I am getting so very close to completing my manuscript. It is completely within the realm of possibility that I will be sending it off to Chalice Press by the deadline.
This morning Marie sent me an email with a link to a cute poster that says "It always seems impossible until you are done." Ain't that the truth.
Ten more things I'm going to do, post-book, because right now that's just about all I can think about.
1. Get a massage.
2. Get another massage.
3. Get a... okay, you get the picture.
4. Organize my disaster of a closet. I'm almost exclusively wearing pregnant lady clothes these days, but I haven't cleared out the regular lady clothes yet, plus most of the maternity clothes are still in the basement, and you get the picture.
5. Replace my engagement ring. Yes, not months after Ben lost his wedding ring, my engagement ring disappeared. Luckily, it's still available from the same place we got the first one. I briefly considered getting something different - maybe a garnet instead of an amethyst, or upgrading to white gold instead of silver, but no. I really, really love the ring Ben and I picked out together, and I want the exact same one.
6. Start a writing group at church. Ooh, am I excited about this.
7. Send several hundred tardy emails and thank-you notes.
8. Take my husband out on a date. We have Groupon tickets to Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, and I want to use them.
9. Do an interview with the feminist magazine Lisa founded at Kent State; the current editor just contacted me to say that they are putting together a special 10th anniversary edition. Lisa and I had met at the literary magazine and were in a philosophy class together; she approached me to ask if I would be the assistant editor for this magazine she wanted to start. Um... yes, yes, a million times yes. We quickly became best friends and roommates, so the 10th anniversary of the magazine is also our tenth anniversary. I told her that the traditional gift is tin or aluminum; she's going to send me a tin can.
10. Did I mention I really need a massage?
1.26.2011
1.24.2011
Happy Birthday, Juliette!
Juliette has had a wonderful birthday. Thanks to a miserable case of influenza, she hadn't left the house in over a week (save for a trip to the doctor and the airport). But today, she was finally well enough to go to school, where it was her day to bring the birthday treat.
Other highlights: Grandma is here to celebrate!
Ben picked out fancy birthday treats from the Swedish Bakery in Chicago. The brown spiky one is a porcupine!
A super exciting package from Aunt Lisa arrived: a huge bag of wonderful dress-up clothes and jewelry. Juliette is beside herself.
Her little Shirley Temple/ Great-Grandma Watson wig:
She also received several books, doll clothes, Hungry Hungry Hippo, and a very cool Eboo version of Animal Bingo (which I bought for $2 at the church rummage sale last fall). We went to 2 Toots for dinner, so Juliette had a the thrilling experience of having her dinner delivered via model train. We also had three special birthday Skype sessions.
We still have to reschedule her mini birthday party; we had plans to have two of her friends over for a tea party, but the flu got in the way. Even without the party this birthday was just right.
Other highlights: Grandma is here to celebrate!
Ben picked out fancy birthday treats from the Swedish Bakery in Chicago. The brown spiky one is a porcupine!
A super exciting package from Aunt Lisa arrived: a huge bag of wonderful dress-up clothes and jewelry. Juliette is beside herself.
Her little Shirley Temple/ Great-Grandma Watson wig:
She also received several books, doll clothes, Hungry Hungry Hippo, and a very cool Eboo version of Animal Bingo (which I bought for $2 at the church rummage sale last fall). We went to 2 Toots for dinner, so Juliette had a the thrilling experience of having her dinner delivered via model train. We also had three special birthday Skype sessions.
We still have to reschedule her mini birthday party; we had plans to have two of her friends over for a tea party, but the flu got in the way. Even without the party this birthday was just right.
1.18.2011
Ten on Tuesday: Post Book To-Do List
Juliette and I are both sick with the flu (or something like it). I have exactly two weeks to whip my manuscript into submission-ready shape. That makes this afternoon the perfect time to daydream ten things I will do when I'm done with my book.
Just for kicks, let's count backwards. Stick around to the end.
10. Take a vacation. Other than our wonderful but very brief trip to Zion last year, it's been a long time since I have ceased to work for reasons other than a job interview, an intensive writing week, or illness.
9. Start knitting again. I've been scarfless all winter because I was foolish enough to believe that I could knit one for myself before it got too cold.
