get there immediately to buy all their awesome food.  yummmmm.  my freezer is chock full of trader joe's asian-y items and i can't wait to get home to have some for dinner.

the end.

i watched moneyball last night and it was so. good.  it's the kind of movie you can't help but love - i will cheer for the underdog ANY day.  best picture?  maybe not, but i really really enjoyed it.  now, how long until baseball season starts?  i can't wait to see some games...

have i proclaimed my love for verlyn klinkenborg* here?  he writes about rural life for the new york times and i just love his writing style and the content - it reminds me of growing up on the farm.  this essay - "a light in the barn" - is a great example of what makes his writing so good and so special - there is no dark like the dark in the country.  and this man has a way with words.


*incredibly, neither of these words is spelled incorrectly.

crepes

when i was younger my family would go to my aunt and uncle's house in delaware about once a year - usually at christmastime, if i recall correctly.  my uncle john would make crepes at some point every year - this was a tradition in their family and the crepes were DELICIOUS.  when i was in florida in january for my grandma's birthday celebration, i asked him for the recipe.  and today i tried it!  i made a half batch and filled the crepes with cottage cheese and strawberries sweetened with honey.  AMAZING.  just sweet enough, but they felt very light and healthy and i am adding "crepe maker" to my list of skills on my resume.  i can see myself making these frequently, as they don't require any special ingredients.  here's the recipe, courtesy of my uncle john:

From Fannie Farmer:


2 eggs
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons melted butter


Mix eggs first then add other ingredients (all at room temperature)


Beat until smooth; let stand for 30 minutes


Heat small (5-7 inch) pan to medium heat


Film with butter


Pour several tablespoons of batter in the pan an immediately tilt the pan to coat the bottom with a thin even coating (as thin as possible)


Flip when lightly brown and cook the other side


Filling: ½ cottage cheese, ½ fruit yogurt (or anything else you might desire)

what i'm listening to right now

right now, a large number of my seniors are:
lazy
entitled
squirrelly
annoying
acting like graduation is tomorrow, not three and a half months from now.

this song is:
wonderful
how i feel right now.

The sky looks pissed / The wind talks back / My bones are shifting in my skin

january: 1 & 2

here we are at the end of month 1 in year 2 of my book challenge!

this month i read:


maus: a survivor's tale (I - my father bleeds history), by art spiegelman (this is a non-fiction graphic novel [fancy way of saying "intellectually stimulating comic book"] and consequently it's a very quick read.  an amazing personal story of the author's father's experiences at the beginning of the holocaust, and somehow more poignant because it's in such a simple format.  the jews are depicted as mice ("maus" is german for "mouse"), communists are pigs, and german non-jews are cats.  the book ends with the author's father's arrival at auschwitz.  there is a part 2, and i'm on the list at the library for it.  i would definitely recommend this book.)

the thorn birds, by colleen mccullough (this book is a soap opera in written form.  a long, epic soap opera.  but you feel better about the soap opera because you are reading it [what smart people do!] instead of watching it [what dumb people do!  or, this is what you tell yourself].  the story follows three generations of one family on the australian outback.  there is love, there is scandal, and there are boring parts.  in fact, the last 200 pages have a lot of boring parts, but never mind.  i enjoyed the book, but i won't be rushing to re-read it any time soon.)