stitch a bitch

After having a big night on Thursday, I decided to take it easy Friday. Being the Jane of all trades that I am, I loaded up the crock pot with a chicken taco stew and settled in for some needlework.

Inspired by Beth (where, as you may have noticed, 90% of my life inspiration comes from), I ordered a kit from Sublime Stitching. My new work friend is having housewarming next week, and I thought some bar towels might be a nice gift. She's a sex and alcohol researcher, so I went for the "pinups and panthers" pattern.

Voila!

I'm so happy with how they turned out. If anyone needs naked ladies stitched onto things, I'm your woman!

On your mark, get set, ...

DATE!

Okay, that's not exactly how it went, but speed dating was certainly quite the event.

Brooke is tall and thin and gorgeous, and despite this list of logical reasons to hate her, she's awesome. She wore a gray baby doll night shirt with leggings and heels. I opted for a bright pink silky camisole with black polka dots, black yoga pants, and a light weight black cardigan with my sock monkey slippers. We walked in to the bar to see young hipsters and pseudo-professionals in various levels of pajamas. Before we could make our way to coat check I spotted a young women wearing tights, boots, and a pair of Valentine's themed boxer shorts with the waist-band rolled down to reveal the word "Quixotic" tattooed on her lower back. This is the most hipster tramp stamp I've ever seen. I made a mental notes to rudely bump into her later when I was drunk.

Moving through the front lounge area and back into the larger event space, we worked our way to the name tag table, where a woman asked us if we wanted to serve as judges in the male lap-dancer contest. I immediately signed us up. After all, we were here on a mission, and that mission was not to find love or even lust, it was to get a really, really good story. Brooke was taken out of the action early on, however, because before we could even get drinks in our hands, a tall, dark and handsome gentleman decided Brooke was the one for him and spent the rest of the evening with his arm draped around her. It was awkward when I had to speed-date him after he pried himself away from Brooke's table, so we just spent our time talking about how to organize his closet.

Overall, I will say I like the concept of speed dating. Talking to guys in bars is tedious. If you have to actively seek out someone for conversation, you then feel a certain sense of pressure to force a conversation, and then if they're lame ending the conversation is equally tiresome. With this rapid date format, you sit at a table, and the men come to you. You only have to pretend to be interested for the length of one song, and then, beautifully, they go away.

A few of the guys were fine. Some of them were desperately dorky. No love matches were made, but I did learn two very important things:
1. Drinking in yoga pants is awesome. I want to wear my pajamas out all the time.
2. If you're going to lie, know you're subject. For example, if you're going to tell someone that, aside from being a graduate student and researcher, you're trying to go pro with your bowling; you've been training since you were 7, you come from a bowling family, and a tournament in Canada next month is going to determine your future - if this is your lie, know the basics, like what a good bowling score is. (I now know a 300 is perfect). When asked my score, I gave a cute and falsely modest shrug, saying I didn't like to brag. I like this lie; I'm going to develop it more.

After the speed-dating had ended, I actually started talking to a nice guy. He was from Sweden, and I asked him how he felt about his country's most famous company filling up landfills with crappy furniture and allen wrenches. He said he'd think about it while I fulfilled my duty as a judge in the lap-dancing contest. The young man who had the pleasure of gyrating over my lap was one of the guys from the speed dating. We'll call him Chin Strap, and he looked like an Amish kid on his Rumspringa. I believe they video taped the competition, and if that footage ever surfaces I'm pretty sure I've lost all hopes of ever being a tenured professor.

Unfortunately, the cute Swede is moving to Houston, TX, next week (he didn't know it was a single's event, his friends dragged him), so for the time being there will be no tiny meatballs, loganberry sauce, and cheap, modern home decor in my dating future, sadly. I had fun talking to him, though, and it's nice every now and then to be reassured there are normal guys out there.

In the meantime, I'm going to tune into the Olympics and see what I can learn about curling, because I think there's a fantastic "conversation enhancer" waiting to be developed here.

Happy things!

Tagged by the my favorite mistress of Irish Shenanigans.

Rules:
List 10 things that make you happy.
Tag 5 bloggers who make your day that little bit better.