8. Finish "slurping" my blog into Blurb books. I only did the first two volumes... which is to say, I haven't slurped a single Juliette year.
7. Print photographs. I haven't had a picture printed in over a year.
6. Do this to our refrigerator.
5. Cook a recipe from of each of the cookbooks we own, including the the one my mother just found in her basement - my old copy of the Little House on the Prairie Cookbook.
4. Pitch a great idea for a post - possibly even a mini-series of posts - to the Century blog.
3. Drum up the courage to take Juliette downtown to the Art Institute by myself on one of our weekday afternoons off.
2. Find some good Christmas ornament patterns, and make them. I realized this year that my favorite and best Christmas decorations are the ones that were handmade by my grandmother, mother, and sisters. I made some paper ornaments while I was in seminary, but I'm thinking felt or yarn.
1. Have a baby! This is the only item on my to-do list that comes along with a due date: July 2011.
Just for kicks, let's count backwards. Stick around to the end.
10. Take a vacation. Other than our wonderful but very brief trip to Zion last year, it's been a long time since I have ceased to work for reasons other than a job interview, an intensive writing week, or illness.
9. Start knitting again. I've been scarfless all winter because I was foolish enough to believe that I could knit one for myself before it got too cold.
8. Finish "slurping" my blog into Blurb books. I only did the first two volumes... which is to say, I haven't slurped a single Juliette year.
7. Print photographs. I haven't had a picture printed in over a year.
6. Do this to our refrigerator.
5. Cook a recipe from of each of the cookbooks we own, including the the one my mother just found in her basement - my old copy of the Little House on the Prairie Cookbook.
4. Pitch a great idea for a post - possibly even a mini-series of posts - to the Century blog.
3. Drum up the courage to take Juliette downtown to the Art Institute by myself on one of our weekday afternoons off.
2. Find some good Christmas ornament patterns, and make them. I realized this year that my favorite and best Christmas decorations are the ones that were handmade by my grandmother, mother, and sisters. I made some paper ornaments while I was in seminary, but I'm thinking felt or yarn.
1. Have a baby! This is the only item on my to-do list that comes along with a due date: July 2011.
1.16.2011
Little House on the Prairie Meltdown
Okay, let me begin with a disclaimer: yes, I have slightly over two weeks to finish my book manuscript, and therefore I have no business reading Little House on the Prairie books in my pajamas all day, let alone taking fifteen minutes to write about my subsequent Little House on the Prairie Meltdown. It's all about the integrated procrastination, baby. If I didn't give my brain the rest of spending its off-time in De Smet, North Dakota, I wouldn't be getting anywhere.
And a second disclaimer: this is probably a really boring post if you haven't read the Little House on the Prairie books, and possibly even if you have.
Finally, the third and final disclaimer: spoiler alert, for both the life of Laura and, oddly, The Life of Pi.
Yesterday I read the last two books in the series. (I also finished writing a tough chapter. See, integrated procrastination works!) I was completely swooning over Almanzo Wilder in These Happy Golden Years; my review on GoodReads claims that I am officially on Team Almanzo. Edward and Jacob have nothing on the dashing and courageous Almanzo. I haven't fallen for a literary character so hard since the ninth grade, when I scribbled Sydney Carton quotes on my Converse.
And then I had to go and read The First Four Years, the posthumously published and more or less unedited epilogue to the whole series. I wish I could unread it. It's not just that the writing isn't as good or that the journal-like plot is undeveloped. It isn't that Almanzo, suddenly nicknamed the slightly less pitter-pattery "Manly," is less dashing than duncelike. It isn't the even series of unfortunate events that pile on so quickly at the end you've scarcely recovered from Manly's temporary paralysis before they go bankrupt and the house burns down; Lord knows miseries hounded the Ingalls throughout their pioneer days, from those horrible grasshoppers to their near-starvation during seven months of blizzards to that horrid Nellie Oleson.
It's the loss of Laura that is most disillusioning. She's simply not the same character she is in the previous books... which makes it apparent that she was a character in the first place. The compulsive charm of the series is that they were written by a real pioneer, that the little Laura in the story grew up to tell her own tale. When I was a kid, I remember being completely awestruck that she was still alive when my parents were born. I don't want to learn at the last that Laura was in fact cranky and discontent (or, for that matter, that dear Mr. Boast, with his contagious laugh, tried to convince the Wilders to trade their baby Rose for a cow).
