Monday, June 30, 2008

Not really a morning person

Nobody is more surprised than I am that I actually like getting up early and going to the gym before work.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Saturday, June 28, 2008

I wish everyone I love lived in the same time zone, preferably the same one as me!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Who, me?

This morning I had breakfast with my writing mentor/teacher/thesis advisor/former landlord and she told me the second she saw me in class, she thought: trouble.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Note to self

Before putting a bottle of Diet Coke into purse, check to make sure it is fully closed!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Gratitude

Today I am grateful for: feeling calm, sweet cherries, my good pen, What is the What? book on CD, Mediterranean potluck with some of my favorite women, dining alfresco, the white chocolate raspberry cupcakes, seeing people grow, the smell of babies, hugs from people who really love me, and My Heart's Desire finishing up the laundry so I can go to bed early.

Surprising Feminist Icon

This woman eats constantly, kicks ass, and looks good in red lipstick!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Zzzz

I have not been getting enough sleep lately, must change!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Stuck

When I want to make a lot of changes, it's hard to know where to start.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Reading the dictionary

I bought a 1939 dictionary and have been amusing myself by looking up words, like negotiatrix (female negotiator), mountain dew (intoxicating liquor; whiskey, especially illicit), and wellegant (swell and elegant).

Lovely

Once in a great while I'll have a day that's lovely from start to finish. Today was one. I slept until I woke up (a rarity), then read my book, took a shower, went to a friend's house for homemade Indian food, had great chat, got mani/pedi, came home, read more, had dinner on the deck with My Heart's Desire (he shopped and cooked) and some friends, watched an episode of How It's Made while cuddling with My Heart's Desire on the couch, then finished book, blogged, read, and went to sleep. Good night!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Yay!

My mentor is coming home on Sunday from nearly seven months abroad, not a moment too soon!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Work in progress

I am becoming the woman that I want to be.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

2008 is flying by!

The year is half over already - I can't believe how fast it's going.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Pouring Rain

When I left work this afternoon, the skies opened up on me and by the time I got to my car I was carrying my shoes, with soaking wet hair.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

It all comes down to one question...

What am I willing to spend -- money or time?

Teeth. Loved. It.


My Heart's Desire and I just finished watching Teeth. Finally, a feminist horror movie! He thought it was strange, but I really enjoyed it. And I loved the message that this movie sent.

I love that a movie like this even gets made. Add it to your queue, let me know what you think.

Another V8, please

Okay, so I finished Smart Girls Like Me by Diane Vadino. In a word: zzzzz. This book is not worth the time it takes to read it.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I love a parade

I'm considering going to New York for the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, after all, I love mermaids, I love New York, and I love parades!

Friday, June 13, 2008

Girls, girls, girls

Even though I am part of a couple, it is really important for me to spend time with female friends and I am very much looking forward to tonight's girls' dinner!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Grouchy, party of 2

Being grouchy is a surefire way to get other people to act grouchy back.

No grains smaller than rice

On three separate occasions, I have tried to make risotto, polenta, and quinoa. All of the attempts were colossal failures, rendering the meals inedible. After the last fiasco (My Heart’s Desire asked incredulously, “There’s ricotta in this? And garlic? And bacon?”), I am no longer going to attempt to make grains that are smaller than rice.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I'm serious

My fine line and wrinkles do not need correcting!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Attitude determines altitude

I got a much-needed attitude adjustment around 8pm.

Monday, June 9, 2008

A one-issue voter

After looking up the McCain history of anti-choice voting, I am now officially for Obama.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Powerless

Lost power for the second time this week.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Home with a toothache

I watched trashy reality shows on YouTube - shh!

One awesome book, another not awesome at all

First, the awesome. House of Sand And Fog. It's not a new book, but I hadn't read it before. Why? Honestly, because it was one of Oprah's picks and most of her picks I really, really do not like. I got this copy on the cheap and just tore into it. It was beautifully written, touching, and I could hardly put it down, reading it in two sittings. I even cried during one part. I had seen the movie ages ago, but the book was not just more but incredible. Definitely worth reading!

Breaking News! V.C. Andrews has been robbed! I finished Shoot the Moon yesterday and can't believe I was able to stomach the whole thing. A predictable, trite plot, complete with flat characters and a familial romance straight out of a V.C. Andrews novel. The nicest thing I can say about it is: Yiich.

Next on the list: Smart Girls Like Me by Diane Vadino.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

No Windy City for me

The poetry residency winner was announced, alas, it wasn't me - so hope for that is no longer alive.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Blech

Worst lunch ever: stale Cheerios with expired Silk.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Mediocre books, or, I could have had a V8

Recently I've read a couple of books that I really wanted to like, but didn't. The Friday Night Knitting Club was lent to me by my honorary grandmother, and she didn't like it either. We both found it incredibly cheesy and not very well developed. I really liked the premise and I tend to like books about women (particularly inter-generational friendships) but this was worse than a Lifetime movie. Really, I could have had a V8.

The Spare Wife I got from the library and I would have been furious if I had paid for it. I liked Alex Witchel's Me Times Three but this book was almost impossible to get invested in the flat characters or care one way or the other if the scandal broke. It didn't. Maybe the fact that I kept falling asleep while reading it was a sign...


Next on my reading list are Billie Letts Shoot the Moon and Andre Dubus III House of Sand and Fog. I got these at the library book sale for $1 (yes, I wrote a check) and am looking forward to reading them. I almost bought Shoot the Moon at Target the day before, but I refrained and saved $11.

Chicago poetry residency

I applied for a poetry residency and am keeping hope alive!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Ouchy

Nothing is worse than a toothache.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

My garden grows!

A huge hydrangea bush sits outside my home office window and in the last few weeks it has been growing like crazy! This very afternoon I cut the first hydrangeas of the year and placed them on my table. Lovely, no?

Nummy

I plucked a warm strawberry off the vine and ate it in the field.