"crop comes in," by chatham county line:
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
i opened the mail today to find what is possibly the nicest letter i've ever received. it is out of the blue, as we occasionally email but rarely send real mail to one another.
we are all imperfect.
forgiveness is powerful.
i truly believe that the good we send into the universe will come back to us.
how much of what i do is to make myself feel better vs. how much is to make his life a little better? because it isn't 100% for him. i know that.
onward.
we are all imperfect.
forgiveness is powerful.
i truly believe that the good we send into the universe will come back to us.
how much of what i do is to make myself feel better vs. how much is to make his life a little better? because it isn't 100% for him. i know that.
onward.
i was just reminded of this poem, which i don't think i appreciated enough on obama's inauguration day. it is speaking to me today. it is worth a read. elizabeth alexander, "praise song for the day"
Monday, October 26, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
october 25th = the first day this fall that i have been able to turn the AC off and open my windows to let in the cool night air!
i had a realization, as i threw the windows open, that some people live in a part of the country where they are now closing their windows for good because it's gotten too cold. what a weird world we live in.
happy fall (63 degrees!) from houston!
i had a realization, as i threw the windows open, that some people live in a part of the country where they are now closing their windows for good because it's gotten too cold. what a weird world we live in.
happy fall (63 degrees!) from houston!
Saturday, October 24, 2015
it is pouring down rain in houston today - we are getting the outer edges of the hurricane that hit mexico. it is very weird that we are close enough to mexico that this hurricane is affecting us, but then again, of course we are close to mexico. i just forget sometimes.
dinner tonight is homemade lentil soup, homemade baguettes, and a chocolate stout. post-dinner activities will include catching up on the good wife and snuggling with ruby (if she lets me). a good day.
dinner tonight is homemade lentil soup, homemade baguettes, and a chocolate stout. post-dinner activities will include catching up on the good wife and snuggling with ruby (if she lets me). a good day.
Friday, October 23, 2015
what i'm listening to right now
i'm late to the game on this one (like usual), but love her voice: "skinny love," by birdy:
Thursday, October 22, 2015
september: oops
this is where i admit that i didn't finish a single book in september, for the first time since i started my little reading project. not a single one. it turns out that being a college counselor for the first time, and guiding 24 little chickadees and their families through the process is exhausting and does not inspire a person to come home and read the just okay book on the nightstand. and by nightstand, i mean in my bed, because that's where the book i'm reading always lives. sigh.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
august: 22, 23, 24, 25 & 26
i'm a totally delinquent human being. this is what i read in AUGUST. i barely remember august at this point.
where you go is not who you'll be, by frank bruni (this is a book that a colleague lent me - it's about the college admissions process, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince the reader that where you go to college does not define who you will be as an adult. i didn't learn a ton from this book (which maybe means i know things! huzzah!), but i agree with almost everything that he says. i have, in particular, several times now quoted this statistic (which i will now butcher) to parents of kids i work with: the bottom 10% of kids at a harvard, for example, have fewer leadership positions while in school, publish fewer papers, go on to grad school at a lower rate, make less money, etc. than the top 10% of kids at a "second tier" university. he's trying to say that a student might get more out of being the best at a "second tier" school as opposed to the worst at a "first tier" school. this is something i believe is probably true. in short: if you are involved in college counseling or have a kid about to go through the process, this is a worth-while read.)
landline, by rainbow rowell (i read this entire book in one day - the day before i started back to work in august. it was this glorious day in which i just lazed around the house, reading this book and then playing with ruby and then eating and around again. it's a few hundred pages but a super easy read, and i finished it that night while lying in bed. this book symbolizes what you can do in the summer - read a whole book in one day if you want to! if you haven't read anything by rainbow rowell, you should. she writes beautiful characters and interesting story lines. fan girl is the next book of hers that i have on my list!)
angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging, by louise rennin (this is a young adult book that was recommended to me by a friend…and it was mediocre young adult, which means you shouldn't bother. quick read, nothing wrong with it, just not worth the time when there are so many other great books out there.)
the martian, by andy weir (i loved this book! i'm totally charmed by the idea that the author self-published it on his website and then as an amazon kindle book, and then within three weeks of each other he got a real book deal and then a movie deal. he does an excellent job building tension and telling a believable science fiction story, and i didn't mind too much the slogging through of the science-y bits.)
