seasons

i had a parent meeting today, and we were chit-chatting about the weather as the meeting started, and i said how much i was enjoying spring…and the dad corrected me.  "it's pre-summer," he said.  which, at 86 degrees today, is pretty accurate.  which got me thinking…what really ARE the seasons in texas?

june-september = summer
october-december = fall
january-february = fall+ (when some of the leaves turn fall colors in january, you can't call this season winter)
march = spring
april-may = pre-summer

i'm remaining optimistic that we'll have another cooler spring day before pre-summer turns into real summer…but i'm not holding my breath.

art car parade

last weekend my friend elizabeth and i went to the houston art car parade.  people can enter their "art cars" and drive along this parade route.  it was SO. FUN.  there were tons of people out watching, and the end of the parade route was near elizabeth's house, so we didn't have to fight for parking.  we spent the first 45 minutes in the sun (good for photos, but pretty hot), then moved under an overpass (bad for photos, but glorious in comparison).  some of my favorite cars:

rene magritte art car!  (there's a magritte exhibition at a museum in town, so perhaps they were going along with that theme?)

i think this was the houston opera's car!  dude in the mouth was definitely singing some legit opera music.

telephone car!

and my favorite: chicken car!  (isn't this incredible?  so beautiful.)

such a fun atmosphere, and a great thing to do on a saturday afternoon.  i'll definitely be going again next year.

a photo a day

picnic in central park!  i wish i could have one of these every day from now until when i move...it makes me so happy to sit in the sun and people-watch.

grilled tofu sandwich...

and a doughnut topped with glaze and coconut flakes, both from the cinnamon snail, a vegan food truck.  yum.

then there was some lying against a tree and reading...

with this as my view.  life is good.

do yourself a favor and have a picnic soon.

happy friday, all!

i leave new york in 7 weeks. here's what i want to do before i leave:

walk across the brooklyn bridge at sunset and then eat pizza at grimaldi's

go to the world trade center memorial.  (stop putting it off because you know it will be sad.)

see book of mormon

see matilda

walk the high line when it's warm and sunny outside

go to coney island

go to the natural history museum

go to the rooftop garden at the met

have another picnic in central park

[new yorkers: what else should be on my list?!]

i'm heading to charleston for the weekend to visit two friends who i worked with in oxford this summer.  our plan:

eat
drink
watch basketball
get pedicures
go to the beach, if only to dip our toes in the water
repeat

it's going to be in the 60s there, and i can't wait to get away from this dumb 40s-and-grey weather and relax with friends!  bring it on, spring.  happy easter weekend, everyone!

a photo a day

after hours upon hours of basketball watching yesterday, i needed to get out of my building and get some exercise today.  it is hard for me to get motivated to go outside when it's so cold, but i managed to take a chilly (39 degrees) walk through riverside park this afternoon.  it's still stark and winter-like...

...but with tiny patches of spring emerging!

i feel much better after some exercise.  now, back to basketball!

on running

i have started running again.  i can't believe it either.

a history of miss claire's running:

i peaked in 8th grade.  i ran track in 8th grade because...i have no idea.  but i didn't hate it, and in one meet i came in 3rd place in the mile.  my time was 7 minutes and something.  i liked track.  weird.

okay, i didn't peak in 8th grade.  i peaked in 8th and 9th and 10th grade when i was on a traveling soccer team and we had intense practices that began with a long 20-30 minute run.  i could do these runs, which shocks me now.  in high school i was the...least skinny kid on the team.  i remember our coach - whose last name was faggett.  YES.  coach faggett.  i believe it had two t's.  he was one of the only black professionals in town and he was very religious and he had a cute daughter.  this is all i remember about him - our coach would run with us, and at the beginning of each season he would end the run out of breath, commenting that he hated being in shape in his legs but out of shape in his lungs.

i continued to play soccer through high school and then played rugby in college.

in college we did a lot of running, but i wasn't exactly in the best shape of my life.  there was a fair amount of beer drinking and papa john's pizza consuming, as well.

i graduated from college and stopped running.  for a while i just stopped exercising in general because (a) new hampshire was cold, (b) i hadn't discovered yoga yet, and (c) i thought that the only good workout was a run, and if i didn't want to run i just didn't work out.

later i discovered yoga and lifting weights and walking, and those have become my workout staples.  i'm a very consistent 3 times a week exerciser because it's something i enjoy doing.

and then two weeks ago i decided that i wanted to get in better shape.  i've added in some no pressure running into my walks.  the key is that there's no pressure - no one's forcing me to run.  this is really important to me.

the first day i ran for 5 minutes and 30 seconds of an hour long walk.

the next time, 6 minutes.

the next time, 7.

the next time 8.  i had to lie down after that one.  it was really hot.  i'll blame it on the heat.

then 9, 10, 11, 12.  today i ran for 13 minutes - five 2-3 minute intervals.