I choose the fantasy, grasshoppers and all, or at least I would if that were still an option.
I almost feel a little bit like I did at the end of Life of Pi. Almost.
When I read this series to Juliette, we'll stop before The First Four Years.
And a second disclaimer: this is probably a really boring post if you haven't read the Little House on the Prairie books, and possibly even if you have.
Finally, the third and final disclaimer: spoiler alert, for both the life of Laura and, oddly, The Life of Pi.
Yesterday I read the last two books in the series. (I also finished writing a tough chapter. See, integrated procrastination works!) I was completely swooning over Almanzo Wilder in These Happy Golden Years; my review on GoodReads claims that I am officially on Team Almanzo. Edward and Jacob have nothing on the dashing and courageous Almanzo. I haven't fallen for a literary character so hard since the ninth grade, when I scribbled Sydney Carton quotes on my Converse.
And then I had to go and read The First Four Years, the posthumously published and more or less unedited epilogue to the whole series. I wish I could unread it. It's not just that the writing isn't as good or that the journal-like plot is undeveloped. It isn't that Almanzo, suddenly nicknamed the slightly less pitter-pattery "Manly," is less dashing than duncelike. It isn't the even series of unfortunate events that pile on so quickly at the end you've scarcely recovered from Manly's temporary paralysis before they go bankrupt and the house burns down; Lord knows miseries hounded the Ingalls throughout their pioneer days, from those horrible grasshoppers to their near-starvation during seven months of blizzards to that horrid Nellie Oleson.
It's the loss of Laura that is most disillusioning. She's simply not the same character she is in the previous books... which makes it apparent that she was a character in the first place. The compulsive charm of the series is that they were written by a real pioneer, that the little Laura in the story grew up to tell her own tale. When I was a kid, I remember being completely awestruck that she was still alive when my parents were born. I don't want to learn at the last that Laura was in fact cranky and discontent (or, for that matter, that dear Mr. Boast, with his contagious laugh, tried to convince the Wilders to trade their baby Rose for a cow).
I choose the fantasy, grasshoppers and all, or at least I would if that were still an option.
I almost feel a little bit like I did at the end of Life of Pi. Almost.
When I read this series to Juliette, we'll stop before The First Four Years.
1.11.2011
Implications
There are some implications to having a nose piercing. Less than you'd think, perhaps, but some.
For example: when your almost-three-year-old daughter receives a gift of stick-on jewelry from her cool older friend, the first thing she'll exclaim is "For my nose!"
Ears at age twelve, nose at age sixteen.
Maybe.
For the record, I'm not remotely alarmed. Well, not about the nose jewelry. About the attitude you see percolating in the second picture... just a little bit.
For example: when your almost-three-year-old daughter receives a gift of stick-on jewelry from her cool older friend, the first thing she'll exclaim is "For my nose!"
Ears at age twelve, nose at age sixteen.
Maybe.For the record, I'm not remotely alarmed. Well, not about the nose jewelry. About the attitude you see percolating in the second picture... just a little bit.
1.10.2011
A Girl Can Dream
I've never had a definite notion of what I would do if I happened to win the lottery or otherwise become wealthy overnight. You know, other than the general giving a whole bunch away to Week of Compassion or some such hardworking humanitarian organization.
Now I know. After WoC gets its cut, of course.
Around here, a lot of beautiful old houses are torn town to build beautiful new houses. The main difference between the beautiful old and the beautiful new is size. I still haven't quite gotten accustomed to the size of new construction around here. These houses are huge.
There is a plot of land for sale about a half a block from the village downtown. Before too long, no doubt, a beautiful new house will materialize. If I won the lottery, it would be my beautiful new house. And it would be small. Two bedrooms, maybe three. And it would be as ecologically sound as can be - solar panels, bamboo floors, etc. The only supersized elements would be the garden and a big screened in porch for summertime entertaining. There would be a front porch, too, for sitting in the afternoon and waving to all the neighbors as they walk home from the train.