mountains beyond mountains, by tracy kidder (i listened to this audiobook, and as evidenced by blog posts along the way here and here, i LOVED it. my friend other claire bought this book for me years ago, and i can't believe it took me this long to read it. paul farmer is an american doctor who devoted his life to health care in haiti, and tracy kidder wrote this book about his life and work. a poignant and meaningful story told by an author with a real talent for telling stories. this is absolutely worth putting on your "to read" list.)
where you go is not who you'll be, by frank bruni (this is a book that a colleague lent me - it's about the college admissions process, and spends a great deal of time trying to convince the reader that where you go to college does not define who you will be as an adult. i didn't learn a ton from this book (which maybe means i know things! huzzah!), but i agree with almost everything that he says. i have, in particular, several times now quoted this statistic (which i will now butcher) to parents of kids i work with: the bottom 10% of kids at a harvard, for example, have fewer leadership positions while in school, publish fewer papers, go on to grad school at a lower rate, make less money, etc. than the top 10% of kids at a "second tier" university. he's trying to say that a student might get more out of being the best at a "second tier" school as opposed to the worst at a "first tier" school. this is something i believe is probably true. in short: if you are involved in college counseling or have a kid about to go through the process, this is a worth-while read.)
landline, by rainbow rowell (i read this entire book in one day - the day before i started back to work in august. it was this glorious day in which i just lazed around the house, reading this book and then playing with ruby and then eating and around again. it's a few hundred pages but a super easy read, and i finished it that night while lying in bed. this book symbolizes what you can do in the summer - read a whole book in one day if you want to! if you haven't read anything by rainbow rowell, you should. she writes beautiful characters and interesting story lines. fan girl is the next book of hers that i have on my list!)
angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging, by louise rennin (this is a young adult book that was recommended to me by a friend…and it was mediocre young adult, which means you shouldn't bother. quick read, nothing wrong with it, just not worth the time when there are so many other great books out there.)
the martian, by andy weir (i loved this book! i'm totally charmed by the idea that the author self-published it on his website and then as an amazon kindle book, and then within three weeks of each other he got a real book deal and then a movie deal. he does an excellent job building tension and telling a believable science fiction story, and i didn't mind too much the slogging through of the science-y bits.)
mountains beyond mountains, by tracy kidder (i listened to this audiobook, and as evidenced by blog posts along the way here and here, i LOVED it. my friend other claire bought this book for me years ago, and i can't believe it took me this long to read it. paul farmer is an american doctor who devoted his life to health care in haiti, and tracy kidder wrote this book about his life and work. a poignant and meaningful story told by an author with a real talent for telling stories. this is absolutely worth putting on your "to read" list.)
Monday, October 19, 2015
i'm loving and pondering this right now
it all matters. that someone turns out the lamp, picks up the wind-blown wrapper, says hello to the invalid, pays at the unattended lot, listens to the repeated tale, folds the abandoned laundry, plays the game fairly, tells the story honestly, acknowledges help, gives credit, says good night, resists temptation, wipes the counter, waits at the yellow, makes the bed, tips the maid, remembers the illness, congratulates the victor, accepts the consequences, takes a stand, steps up, offers a hand, goes first, goes last, chooses the small portion, teaches the child, tends to the dying, comforts the grieving, removes the splinter, wipes the tear, directs the lost, touches the lonely, is the whole thing.
what is most beautiful is least acknowledged.
what is worth dying for is barely noticed.
--from we are called to rise, by laura mcbride.
what is most beautiful is least acknowledged.
what is worth dying for is barely noticed.
--from we are called to rise, by laura mcbride.
Friday, October 16, 2015
what i'm listening to right now
"great big storm," by nate ruess - i'm dancing around when this plays just as much as he does in this music video.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
bernie 2016
people, i'm on the bernie sanders bandwagon. i saw him speak in houston in august and i honestly agreed with 100% of what he had to say. my hands hurt from clapping so hard. does he have a chance to win? probably not. will i be donating money to him? yes, i will. if his presence in the election can push the democrats to the left, more power to him. if he can give hillary a run for her money, even better. she seems too much like a professional politician for me to support her at this point (though of course i'll support whatever democrat prevails).
(bernie rally at the university of houston!)