(yes, i am calling it interval training to feel better about myself.)

um, running is fun.  I FORGOT.  when you don't attach all these expectations to it, running is fun.  lady gaga and i having a good time.

my shins hurt at the start of each run, but my lungs are the ones out of shape.  i think about coach faggett every time i finish running and have to work to catch my breath.

should you be impressed with what i'm doing?  obviously not.  running for 13 minutes - and not even in a row - isn't much to write home about when i have friends running marathons (yay morgan!).  but all of this has been such a good reminder to me to push myself a little bit.  that it's fun to set goals.  and this april in atlanta has been incredible - it's cooler than late march was, with highs in the mid 70s instead of the mid 80s.  being outside is awesome.

spring break, day 1

i am my mother, example #7: i bought, and am currently wearing, a pedometer.

[pause for the laughing to subside.]

a couple years ago my mom bought, and wore, a pedometer.  she would pretty diligently try to get to 10,000 steps per day, as apparently 10,000 steps is 5 miles and this is what we should all be doing on a daily basis according to lots of important health people.  in general, this is probably a pretty good plan, as it is motivation to exercise every day.  if my mom was close to 10,000 steps at the end of the day, though, she would walk around inside the house until she got there.  this was entertaining, and definitely a reason to make fun of her.

fast forward to the present.  i have been wanting a pedometer, as i'd be interested in knowing how much walking i do on a normal day, just doing my job and such, and then how many i add on by going to the gym or going for a walk.  yes, i realize this is nerdy, but whatever.  i want it.  so i bought one on amazon.com and it arrived yesterday just in time for my trip to florida for spring break.  woo hoo!

today is my first day with the pedometer, as yesterday was mostly spent in the car and then eating delicious greasy mexican food.  things i have learned on day one:

1. my pedometer is a liar.  i did a trial walk through the condo where we're staying; i walked 100 steps.  the pedometer registered 118 steps.  i did another trial walk and it registered 109 steps.  curses!  i'm going to have to adjust appropriately, but i don't exactly know how to.  i guess i need to get to 10,900-11,800 steps in a day, according to this silly pedometer, in order to actually reach 10,000.

2. as of right now i've gone 9,129 steps today:

(my pedometer has the time on it!  and it resets automatically at midnight!  and remembers 6 past days of steps!  now, if only is was accurate in measuring steps...)

3. my step count was helped by an hour long walk before lunch.  this is the view from the condo where we're staying, and i walked on a path right by the beach.  it was lovely, but VERY windy.

4. i am so white that my nose is a little sunburned from my walk.  oops.
4a. i went to the dermatologist on monday and got a clean bill of skin health.  woo hoo!

5. now other claire and i are having our own happy hour, so i need to go.

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!)

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!

the last three weeks: chaos.

yesterday: graduated 90 seniors.  lots and lots of hugs.  facebook friend requests from my (now former - sniff sniff) students.  girls' lacrosse game, drinks with jenny (not at the same time).

today: windows open, breeze coming in.  it has cooled down to 62 degrees and the sky looks ready to drop some (but not too many) raindrops on us.  i got up early this morning for movie club and then had a falafel and hummus pita from mediterranean grill for lunch (yummmm), ran some errands, and went shopping (very successfully).  now i'm curled up in bed with my book.

this moment: heaven.

willis alert

this is a small child whose last name is willis.  i know this because his dad was also wearing a willis shirt and, well, if your first name is willis you shouldn't name your kid willis jr.  and i'm assuming they know that.  i made other claire be the stalker who got this picture on her phone.

we were at the braves game.  it was a glorious evening.  we arrived with 55 seniors and left with 53.