1. Snow days. Almost 30, and a N'oreaster still gets me the day off work/school.
2. New friends.
3. Old friends.
4. Warm desserts served with cold ice cream.
5. Jewelry, especially from independent designers. It doesn't have to be expensive - I'll plan my whole outfit around a pair of $5 earrings from a street vendor.
6. Hugs from my little ones - nieces, nephews, friends' children.
7. A new recipe that turns out well.
8. Unexpected personal mail.
9. Seasonal fruits and vegetables - I'm learning to appreciate the local more and more.
10. A perfect latte - hot on a cold day, iced on a hot. I didn't become a coffee drinker until I was 28, and now the perfect balance of milk, sugar and coffee makes my taste buds dance. The caffeine helps, too.

I don't have 5 bloggers to tag - there are lots that I read and enjoy, but I'm not sure they're familiar with li'l ol me over here. So I'll just give a shout out to Lisa over at Color.Me.Blah.

Super Sunday

I realized this morning that, while I have not 1 but 2 Super Bowl events to attend, I don't know who either of the teams playing are. Clearly the football part of today's festivities is not my main focus. I'm much more interested in the food.

One party is a potluck (not that you'd show up at a Super Bowl empty-handed regardless), so I decided to make something sweet and something savory. For the savory I thought I'd try the Greek goddess dip recipe from the NYT. The herbs smelled so good as they were being pulverized by my Cuisinart mini-prep. The recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic. I was already doubling it, and I really like garlic, so I put in about 6 or 7, not thinking that when I normally amp-up the garlic in a recipe, it's being cooked. This garlic stays raw. The dip is deliciously creamy, but it's got quite the kick too it. At least I won't be attacked my vampires on my way home.

For the sweet I decided to try a chocolate coconut bar recipe from Martha. I'm not really sure what went wrong here. For starters, I don't think I make the crumbs for the cookie crust fine enough bcause I had to move it from a 15 X 18 pan to a 9 X 9. Then I don't know if the crust wasn't packed tightly enough or it hadn't cooled completely, but when I added the toppings, something must have seeped through. Now I cannot get the wax paper off the bottom of the bars. They look great. They taste great. But I can't really bring these to a party and deliver a giant pre-dessert caveat that you have to eat them like candy dots scraping them off the wax paper with your teeth or else spit out the paper when you're done. I'm about to see what else I can whip up with the contents of my fridge/pantry. I'm thinking lemon bars.

The one dish that came out perfect was sadly not for sharing. I decided to make myself a fancy brunch of buckwheat soba noodles with prosciutto, asparagus and egg from this Bon Appetit recipe. I had already changed my sheets, sorted my laundry, cleaned the kitchen, brought items down to the curb for recycling, and emptied several pots of their dead plants - Motsy has officially nixed my ideas for an indoor herb garden - so it felt warranted.

Somehow I don't think showing this picture on my phone to my hosts this evening will be sufficient to make up for my sub-par party treats. Alcohol should do the trick.

Quickest way to a bad date?

Okay, clearly I've gotten lazy about blogging. I'll a) stop mentioning it every time I blog, b) try to blog more often, and c) try to make my posts that much better so it's worth the wait.

Today, I don't think you'll be disappointed, because I just signed up to go speed dating. I saw this event at a local bar and had been contemplating it, but didn't know if any of my friends would go with me. Today at work, a woman I sometimes share an office with asked me if I'd ever gone speed-dating. She figured I'd do it with her; I'd figured she'd be the only who would go with me to this. Clearly, it was fate. Cupid couldn't have made a better match.

I don't get embarrassed easily. I don't "blush". As long as I have an accomplice, I'll try just about anything (on the right side of the law, obviously). I frequently do things "just for the story." So while this event looks fairly ridiculous, and I'm sure it'll be full of hipster skanks wearing Urban Outfitters lingerie with American Apparel leggings (or not), if nothing else it'll be a story. If it sucks, my new work buddy and I will just drink a lot and make fun of people barely out of earshot. It'll be like every other night at the bar, except that I'll more than likely be in an Old Navy tee shirt and there'll be more material for slander.

Now the most important decision to be made: To vagazzle, or not to vagazzle?

Vaggazler?

I've long been a fan of the bedazzler. One of my life dreams is to create a line of bedazzled track suits for jazzy seniors. Imagine my shock and, indeed, awe when I learned yesterday that Jennifer Love Hewitt had taken it to a whole new level.



I love accessorizing, but I can honestly say I've never looked at a Swarovski crystal and thought, "That would look good on the area of my body near where I pee." I'm bizzarely hung up on the logistics of this. What type of glue is she using? What part of her lady bits are the crystals attached to? Does one have to "prep the surface" before application? Will Michael's start offering workshops? Will she appear on Martha Stewart for a sexy crafting segment?