It's not that I have anything against big houses. I just don't want to live in one. In both of the houses Ben and I have lived in, we've started out stretching to fit the whole space, and finding that we curl up into the rooms that we really need. We're compact. We like to be in the same room. Additions are superfluous.
Small is grand.
So, maybe I'll start buying lottery tickets.
Now I know. After WoC gets its cut, of course.
Around here, a lot of beautiful old houses are torn town to build beautiful new houses. The main difference between the beautiful old and the beautiful new is size. I still haven't quite gotten accustomed to the size of new construction around here. These houses are huge.
There is a plot of land for sale about a half a block from the village downtown. Before too long, no doubt, a beautiful new house will materialize. If I won the lottery, it would be my beautiful new house. And it would be small. Two bedrooms, maybe three. And it would be as ecologically sound as can be - solar panels, bamboo floors, etc. The only supersized elements would be the garden and a big screened in porch for summertime entertaining. There would be a front porch, too, for sitting in the afternoon and waving to all the neighbors as they walk home from the train.
It's not that I have anything against big houses. I just don't want to live in one. In both of the houses Ben and I have lived in, we've started out stretching to fit the whole space, and finding that we curl up into the rooms that we really need. We're compact. We like to be in the same room. Additions are superfluous.
Small is grand.
So, maybe I'll start buying lottery tickets.
1.09.2011
Several on Sunday
1. Many of the ladies at my church in California baked Pumpkin Somethin', and I ate devoured enough servings during my tenure there that it is probably the taste I most strongly associate with the congregation. As my SBCC cookbook is still packed away with most of our cookbooks, I had to turn to the interwebs for a substitute recipe when I got the hankering for it the other day. It tasted pretty much like the original: even better than pumpkin pie. A wonderful January use for leftover pumpkin puree!
2. I don't know if there's a picture that has ever made me laugh as hard as this one. (Not even Ben's whale attack in Santa Barbara.)
First of all, the Persheys have some seriously big personalities, don't we? The hand-talking speaks volumes; Ben's is amplified even more by the pink polka dot sunglasses he's holding. I very distinctly remember what I was talking about with the woman, who was visiting for the 100th Anniversary celebration at SBCC. She'd just asked me if I was pregnant. And I was saying something to the effect of, "Why no, I'm not! Funny you should ask. Must just be stress-related overeating." I think if you asked ten people to guess what I might be talking about, one of them might actually hit it right on the nose, I'm so clearly making the strained-polite-pastor-just-got-insulted face/hands.
But, this photo also makes me a little sad. We really miss the man in the middle. Juliette used to call him "My Don."
3. I keep hearing raves from the crunchier corners of the blogosphere about how great the Oil Cleansing Method for facewashing is. So, today I bought a bottle of castor oil, which I'll mix with equal parts olive oil, and slather it all over my face every night. If all goes well, maybe I'll follow the advice of the same ladies and go shampoo-free, too.
4. I had a good writing week last week; a lot of revising, and a little bit of new work. I have so much to do between now and February 1st, but I am beginning to think that it is within the realm of possibility that I'll have a first draft that might not make Chalice Press regret its decision to accept my book proposal. I'm even tentatively a little excited about it. I haven't really said to much here because it just felt so tender, but it's a collection of essays about ministry, motherhood, and marriage. If you're reading this I hope you'll be part of the demographic that might actually buy a copy... ;-)
2. I don't know if there's a picture that has ever made me laugh as hard as this one. (Not even Ben's whale attack in Santa Barbara.)
First of all, the Persheys have some seriously big personalities, don't we? The hand-talking speaks volumes; Ben's is amplified even more by the pink polka dot sunglasses he's holding. I very distinctly remember what I was talking about with the woman, who was visiting for the 100th Anniversary celebration at SBCC. She'd just asked me if I was pregnant. And I was saying something to the effect of, "Why no, I'm not! Funny you should ask. Must just be stress-related overeating." I think if you asked ten people to guess what I might be talking about, one of them might actually hit it right on the nose, I'm so clearly making the strained-polite-pastor-just-got-insulted face/hands.But, this photo also makes me a little sad. We really miss the man in the middle. Juliette used to call him "My Don."
