Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

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1. How the hell is it already Wednesday night? Spring break is vanishing right before my eyes. I took Sunday "off" but have been on the go the last three days with no end in sight (friends... baby stuff... work stuff... house stuff....).

2. We had three of our favorite couples over for dinner Saturday and it went really well. Everyone had at least met one of the other couples, and between teacher-talk, sports, and general weird shit, everyone had something to contribute (which is a concern, at least for me, when you bring together people who barely know each other). You know you have great friends when at the end of the night you're sober and still love them.

3. I need to read Huck Finn and The Scarlett Letter in the next four days. Obligation makes things so painful....

4. While out walking the dogs this morning, I saw these guys racing:

5. There has been a definite increase in seismic activity in Southern California lately (increase after years of decrease, though) and I really, really hate it. My husband thinks I'm crazy, but considering that I grew up in the very flat, very still Central Valley I'm not used to the earth moving underneath you. A 5.1 hit last weekend (in the same town where my grandparents live, about thirty or so miles away) and we got shook up little a bit (for like five seconds), coincidentally when we were on ladders and benches painting the nursery. Oh, and then everyone starts talking about the "big one." You know what? They can all go fuck themselves.

6. I highly recommend making these peanut butter cookies. The combination of the corn syrup (only a teaspoon or two, relax) and the cornstarch make for a smooth, soft texture. This is definitely in my top 10 cookies recipes.

7. Speaking of food, I feel like I've been talking to people about one of my greatest loves, cereal, a lot lately. In fact, I "joked" with my husband last night that I was going to start a new blog dedicated to cereal- reviews, recipes, interviews with cereal makers, odes, etc... Then maybe companies would start sending me free boxes? What more do you need in life besides books from publishers and cereal from food manufacturers? 

8. House is on Netflix, finally. I'm putting Nip/Tuck on hold and hopping aboard that train. I've watched the first season, a long time ago, and have been waiting not-so-patiently for this today.

[source]

9. As I listen to students and parents talk about college I've grown increasingly irritated at all the bitching and moaning about student loan debt. If you choose a viable degree and career path, taking out federal loans is fine. In fact, I think it can be incredibly motivating for graduates to enter the job market and for some it's the only tax deduction they'll get for awhile. I know all families do it differently, but eighteen-year-olds are adults and accepting at least some fiscal responsibility for their education is important. 

10. I started listening to Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential yesterday and am so far amused and intrigued. I love his unapologetic asshole-ness and brutal honesty about the restaurant business. He does the reading, which is always nice too. 

 

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

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1. Last week a student particularly near and dear to me emailed me while I was out at a training "Do you get laid?" I know this sounds shocking, but the kid asks me 17.5 million questions a week (2/3 via email) and some tend to be personal (although none this much so...). I quickly received a follow-up email explaining she means "paid." Anyways, it was hilarious at the time and she still gets embarrassed when I mention it- ammo!

2. I rediscovered my love for the cereal Oh's! I ate an excessive amount in college (they're less than $3 a box) and have only hopped back on the wagon a few times since then. I'm back on. I'm trying to be pretty diligent about my calorie intake right now, so I'm trying to stick to the serving size since they're pretty dense. Then again, 120 or whatever calories does not make a meal, so it is a bit of a conundrum. But still, so good. 

3. I have a check up tomorrow and am so very, very excited that I get to leave my clothes on. And I guess to hear the baby's heartbeat or whatever. But anyway, at the practice I go to you have to strip down to nothing and wear all that paper shit until you're 12 weeks along. That ship has sailed so I get to stay dressed. And I'm seeing a new doctor who hopefully won't suck as much as the one I've been currently seeing, so fingers crossed.

4. Speaking of the baby thing, I have this super unrealistic goal of wanting to read all my books before it's born. I swear to GOD I'm still going to read postpartum (at least fifteen or twenty sleepy minutes a day), but I do love goals and challenges. It's so not going to happen, but it's something to aspire to (mainly because I know I'll end up getting 10-20 books in the next several months).

5. Have you heard of the Cartwheel App for Target? Every week they post new coupons on normal, everyday things and you download them to your phone and they'll scan it at checkout. I don't save that much, maybe a few bucks a week, but it's oddly fun. Like a game. 

[you're welcome for the free advertising, you corporate pigs]

6. I want to take a minute to apologize for being a shitty follow-up commenter. Some of you (like Rory and Lianne) are so great at responding to blog comments. I totally suck at it. So I'm sorry, and I'll try to be better, but just know I love hearing what everyone says. Part of the problem is I get email alerts and I'm usually not home, so I forget to respond. Excuses, excuses.

7. I made these last night. They were pretty fucking awesome.

8. A month or so ago I shared the fun news that I was probably going to Seattle for a work training. Now it's been changed to Houston, and that's if we can get a spot. Houston. HOUSTON! Let's just say another choice was Detroit. Sliiiiiim pickins. Nonetheless, I will make it fun and will possibly wear cowboy boots and a ginormous belt buckle. Yeehaw. 

9. I know it's old news, but I still really hate that "Marriage Isn't for You" article. Yes, marriage is for me! I chose a husband based on someone that would make me happy for the rest of my life- not because I wanted to make him happy. Not that I wanted him to be unhappy, but I figure if he was willing to go through with it he was good to go. It was not an act of altruism that allowed him to be graced with my presence until death. And for my "future children?" Are you kidding me? There is so, so much more to marriage than kids. It just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not saying that I don't do anything for my husband or never give him anything. I'm just saying that you have to go into it realistically. Seth Adam Smith needs to get out of rainbow colored bubble full of puppies and kittens and get with the program. Oh, and his argument may hold more stock if his wife was a troll, but she's not. 

10. Sylvia Plath update: we're on our third poem and all still alive and relatively happy. Dare I say I'm enjoying this? We still have 17 more to go (plus a Socratic Seminar, a possible essay, a buttload of review, and their individual twenty-minutes commentaries recorded to send to IB), so I may be singing a different tune in a few weeks. 

11. (Bonus!) I can't wait for this to happen tomorrow. I need to not watch the footage around my husband, or any person for that matter, since I will cry like a baby the entire time. Humanity as a whole gets so much shit sometimes, but once in awhile people do some really great things.