Friday, October 9, 2015
what i'm listening to right now
i am in love with this song and darius rucker's voice (but that's old news), and i WILL belt it out in the car whenever it comes on. some of the lyrics (she hates faulkner? she's tan in the winter? she likes billy graham?) are problematic to me, but i do not let that stop me from singing along at full volume.
"southern style," by darius rucker:
"southern style," by darius rucker:
Thursday, October 8, 2015
october 8, 2015
i'm not exactly sure how to summarize this day.
high: i got to wear jeans and an astros shirt. go 'stros!
high: amazing cafeteria lunch (roasted tofu, roasted cauliflower, sweet potato wedges, salad).
low: parent meeting that only lasted 26 minutes but made me want to punch an orange water cooler three times and then have someone take me into the locker room. i'm done, coach.
low: so much work. at school until 5 and not even close to done. stresssssss.
high: buying a six pack of dogfish head's namaste beer. picturing myself drinking the beer while making a birthday cake for two work friends.
low: returning to my car in the grocery store parking lot to find that it won't start. calling my friend sonia.
high: sonia answers the phone! sonia arrives with her husband bob! they have a portable battery…
low: the battery will not jump start my car. they bang on the starter a little because maybe it is the starter? nothing happens.
low: sonia drives me and my beer and my bag of groceries home.
high: i do not have to walk home!
low: resigning myself to calling a mechanic at 7am tomorrow when the mechanic opens. texting my principal to tell him i will be late to work. drinking a beer on my living room floor.
high: my principal calls me and offers to come and really jump start my car. my heart is so full. 20 minutes later, we are at my car and he is jump starting it AND IT IS STARTING and he follows me to advance auto parts WHICH IS STILL OPEN and i buy a battery and the dude who works there puts it in.
high: my life is not in shambles any more!
high: tacos from the taco truck!
high: baking cookies! baking cake!
high: i got to wear jeans and an astros shirt. go 'stros!
high: amazing cafeteria lunch (roasted tofu, roasted cauliflower, sweet potato wedges, salad).
low: parent meeting that only lasted 26 minutes but made me want to punch an orange water cooler three times and then have someone take me into the locker room. i'm done, coach.
low: so much work. at school until 5 and not even close to done. stresssssss.
high: buying a six pack of dogfish head's namaste beer. picturing myself drinking the beer while making a birthday cake for two work friends.
low: returning to my car in the grocery store parking lot to find that it won't start. calling my friend sonia.
high: sonia answers the phone! sonia arrives with her husband bob! they have a portable battery…
low: the battery will not jump start my car. they bang on the starter a little because maybe it is the starter? nothing happens.
low: sonia drives me and my beer and my bag of groceries home.
high: i do not have to walk home!
low: resigning myself to calling a mechanic at 7am tomorrow when the mechanic opens. texting my principal to tell him i will be late to work. drinking a beer on my living room floor.
high: my principal calls me and offers to come and really jump start my car. my heart is so full. 20 minutes later, we are at my car and he is jump starting it AND IT IS STARTING and he follows me to advance auto parts WHICH IS STILL OPEN and i buy a battery and the dude who works there puts it in.
high: my life is not in shambles any more!
high: tacos from the taco truck!
high: baking cookies! baking cake!
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
hi, it's me! horrible blogger here! being a college counselor for the first time means my life has become reading essays and resumes and helping kids apply to college and having parents chastise me and having parents tell me how much they appreciate me and having one parent bring me tomato soup and bread on a day when i didn't even have time to make it to the cafeteria (that mom saved the day) and oops i'm supposed to be grading things for my government class but i'm not because i have no time and writing recommendation letters (five due on tuesday, so that should be fun). and repeat.
i miss blogging.
i promise to come back.
i didn't read a single book last month. but i promise to do more of that, too.
when do people have time for tv? no, really.
i miss blogging.
i promise to come back.
i didn't read a single book last month. but i promise to do more of that, too.
when do people have time for tv? no, really.
how to lose weight in 4 easy steps (not safe for work)
hilarious and beautiful, and not what you're expecting. read it!
hilarious and beautiful, and not what you're expecting. read it!
Friday, October 2, 2015
what i'm listening to right now
90% of what is on the radio - even the stations i like - is such overplayed crap. perhaps i will think about this song in a few weeks, but i am loving it now. "renegades," by x ambassadors:
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