I fear I may have to read her book.

You are what you eat

Despite my anti-resolution stance, the "theme" I'm trying to live by for 2010 (and beyond!) is to be better to my body (interpret liberally).

The most obvious component of this is food. The cheese guy was right, you're are what you eat (from your head down to your feet). I've been trying to be more conscious of what I eat. This has taken a specific two-prong approach: a) more vegetables, b) less meat.

Friday night I went to a dinner party, and the lovely hostess Katie has recently gone vegan. Now don't think this is where I'm going - mamma loves cheeseburgers and Bugles and Taco Bell all sorts of other processed sh*t that may or may not contain animal products but is certainly not on ANYONE'S healthy/sustainable/remotely good for any person, place, or thing in any way list. It's about moderation, peeps.

Katie cooked an amazing meal from the Candle Cafe cookbook, and I don't think anyone of us missed the meat. It also inspired a conversation about food and food politics. One couple had recently seen Food, Inc., and this sparked a conversation about the difference between local, organic, and sustainable foods. The only consensus we reached was a) Monsanto is evil, and b) if you liked that film, you should see Flow (okay, that wasn't really a consensus, that's just my opinion).

Several of us are trying to cook more, and I was campaigning for soup. Last week I made a delicious carrot-ginger soup, which, incidentally, is totally vegan (but if you want to stick up your middle finger to that ideology go ahead, use beef stock just because you can). Spark recipes has a free app for Droid, and I would imagine they have it for other smart phones as well.

**Note: If you've never made soup before, when you finish cooking it and put it in the blender to puree, do so in SMALL batches. The steam builds up quickly and will blow the top off the blender, even if you're holding it on, spewing molten hot vegetable matter everywhere. Hot mess - literally.

On the menu this week? Lentils, sweet potatoes, and spinach in the crockpot. What're your New Year's goals and/or favorite healthy recipes?

Now if that last box of Girl Scout cookies would just disappear...

see below

Finally, a long over-due Christmas post.

2009 wrap-up

I've been working on my Christmas Redux post but am having problems uploading photos from my phone, so I've stolen a post from Beth at Shenanigans - again.


1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Did a "stair climb", defended my dissertation proposal, completed a triathlon, took a running course, got a "real" job, cooked with kale, baked a strawberry, a chocolate angel food, and a flourless chocolate cake from scratch.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don't really do New Year's resolutions - I think you should try to improve yourself all the time, not just once a year. Last year Miller made a "no shots" (alcoholic) resolution, and I've tried to adopt this rule - it's amazing. It has changed my life, especially my Saturday/Sunday mornings. Lisa and I had said, "higher standards in '09." I didn't stick to that as well as I should have, so I'm striving for higher standards in 2010. Overall my goal for the next year is to be better to my body, mentally and physically.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Stephanie had Zachary in April, shortly after Ellen had Andrew, and Mia brought us baby Marissa in September.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
We lost Grammy just two days after Zach was born. It was, and still is, so sad, but more than anything I feel so fortunate that I had her in my life for so long.

5. What countries did you visit?
Mexico, England and Spain.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
More financial security.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Obama's inauguration, Zach's birth, Grammy's passing, the triathlon - not the dates, but the moments.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Helping my family transfer Grammy and Grampy out of their house; completing the triathlon; changing the mind of a young man who started the semester telling me he was "terrified of the powerful women", including me, in the class, and then announcing on the last day that he was "an angry feminist" and was going to "use his male privilege" to smash the glass ceiling.

9. What was your biggest failure?
No failures, just learning moments.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Some stomach issues post-Barcelona, physical therapy for my hip, occupational therapy for ulnar neuropathy. Nothing serious, just annoying. I feel very fortunate!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My bag.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Beth - she's braved serious health issues and kept a positive attitude and pushed forward with her self-made career.

Steph - 2 amazing children, full time (new) job, great husband, clean house, ran a 5K and is training for her first 1/2 marathon.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Politicians, per usual.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent, probably, and paying down debt.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I made my first trip back to CA since I left in May 2008.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Lady Gaga - Poker Face.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?
(a) Happier - we were in crisis mode with the grandparents at this time last year, and it was really, really stressful. (b) Fatter - cannot seem to get a handle on that. (c) Unclear - accruing interest on my student loans but paying down my bad debt. I hate thinking about money.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing. Exercising. Reading (non-academic).