(but that was okay because two kids got picked up from the game.)

awesome senior retreat...but when i got home at 12:10am i was pretty glad it was over.  i'm a tired girl.

happy saturday, everyone!

i'm headed to charleston this weekend...

for my friend colin's wedding.  hooray!

colin played rugby with me at duke; while at duke she also started a club called kaadatt - "kids all about dancing all the time."  they would occasionally hold random dance parties on the quad.  it was pretty amazing.  on the invitation for this wedding she wrote that dancing at the reception was "mandatory."

lots and lots of rugby girls are coming to the wedding, including one who is flying in from london.

you had better believe that this is going to be an awesome weekend.

long story short, though - i'll be out of touch for a couple days.  happy easter weekend, everyone!

lazy days

another convert:

yesterday afternoon becky and i laid around on blankets outside and read for an hour.  the sun was shining.  it was heaven.

today i've taken the day off from work and we're eating/shopping/getting manicures, and then probably spending more time reading in this beautiful weather.

life is good.

sunday

another truly gorgeous day - the kind of day that makes you appreciate just the ability to live through it.  i can feel summer coming - can feel the weight of work lifted off my shoulders, can feel the beautiful weather coming (and staying).  i love days like this.

mike and kelly and i went to the braves game this afternoon.  now, you might be saying to yourself, "miss claire, i thought you made a pledge to the universe never to go to a day braves game ever again because you are always hot and miserable!"  why yes, i did make that pledge.  but it's early enough in the season that it isn't TOO hot - though it was in the mid-80s today - and i have found the magic of section 414 where there is shade for the entire game.  heaven!!  pledge taken back!!

i love going to baseball games because of (a) the ability to enjoy being outside (if the weather is nice), (b) i like baseball, and (c) i'm not so terribly invested in the game that i stop enjoying myself if the team does poorly.  duke games are really fun to see in person, but if they're losing i am unhappy.  the braves lost today, 3-0, and it almost didn't matter.  i was happy just to be at a game.  i was in pretty good company, too, so that didn't hurt.

kelly indulged my attempt at an artsy shot of the field reflected in her sunglasses.  thank you, kelly.

i took a shower after the game (sweating still happened even in the shade), and then joey and i had dinner with two friends on the patio of a restaurant near our house and it was still quite warm even though the sun was going down.  strike that: it was the perfect temperature to sit on a patio.  bliss.

monday: to you i say "harumph."  summer vacation: hurry up and get here!

72

degrees outside.

after yoga this morning i literally sat outside for twenty minutes with my face pointed to the sun.  soaking it in.

the 10 day forecast shows highs in the 60s or 70s every day.

you are welcome to hate me.

hello, spring.  i love you.

if you haven't heard of jason heyward, you don't live in atlanta

i have a new favorite braves player.  well, i guess i'm just adding him to the mix - i still really enjoy escobar and prado and mccann, but now i love watching jason heyward play, too.  in fact, i think all of atlanta is in love with him.  and here is why: in his first major league at bat he hit a home run (impossible not to smile while watching this clip).  since then he's hit 6 more - he's tied for fourth in the national league - and has 23 RBIs, for fifth most in the NL.  and he's 20 years old.  and he's (i think) the only african-american player on a team in a city that is 60% african-american.  we heart him A LOT.

if only the braves weren't 11-14.  they won three in a row this weekend, though.  i will focus on the positives.

ducks on the loose

urban ducklings update!  they tried to cross a road!  ahhhhhhhh!

(try not to laugh out loud when you see the first picture.)

(and thanks to morgan, DC resident, for keeping us updated on my new favorite duckies!)

one of these ducklings is an athlete. the others are not.

as if i needed another thing to worry about: i will worry about these ducklings and what happens to them.  SO CUTE.  and so little!

(thanks, morgan!)

southbound train

train tracks run right next to my neighborhood, and dozens of times a day we hear the rumble of trains going by.  i don't know what it is, but something about hearing a train go by - not the loud whistle, but the noise the train makes as it goes over the tracks - is really soothing.  these are my train tracks.  hello, train.

the sound is soothing to me in the same way that a thunderstorm is soothing - maybe it's white noise?

speaking of thunderstorms, we need one, and we're supposedly getting one today.  great green-yellow clouds of pollen are blowing off of trees and covering everything in sight.  we need some rain to clean up our city.  this radar map makes me pretty happy.

(from weatherbug)