your weather report

today a native houstonian said to me - in all seriousness - "i just don't think i could live in dallas - it gets so cold there!"

no one outside of texas has said this ever.

but then i did a little research on weather.com, and the average temperatures in dallas ARE about 10 degrees cooler than houston in the winter.  "cooler."  i don't imagine many people would call these temperatures "cold"...

dallas:

houston:

i'm pretty darn excited about highs in the 60s this winter.  but right now it's still getting up to almost 90 every day, and that i am not quite so pleased about.  sigh.

ruby met jenny's dog piper, and piper won.  ruby did some stereotypical cat things (raised back like she was in a halloween movie, hissing, etc.), but piper was not deterred and came to investigate.  ruby ended up in a corner of my bedroom trying frantically to climb the wall while piper was at least 3 feet away.  :(  poor ruby!  she is not the bravest of the kitties.

after piper left, ruby spent a long time smelling various areas of the apartment and looking at me like "i am not convinced that scary dog is gone - everything smells like her!"  she then took a nap on a high shelf in my closet just in case.

a kitten a day

it's hard to tell whether ruby wants to watch old episodes of homeland with me (i can't wait for the third season premiere!!), or whether getting your stomach scratched is just this relaxing...

(in other news, ruby has now happily eaten little bits of: asparagus, broccoli, corn, and cabbage.  she turned up her nose at tomato, though. silly girl.)

songs i've shazamed recently

this post should be subtitled, "i don't know any of the cool music any more."  the last song at the homecoming dance this weekend was some miley cyrus song i had NEVER HEARD IN MY LIFE and all the kids could sing every word.  i am old, but that is a-okay with me.

more music i've heard on the radio and liked:

"brave," by sara bareilles (love her!  and can we discuss how much i adore this music video?  young people need sara bareilles, not miley cyrus.):



"wake me up," by avicii, but first, a screen shot from my iPhone:

i really like this song, but apparently i can never remember that i've heard it before.  more evidence i am an old lady.  also, please not that i shamazed this twice in 15 minutes on a commute home from work last week.  as in, i had no idea what song it was...twice in one car ride.  WHO AM I?!  i will blame this on the stress of starting a new job.  yeah, that's it.


"hard to love," by lee brice:

back from toronto - um, this city is so EUROPEAN and clean and the people are nice and the food is delicious and the airport was so fancy.  i learned lots of things and go to see some other college counselor friends (i miss you already, erin!)

and i laughed a LOT with my coworkers, who are pretty fantastic people.  waking up at 4:40 on thursday morning and then 5:40 this morning wasn't fun, but i was very brave.

now ruby and i are snuggling and watching some tv before i have to go BACK to work - the homecoming dance is tonight.  ugh.

don't worry, i'll also be at work tomorrow for an hour to open up the school for an SAT prep program.  double ugh.

in other news, sometimes a certain kitty gets thirsty and a normal water dish won't suffice.

she hasn't fallen in.  yet.

the germs of 578 high schoolers have gotten to me and i've got a cold.  sigh.  this was bound to happen right about now...  ruby is at the boarding place because i have a 7:40am INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT UGH I HAVE TO BE AT THE AIRPORT 2 HOURS BEFOREHAND flight tomorrow to canada for a conference (!) and that plus the cold means that i just might go to sleep in the next half hour.  do not judge me.

a photo a day

Baby Ryan is one month old - and his mama is using the blanket I made him!! Yayyyyyyyy. 

i realized today that i haven't posted much about my new job.  so here's the update!  i like it a lot: great kids, some on par with my favorites from atlanta.  they are smart and eager and i get a chorus of genuine, eye-contact "thank you!"s when class ends every day.  this means so much.  i work in an office with 5 other deans who are smart and funny and caring and SO helpful, and we are building a camaraderie similar to what i had with my co-deans in atlanta.  and these are the most important things about my kind of job: good kids and great coworkers.

i am learning the answers to the questions i get asked and am building confidence in myself and comfort in my job.  whew.

there have been some late nights recently - we put on parent programs for each grade level, plus open house night, plus a few new-to-the-school parent programs...all beginning of the year stuff, but it gets tiring doing that once a week.  we're far enough into the year now that most of this is done, which i am very grateful for.  and so is ruby: she is a crazy kitty when i get home from work, and if i rush back off for a couple more hours she is not a happy camper, having been home alone all day.

i am still accidentally falling asleep for a 30 minute nap every day after work.  you would think it wouldn't be an accident any more, but i lie down on the couch to watch some tv and 10 minutes later my eyes are so heavy i can't keep them open any more.

so yes: the new job is going well.  hooray!

songs i've shazamed recently

"carry on," by fun.  i'm late to the game on this one, i know!  i love the lead singer's voice so much.