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Watching TV. Thinking negative thoughts.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With all of my family watching K tear through wrapping paper with gleeful abandon.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
See #3.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
GLEE had to be my favorite newcomer.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I try not to hate.

24. What was the best book you read?
I think I'd go with The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Kate Nash - I was kind of late to the game on that one. La Roux.

26. What did you want and get?
A nephew!

27. What did you want and not get?
Clearly nothing so important that it's burning in my mind.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Probably Up.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
On my 29th birthday I did the Danskin Triathlon with Jessica and Lisa, and looking back at my older posts I cannot believe I didn't blog about it! Here's the photographic proof of our awesomeness:

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A wife/maid.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Geek-chic. I was teaching 4 days a week; I try to look professional and age-appropriate.

32. What kept you sane?
Friends, an amazing therapist and medication. I will be completely honest - my quality of life has significantly improved. Better living through chemistry!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Meh, no real standouts, although I always love Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and he popped up on the walls in my subway station a few times in Tudors' posters.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Health care. Seriously, people, how can you argue against health care reform? Screw the Republicans for being such greedy, lying bastards, and screw the Dem's for letting the public option die.

35. Who did you miss?
Grammy. Kayley and Zachary - I can never see them enough. All my friends that are scattered around the world.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Hmm, probably Hannah. She's pretty fantastic, and this fall would not have been the same without her.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
I can change the world, one comma splice at a time.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do, now you’re in New York, these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you"

Wishing you all a happy, healthy New Year!

Holiday Redux

Merry (belated) Christmas!*

I've been bad about blogging lately, so I thought I'd catch up on this cold, windy day. First, I owe you an update on the neighborhood decoration rivalry. It was a slow start, but it was worth the wait.

My friend shares his birthday with the baby Jesus, so he had a joint 30th/ugly Christmas sweater extravaganza.

Then there was the Christmas cookie baking and decorating. It was fairly tame this year.

Isn't baking amazing? It's like magic (or science). You take this:

put it in the oven, and it turn into this:

That's a triple chocolate gingerbread cake. The gingerbread flavor didn't really stand out, though. I can't imagine why. Perhaps it had something to do with the spices in my parents' kitchen: I think this was what Columbus was looking for when he left Spain.

You know what else is in my parents' kitchen? Well, let's take a look. I was sitting at the table eating cereal own morning and looked up to see something staring at me. It wasn't there 20+ lb cat. What was that in the light?

Angry Santa! Who forgot to leave him cookies?!?!

Not my niece and nephew. Kayley helped write the note and leave out the treats for Santa "and the reindeer," she reminded us.

In the morning, Santa had indeed left presents.

And I got my Christmas wish - hugs and kisses from K and Z. And a sweet new mini-prep food processor. Hope everyone's holidays were merry and bright!

*Sorry this post took so long - serious photo-uploading issues, and it just didn't work without the visuals.

