Sunday, April 26, 2009

and maybe some writing too

Inspired, I decided to compile a summer reading list. At this point, it just consists of books I own but haven't read...surprisingly fewer than I thought. In any case, I'm soliciting other recommendations, so feel free to comment. Not sure exactly how many I'll actually be able to read, given the part time job, Capstone Project, three study circles, children's class, and Project Badi that I'll be involved in over the summer, but we shall see. In any case, I'll make a dent. I need to get back to being literary.

In no particular order:

Guns, Germs, and Steel ~ Jared Diamond
Anthills of the Savannah ~ Chinua Achebe
A Home at the End of the World ~ Michael Cunningham
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius ~ Dave Eggers
Waiting ~ Ha Jin
Ishmael ~ Daniel Quinn
Tar Baby ~ Toni Morrison
Rant ~ Chuck Palahniuk
Prelude to Foundation ~ Isaac Asimov
House of Leaves ~ Mark Danielewski
Only Revolutions ~ Mark Danielewski
Multiple Exposures ~ Catherine Caufield

Thursday, April 23, 2009

easy like sunday...afternoon

Amys

So I bought a box of these guys on a whim because I'm really into foods that require little to no preparation on my part, plus are healthy. These take 10 minutes in the oven and are organic and whole wheat and vegetarian. I pop them in, go get a little work done (read, check Facebook), and then come back and open the oven door and...it's silent. There's no sizzling. You know, the way things in the oven usually sizzle letting you know they're nice and hot. But it's been 10 minutes, and they look brown on top, so I get them out. And that's when I realize the reason for the lack of sizzle.

There's no grease! Like, none! This makes me very excited thinking about how healthy this must be. I cross my fingers. Please let them taste good. They're delicious!!

And thus worthy of a blog entry. I hope this wasn't too tedious for you.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

"the earth laughs in flowers"

In honor of Earth Day and National Poetry Month, I have written a poem about the earth.

...

Just kidding. But that would be cool, eh? Seriously, I've done nothing for either event. I feel like a bad friend missing a birthday.

Friday, April 17, 2009

as promised

http://bevwire.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/vitamin-water.jpg

So, vitamin water. I am annoyed that people think it is healthy. And that they think it is water. You know what else is water, with just a little color, flavor, and sugar added? Kool-Aid.

Just to clarify, people, most drinks are mostly water. It's when you add things to it that it becomes NOT water. Like tea, for example. Or soda. We don't say we're drinking "herbal water" or "cola water."

Also, adding vitamins to something does not automatically make it good for you. There is still the artificial flavor, color, and sweetener in vitamin water! That's like saying, Hey, one of the nuts in this Snickers is actually a vitamin! Now it's good for you!

Vitamin water also boasts how low-cal it is. Okay, fine. But low cal, again, does not necessarily mean healthy. Diet soda, for instance.

But I don't really have a problem with people who drink vitamin water to try and get fewer calories. That's cool. Just don't pretend it's healthy. What gets me is the Vandy kids drinking vitamin water with their organic yogurt cup and carrot sticks. One of these things is not like the others... Maybe I should give them a little credit, though, cause I guess two out of three ain't bad.

For more ranting on vitamin water, go here.


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

tune in later for a rant on vitamin water

I kiss you on the brain in the shadow of the train
I kiss you all starry-eyed, my body swinging from side to side
I don't see what anyone could see in anyone else
But you

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

upon waking

I had a dream that I felt the baby moving and could see his whole arm poking out of my stomach. Anderson thought it was cool, so we took the baby out to play with him for a while and then put him back in when we were done.

This will be an unfortunate next several months if I'm already this ready for him to be born! :)

Sunday, April 12, 2009

social and environmental

So, readers, a miraculous event occurred last night. I hung out with people! And I don't mean chatting online! Anderson came too, which may be even more miraculous. I kind of forget that he's pretty funny to people other than me. We ordered Thai food and ate homemade bread pudding and talked and laughed and played board games. All in all, an excellent evening. And people tell me that apparently I look pregnant now. Clodpollish, I say!

And, I have plans to have lunch with people (mostly different people) on Monday. Semblance of a social life, here I come!

Yesterday I also went to this baby fair held at one of the hospitals. [If you are bored by baby-related comments...*cough*Austin*cough*...feel free to skip this paragraph.] Basically it was a bunch of booths about different baby-related products and services in Nashville. A lot of it was photography or stuff specifically with the hospital, trying to recruit you. There were also several 3D ultrasound booths, which -- thanks to Keri -- I am no longer interested in because they are creepy looking. But there were some useful things too, like some new stores I found out about, some pediatricians I talked to, drawings for free stuff that I entered. Best of all, though, was the cloth diaper delivery service that I found out about! Su-weet!

[If you are bored by diaper-related comments, skip this paragraph.] I've been trying to figure out what to do about the diaper situation that will surely arise once the baby's born. Disposable diapers are seriously out of the question to me, due to their environment-destroying powers and all the chemicals that go into them that will then touch my perfect baby's skin. But my memories of cloth diapers that my mom used make them seem unpleasant as well. I remember the diapers being bulky, fastened with safety pins, and then topped with a giant rubber diaper cover, and then they leaked and were gross and you had to wash them. So the delivery service takes care of that last part, and this particular delivery service is pretty environmentally friendly and constantly trying to improve (read their plans for the future under FAQs...holy cow!). And the diapers now are way smaller, as are the diaper covers - smaller and more attractive, and no safety pins are involved! It seems quite awesome. Of course, I'm aware, environmentally speaking, that there is still an impact, what with the water to wash, the disinfectants used, the cotton grown to make the diapers, etc, but I do think it's better than disposables. There's also a third option, though: gDiapers. These are biodegradable, compostable, all natural disposable diapers that have a cloth cover with a disposable insert. These seem the most environmentally friendly of them all, although my sis tells me they are awkward to use and leak a lot. So we shall see. Also part of the consideration is comfort, etc, for le bebe. Cloth diapers are said to be more comfortable, cause less diaper rash, and help potty train sooner because the baby can feel when the diaper is wet (as opposed to disposables that wick away moisture). And something about cloth diapers just seems nice to me.

But who knows, the verdict is still out. Feel free to comment with your expert opinions and try to sway my decision.

Friday, April 3, 2009

venting

Soooo...I had to be at a school at 9:15 this morning for tutoring, and when I arrived, the place was jam-packed with parents. Oh no. So I go inside and ask the secretary what's going on. She says they're having their awards ceremony. I ask, Is it the whole school? She says yes. I ask, Did it just start? She says, No, it just ended, everyone is starting to leave. Perfect! I can still get my kids. So I go to the classroom and the teacher says, Oh, we're about to go to the awards ceremony. I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you about it.

What the heck, secretary? So I end up having to drive back home and now have to go back in the afternoon.

So then, I'm supposed to meet with a teacher at another school across town to discuss a project we're working on. She had just sent me an email last night saying, yes, 11am would be great. So I get there, go to her room, and she's not there. I hang around for about 10 minutes. Then I go to the office, which is right next door. They don't know where she is and suggest checking the break room since it's the teacher's planning period. I check, she's not there, no one has seen her. I go back to her room and wait. Then back to the office to ask again. They ask around with no luck and say sometimes she leaves campus for lunch. I call her cell phone. No answer. I check my email. No message. At 11:30am I finally decide to go home. I mean, I had to leave at 12pm anyway.

So, as you can see, today has been fun. And I still have to go back to the first school, and then drive to Franklin, and then come home and clean my house, and get up at 7am on Saturday. :(

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Trucks it is! :)