3. I keep hearing raves from the crunchier corners of the blogosphere about how great the Oil Cleansing Method for facewashing is. So, today I bought a bottle of castor oil, which I'll mix with equal parts olive oil, and slather it all over my face every night. If all goes well, maybe I'll follow the advice of the same ladies and go shampoo-free, too.
4. I had a good writing week last week; a lot of revising, and a little bit of new work. I have so much to do between now and February 1st, but I am beginning to think that it is within the realm of possibility that I'll have a first draft that might not make Chalice Press regret its decision to accept my book proposal. I'm even tentatively a little excited about it. I haven't really said to much here because it just felt so tender, but it's a collection of essays about ministry, motherhood, and marriage. If you're reading this I hope you'll be part of the demographic that might actually buy a copy... ;-)
1.06.2011
Conversation
Wife: Eugene Peterson's memoir comes out this spring. I really want to read it.
Husband: What is it called?
Wife: I don't remember.
Husband: That's a terrible title for a memoir.
Husband: What is it called?
Wife: I don't remember.
Husband: That's a terrible title for a memoir.
1.04.2011
Ten on Tuesday
1. Since Sunday's post was a behemoth, this one's going to be quick.
2. I let my cell phone contract run out and got a TracFone. The hardest part of the transition is remembering to charge something I never use. I'm near a phone most of the time anyway, can access Wifi on my iPod fairly easily, will save a ton of money, and... well, lets just say this NYT article freaked me out a bit.
3. Today when we left the post office, Juliette said, "We didn't bring the wagon." We walked to the post office with the wagon in October. She remembered.
4. My random ESP struck again: I knew I was going to win this really cool photo planner when I entered the contest over at Yeah, Write. I also knew I was going to win the makeover at afterprom my senior year of high school. I really like to put my ESP to good use.
5. I had a gift certificate and coupon to Half Price Books from Christmas, and when we stopped in the other day I bought all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I didn't already own for $15. I'm currently reading On the Banks of Plum Creek, which was the last one I read as a kid, which is so weird because it was also my favorite one.
6. I have designs on a family trip to Minnesota, to visit Andrea and Alan, see Ruth again, meet J.J., show Ben the St. John's Bible in Collegeville, and... visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. Some day.
7. I'm amazed by how many brilliantly sunny winter days there are in the Chicago area. No offense, Cleveland, but you're awfully gray in the wintertime.
8. That said, I'm really glad we're on the other side of the winter solstice. In the early fall when I picked Juliette up from school at 4:30, there was still so much daytime left. I hate that it's already dark out when I pick her up. The sun sets about a half hour earlier here than in Cleveland and LA, so these have been the earliest sunsets I've experienced in my life.
9. I really love this picture of Juliette and me, taken by Aunt Lisa.
10. That also reminds me of the other pictures we "took" when Aunt Lisa and John were visiting in November. We were walking around the campus of the University of Chicago (which is gorgeous), and there was a great spot to take a few snapshots. The Persheys were already posing when Lisa realized she'd forgotten her camera. But it was such a great spot we just pretended to take the picture anyway, and then I proceeded to "take a picture" of Lisa and John in the same place. Maybe we don't have the actual 4x6es, but I'm willing to bet that we would have forgotten about it altogether if we hadn't been so silly.
Happy Tuesday.
2. I let my cell phone contract run out and got a TracFone. The hardest part of the transition is remembering to charge something I never use. I'm near a phone most of the time anyway, can access Wifi on my iPod fairly easily, will save a ton of money, and... well, lets just say this NYT article freaked me out a bit.
3. Today when we left the post office, Juliette said, "We didn't bring the wagon." We walked to the post office with the wagon in October. She remembered.
4. My random ESP struck again: I knew I was going to win this really cool photo planner when I entered the contest over at Yeah, Write. I also knew I was going to win the makeover at afterprom my senior year of high school. I really like to put my ESP to good use.
5. I had a gift certificate and coupon to Half Price Books from Christmas, and when we stopped in the other day I bought all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books I didn't already own for $15. I'm currently reading On the Banks of Plum Creek, which was the last one I read as a kid, which is so weird because it was also my favorite one.
6. I have designs on a family trip to Minnesota, to visit Andrea and Alan, see Ruth again, meet J.J., show Ben the St. John's Bible in Collegeville, and... visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum. Some day.