25 Christmas Questions

Re-appropriated from Ruthlessly ripped off from Beth at Shenanigans.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. I love wrapping presents. I have a wrapping paper organizer.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real. Although I preferred the artificial when I was younger because it was more symmetrical, and the one year we got a real tree I may have told my family they'd ruined Christmas. (neurotic? dramatic? moi?)
3. When do you put up the tree? Shortly after Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? Shortly after Christmas. Although this year we need to be more on top of that b/c last year there was a serious dried-out needle issue. Anne rejected my idea we just push the tree out the window, but in retrospect it may have caused less of a mess.
5. Do you like egg nog? In Starbucks latte form.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh boy. They year Steph and I both got bean bag chairs was pretty sweet. The Barbie pent house with functioning elevator was a favorite. One year my grandparents gave me a musical snow globe that had a train that went around and through a mountain pass; I think it played "Let it Snow." My sister probably has a better memory of what made my eyes light up than I do.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad. We barely got him out of his thread bare Larry Bird ringer tee shirt a few years ago. I imagine he gets it from his own father - when we moved him out of his house we found a dresser full of brand new, unopened socks, underwear, shirt, etc. from the last decade or so of holidays.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My sister, I think. She gives very specific lists, and I also think I have a pretty good idea of the type of stuff she likes.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, and I got in big trouble one year when I dropped one of the wise men down the cellar stairs. I used to love arranging the figurines.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I like to have them out as soon after December 1st as possible.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing's really sticking out. My parents bought me a tennis racket one year, and then proceeded to instruct me to "fake" enthusiasm if someone got me something I didn't like. ("Santa's" gifts were opened in the morning before family came over.) I told them I'd already done that with the tennis racket. Apparently my poker face hadn't been very convincing. I may have also said something to the effect of, "What's this for?"
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Ooh, so many good ones. Old school: A Christmas Story. Recent: Love Actually, Bad Santa.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Dec 26. I always buy my Christmas cards for the following year when they're on clearance.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I totally support re-gifting. Just keep track of who gave it to you originally.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I just love that it's an excuse to eat whatever you want. I'm a big fan of spiked hot cocoa and baked good.
16. Lights on the tree? Small and white.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Eric Kartman's version of O Holy Night.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Heading up to Boston.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s? Probably.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We had a kind of wonky angel when we were younger. I found a lovely star at the Christmas Tree Shops this year for $1.99 (proof that I am my mother's daughter).
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Steph and I used to open each other's gifts on Christmas Eve. Stockings and Santa's presents were opened in the morning before the extended family came over.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Parking at the mall. Shopping in SoHo. Crowds in general. People that try and knock you over on the subway even when they see you're carrying 6 shopping bags. People being so rude to retail staff - not very Christmas spirit-y.
23. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? I love the look of big wreaths with red bows and white lights on colonial style houses. I have a smurf ornament that caused a "debate" every year between my sister and me. I don't know what ever happened to it...
24. Favorite for Christmas Dinner? Stuffing only comes about twice a year. I'm also incredibly thankful that I can drink at holiday dinners now - that was a real turning point, and Christmas for the last 8 years had been much better.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Hugs and kisses from Kayley and Zachary.

Update: Evidence of my excitement for the Barbie penthouse

Resemblance?

I just got an e-mail from my dad with the subject line "Resemblance?". The body of the message just contained this picture:

What do you think? Does little Zachary look like his grandpa did as a baby?

p.s. How stunning is my grandmother in that picture?

my day so far

• moved my car in the TORENTIAL rain (have it in NYC temporarily, alternate side of the street parking is a b*tch)
• made a raspberry coulis
• waited 40 min for an eye appointment while other people got walk-in's ahead of me
• listened to the optometrist rant and bemoan the fact that the larger frames that made her cry herself to sleep as a child are now so popular with the hipsters
• got my eyes dilated
• had one of my students tell me (after class) that she's a member of a BDSM community and feels non-normative sex is being stigmatized in some of the readings and is concerned about continuing on in gender studies (WAY above my pay-grade)
• made table-tents for Jane's party Friday
• caught up on last night's SYTYCD

Now I'm going to:

• meet Hannah at Prime Meats for steak (one of the last items on her NYC "to do" list)
• make chocolate soufles
• watch GLEE

Y'know, just in case you were wondering how my Wednesday was going.

a cautionary tale

My family is using Elfster for our Christmas exchange for the second year in a row. It's great; you create a swap list, parameters - price limit, anonymity, theme, etc. - everyone can create a wish list, and they do the rest for you.

They also allow you to ask questions, either to individual members (like 'what size slippers do you want?') or to the whole group. Yesterday, my dad posted this:

hi, not a question, but a ... CHRISTMAS WARNING !!!! yesterday, a certain 2 1/2 year-old pointed to my stomach and asked "Is that your baby ?" Soooooo... if your mid-section is not as taut as you might like AND you do not want to be embarrassed on Christmas Day, start doing those stomach crunches. ... or wear a baggy shirt. Merry Christmas, everyone !

I'm going to be a big sister - it's a Christmas miracle! I'm also going to have to think carefully about my holiday attire.

Happy ABD, Me!

As my Facebook friends may know, a few weeks ago (November 12th, to be exact), I became ABD. This means that I defended my dissertation proposal, which is the last major bureaucratic hurdle before actually getting my PhD. ABD stands for All But Dissertation; I've completed all the other requirements of the program.* (Okay, technically I have one little incomplete to take care of, but whatevs.)



Now I just have to actually do the research and write the dissertation, y'know, the things I actually came to grad school to accomplish. For the moment, though, I just want to focus on the hurdles behind me, not the ones that lie ahead.