"royals," by lorde:



"the a team," by ed sheeran:

ruby lives up to cat stereotypes

1. as mentioned before, she loves to lie in patches of sunlight.  this picture is from a couple days after i first got her - she's so tiny here (just over 2 pounds)!

2. she likes to observe the world from high places.

3. she loves to play with yarn.  (she's too feisty to be caught on film!)

4. a windowsill is an excellent place to lie and observe the world.  sometimes you have to crawl through the blinds to get there, but it is totally worth it.

5. playing with balls is fun.  so is playing with empty boxes.  (this video is from about a week ago, and you can see how much bigger she's gotten - she's over 4 pounds now!  you can also hear me be a nerd-o cat mom, so it's definitely worth watching.)

i have talked about my love of chipotle's commercials before (and there are several other commercials i've loved just as much), and they've produced one more to watch - the scarecrow.  beautiful, chilling music - willy wonka lovers will be pleased - and obviously a theme that i support!

(i know that chipotle isn't as sustainable and environmentally friendly as people think they are - but i still think they are a company that's on the right track!)

all i have to say about last night's breaking bad is OHMYGODDDDDDDD.

if you are not watching this show, start with season 1 immediately.  i may have to immediately rewatch it all once the series ends in (sniff) just a few weeks.


in related news, i haven't had cable since i moved to houston, and i've substituted with watching tv on networks' websites, my netflix subscription and by purchasing the current seasons of mad men (in june), project runway, and now breaking bad from itunes since i can't watch them for free online.  i don't miss cable much at all...and when did i have time to watch 10 or so shows a week?!  i will be getting cable again in november in time for duke basketball season (a necessity), but at the moment i don't miss it.

songs i've shazamed recently

more music i've heard on the radio and thought "what is this song?  i like this!" instead of changing the channel.

"summertime sadness," by lana del rey & cedric gervais:



"counting stars," by onerepublic:



"roar," by katy perry (yes, i AM embarrassed that i like a katy perry song, and this music video just adds to the embarrassment):

hummus

i made hummus!

the recipe is one that my friend andy's stepmom, who is middle eastern, gave me a long time ago from a middle eastern cookbook, but i haven't made it in years.  and i kind of remember why: while the hummus is delicious, it's no better than what you can buy in a grocery store.  so...i made hummus, but i wouldn't necessarily recommend that you make it, unless your goal is to mess around in the kitchen.  and that is sometimes my goal.

the secret to making good hummus at home: you have to peel the chickpeas.  it's not hard - they pop right out of their skins - but it does take a little while.  without the skins you can get a creamier hummus.

gross photo of the chickpea skins in the sink, then the naked chickpeas in a food processor with olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, and garlic, then the finished product!  it was getting thick, so i ended up adding some warm water, as well.  i've been bringing hummus to lunch every day to add to my salad - delish!

a mormon just invited me to see book of mormon with him on saturday.

!!!

(the touring company is in houston for the week.)

the mormon is my department chair, and he had an extra ticket and asked me if i'd like to join him and another co-worker!  the answer was, obviously, yes, as i've been wanting to see this show for a long time.  (i tried three times to get day-of lottery tickets in new york...and failed.  then i forgot to buy tickets for this touring show in houston.)  i'm so excited...and so...intrigued.  full report to come!

(people are so nice.  i'm going to the houston ballet with my new friend kate on sunday because she had an extra ticket.  a whole weekend's social plans made by two very nice people with extra tickets!  victory!)

“Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”
--Guillaume Apollinaire

a photo a day

"I am shocked to learn that I am not being helpful."

august: 25, 26, & 27

labor day weekend in hunt, texas was so fun!  more on that soon...for now you get my reading summary for the month of august.  for those who care (probably no one but me), i'm on track to read 35 or 40 books this year, much like for the past two years that i've been tracking and documenting my reading.  yesssssss.  reading is so fun.

this month i read:

a storm of swords, by george r.r. martin (after watching this season of game of thrones on HBO, i wanted to re-read the the book it's based on...and i loved this book just as much on the re-read as the first time i read it!  nerdy as it sounds, i love the adventures this author takes us on...and if you're watching the show, the books are even better!)

the kitchen house, by kathleen grissom (interesting story: the life of slaves in the 18th century south plus a white indentured servant raised with the slaves but walking a fine line between that world and the white world.  i wouldn't say this was my favorite book ever, but i definitely liked it and it's worth reading if this mini summary interests you.)

the silver star, by jeannette walls (i LOVED the first two books by this author, and had eagerly awaited this publication of this one.  and then it was just OKAY.  bordering on BORING.  ughhhhhh.  don't rush out and read this, but i can't recommend the glass castle or half-broke horses highly enough!)

the inspiring force of "we shall overcome" - if you didn't hear this NPR story this week, it's WELL worth a listen!