I promised myself that I could get a new bag. This would be an investment piece, not another bag from DSW or Marshall's that would last 6 months, maybe a year. (The one I have now was $22, but it's also pleather and peeling. I knew generally what I wanted - brown/tan, leather, some detailing, not too much hardware, outside pocket, max $300 - but couldn't find anything. Yesterday I went outlet shopping; I was really disappointed in Kenneth Cole, Off Saks, and Neiman Marcus Last Call in the accessories department (along with Esprit, Gap, and Banana in the clothing department). Michael Kors was my last stop. I knew when I walked in that I wasn't walking out empty handed. I decided on the 'Austin' shoulder bag (the style on the right, but the color on the left - I did love the magenta, but practicality won out).



Originally $300, this butter-soft bag became mine for $179. Happy ABD, Me!

* For a review of what the hell I've been up to for the past 6+ years, read this. Ignore the part where I estimate my proposal defense will happen in Fall 07.

my holiday spirit is bigger than yours

I love the holidays. I love holiday decor even more. My roommates chided me for buying pumpkin hand soap dispensers, but I'm small potatoes in this neighborhood.

The next door neighbors love them some inflatable lawn decor. At Halloween they treated us to a giant pumpkin with 2 ghosts popping up and down.

There seems to be some competition from across the street. They saw the pumpkin, raised them a ghost and added an inflatable witch and fence garland.

The morning after the Yankees won the World Series they had mylar Yankees balloons tied to the ghosts. Nice touch.

The rivalry continued during Thanksgiving. My neighbors brought out their giant turkey.

So did the people across the street, but theirs was standing up.

And there was autumnal colored garland on the fence.

I'm a little disappointed that the Christmas decorations aren't up yet. We bought our tree tonight, and there's nothing in the front yards. I think there might be a stand-off, each side waiting for the other to show their cards so they can up the ante. I fully expect to wake up one morning and see a life-sized sleigh coming down from the rough, something in the vein of Ned Flanders in that first Simpsons' Christmas special.

Thanksgiving with Tom and Nance

If you've never met my dad, he's awesome. He just really is such a good guy, and I feel very lucky to have him for a dad. He has stuck with me and my sister through good and bad (and very bad), and I like to think of Kayley and Zachary as his reward for doing so. (He is absolutely in love with his grandchildren - listening to him talk about them melts even my black, icy heart.)

I'm bringing a friend home with me for Thanksgiving (further proof that I'm a perpetual student). Hannah is also getting her PhD in sociology but at Goldsmiths, part of the University of London, and she's here in NYC for 3 months writing up her dissertation. She didn't have any plans for turkey day, and I couldn't let her not do Thanksgiving, so I invited her to Boston. She said it was really sweet of me to invite her, but I didn't see it that way. "If you get a better offer, TAKE IT!" I implored her, to no avail.

I e-mailed my dad to ask it would be okay. Here was his reply:

yes, absolutely. We would love to have Hannah join us. I will try to keep the conversation away from the whole 13 colonies thing.

I love my dad. I also reassured him that Hannah has very cool with the whole colonialism thing and was appropriately humbled by the Tea Party.

Then, of course, there's my mother. I haven't spoken to her about Hannah coming to dinner yet, although I'm sure my father told her. You never really know what's going to come out of Nancy's mouth. For instance, when I was dating Paul, he was with us for a holiday and was talking about how expensive red wine was in the US (relative to both the UK and to other consumer goods). "But you have crumpets!" my mother interjected.

[crickets chirping]

These are the types of non sequiturs we have to look forward. Which reminds me how thankful I am in advance for the wine we'll be having during the meal.

Dads mean well

I thought this was too funny and just had to share, especially for all my moms.

A friend from college that I've reconnected with has 8-month-old twin boys. Yesterday, this was her Facebook status:

Liz...Finds it funny that my husband asked last week what that bin of clothes was next to the boys' cribs. It was their hamper. Hope the boys get put to bed in clean PJs tonite while mommy works late!

too much shopping?

I having a twinge of buyer's remorse, so consider this my confessional.

Yesterday I went to Sephora and exercised amazing restraint. I only bought eye shadow primer (which I needed - I love this anti-creasing miracle cream), a tinted lip balm (in plum), and a small lip brush so I wouldn't have to stick my finger into the pot. I like wearing more color on my lips, especially in the winter when my face is so pale. I feel like it brightens me up a bit. But it doesn't look so good when your lips are dry and flaky, so I felt this was a good compromise. I really wanted the mascara sampler but resisted. I may buy myself the Bare Essentials Happiness Kit. I think it would make me happy to have that adorable clutch.

I also had the 30% coupon for Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic. I poked around the Gap but was underwhelmed, per usual. Old Navy is always hit or miss, but I did pretty well. For $50, I got a sweater, a sleeveless blouse, a tank (that's going back), and 3 pairs of earrings. The sweater has a gold metallic thread woven into it, but I think it's not so holiday-y that I can't wear it or a regular basis. I really like the color of the blouse because I don't have much green (hardly any, I realize as I peek into my closet), but I'm not sure how practice it is. It shows a little too much cleavage for teaching, but I can always put a cami under it.

I didn't make it to Banana. I had managed to shop in SoHo on a Saturday and not commit an act of grievous bodily harm against anyone, and I didn't want to push my luck.

Tonight I just popped over to the Rite Aid (nickname: Douche Aid, for the friendly customer service) for some basics: conditioner, body lotion, toilet paper. You know, exciting stuff. I managed to get out of there without spending $80 and/or buying tons of stuff I didn't need, so I rewarded myself with a Coke Zero and wandered through the Brooklyn Indie Market on the corner. I am a huge sucker for jewelry, and I have been wanting something short and silver. Not only did I find a pretty necklace - on sale - the artist informed me she's having a trunk sale next Sunday at her studio in Park Slope. With free champagne. Jewelry and bubbly? Ummm, yes please! (See, I'm not just a materialistic compulsive accessorizer, I'm a patron of the arts!)

I'm also on the market for a new coat - two actually. I really need a new wool coat and a new down parka. I have 2 shorter coats that are perfect for 50 degree weather, but once it starts getting really cold they're just not enough. My puffy is 5 years old, sheds feathers onto everything I wear under it, and is tight around the bum (not sure how that happened - must have shrunk at the cleaners). My wool coat is from my senior year of college, which makes it 8 years old, so I feel no guilt over replacing that. I haven't been shopping that seriously, but last night I was poking around on smartbargains and found this beauty:

I was just sitting around, enjoying my Coke Zero and fiddling with my new necklace, pretending like I was going to grade papers, so I figured I'd check in on it. Quick check of the bank account - the money is there, so I figure I might as well buy it. Do they have it in my size? Check. In the color I want? Yes, but it's the last one in that color/size combo! Now I must have it, for for no other reason that so someone else doesn't get it that's not me. Frantic, I grab my wallet while I do a quick google search for coupon codes (a must before checking out with any online purchase). 15% off and free shipping? Clearly I am destined to own this coat! The universe is telling me to buy it!


So I bought it. The thrill of my shopping victory faded ever so slightly, but if my mother taught me anything in life, it's that you can always return it.

a most productive day

It's been a long week at school, so I decided to "work from home" today.

I slept in until about 9:30, checked e-mail, etc. and then got to work. I made pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread. While those were in the oven I cleaned the kitchen. I put away the dry dishes, cleaned everything in the sink, cleaned the sink, wiped down the counters and stove top, wiped down the inside of the garbage can, re-lined the garbage and recycling bins, washed the floor, and made a list of the cleaning products we need to replenish.

Then it was on to the bathroom - I cleaned the toilet, sink, mirror and floor. In the living room I cleaned up all the dirt the new kitty had tossed every where, threw out the aloe plant she ate and subsequently puked in, repotted 2 other plants, cleaned all the saucers under the plants, vacuumed the futon, moved the futon and the dining room table back to where they were before the Halloween party, put the junk mail in the recycling, wiped down the table, and moved our various shoes/bags/scarves/etc. back to our own bedrooms. I also caught up on last night's episode of Project Runway.

Fresh Direct came at 2pm, so I got my lentil soup into the crock pot and finally took a shower. I brought my line-dry laundry to the laundromat, including the bath mat and shower curtain, picked up my regular laundry on the way home, enjoyed a pumpkin muffin and a cup of tea, retrieved my wet laundry, and hung it all to dry. The blood (our Halloween party was a rager) and hair dye (roommate) both appear to have come out of the shower curtain so the bathroom no longer looks like a crime scene, which can only be considered a good thing.

I didn't make it to the gym, but all that cleaning counts as a workout, right?

And now I'm blogging for the first time in 2 weeks! It has been a most productive day, indeed. It's amazing what I can accomplish when I don't want to grade papers!