7. I'm amazed by how many brilliantly sunny winter days there are in the Chicago area. No offense, Cleveland, but you're awfully gray in the wintertime.
8. That said, I'm really glad we're on the other side of the winter solstice. In the early fall when I picked Juliette up from school at 4:30, there was still so much daytime left. I hate that it's already dark out when I pick her up. The sun sets about a half hour earlier here than in Cleveland and LA, so these have been the earliest sunsets I've experienced in my life.
9. I really love this picture of Juliette and me, taken by Aunt Lisa.
10. That also reminds me of the other pictures we "took" when Aunt Lisa and John were visiting in November. We were walking around the campus of the University of Chicago (which is gorgeous), and there was a great spot to take a few snapshots. The Persheys were already posing when Lisa realized she'd forgotten her camera. But it was such a great spot we just pretended to take the picture anyway, and then I proceeded to "take a picture" of Lisa and John in the same place. Maybe we don't have the actual 4x6es, but I'm willing to bet that we would have forgotten about it altogether if we hadn't been so silly.
Happy Tuesday.
1.02.2011
Miscellany for the New Year
1. Jackson Henry Taylor was born yesterday morning! He has a super cool birthday (1/1/11). Though it isn't the same as getting to actually hold him, we did get to see him via Skype. He's adorable. Between the brothers-in-law making funny remarks, a hilarious misstatement by Marie, and Juliette's antics, we were laughing so hard I almost fell off my chair. And, um, I have a history of falling off chairs during Skype chats, so in the future we're going to have to keep the pandemonium to a dull roar.
2. I don't really do New Years resolutions, though I love the feeling of the first day of a new year. I like to harness it into one big New Year's Day Project (ha... apparently Marie does, too; this year hers was: have a baby). This year I did a major overhaul of the kitchen and pantry closet. It's amazing how much needed to be done, considering we've only lived here since June. Part of it was reorganizing space based on how we actually use the kitchen and phasing out as much plastic as we can (yay for Pyrex storage containers!). And part of it was collecting a ridiculous number of almost-empty bags of slivered almonds. Apparently we eat a lot of slivered almonds, but have an aversion to actually finishing the bag.
3. The other inspiration for the housework was the gift I received from my mother, Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. I've been a fan of Simplemom.net for a couple years, and have used her Daily Docket off and on. I've gotten so many ideas from her that I've actually used - and have actually improved our lives - that I knew I wanted a copy of her new book. I've already finished it, but I'm looking forward to spending more time with it over the next few months, as I realized the first eight chapters will make for great material to read in the moms group I lead at church. While it isn't overtly Christian and is packed with the sort of practical advice you're more likely to read in an Oprah magazine than discuss at a bible study, the whole foundation of the book is profoundly theological. She writes, "[Simple living] means that all the parts of your life are pointed in the same direction, a direction that has purpose and vibrancy." Part of the task is to discern that direction. Tsh shares her family's shared purpose, which begins with wanting to "glorify God in all we say, do, and are," and she stresses the importance of relationships, learning, hospitality, stewardship, etc. At the same time, it doesn't lay it on too heavily; some of the Christian homemaking stuff out there is, well, out there. I'm really excited to explore this with the women at church. I'd been searching with no avail for good resources for this group, and there it was, under the Christmas tree.
still life with bull
4. We've used cloth napkins for the entire duration of our marriage, thanks to Lisa H. Actually, we've used the same cloth napkins (plus a few new sets) for the entire duration of our marriage. I couldn't make up a better endorsement for using cloth. They are the antithesis of disposable. We have two small baskets ($1 each from Target) under the sink; one for clean and one for dirty. They get laundered with whatever load has extra room, so the extra laundry is absorbed into the whole. A couple years ago we also gave up paper towels. That was a little harder. For a while, I rejoiced when my mother would cushion packages with paper towels. We just keep an assortment of towels and rags - some under the sink with the napkins for daily kitchen stuff, some in the extra pantry closet for cleaning. The dirty ones go in the same small hamper as the napkins. After going cold turkey for a year or so, I do like to keep a roll tucked away in the pantry; there are a few things for which paper towels are uniquely helpful, and I like to put them out when Juliette has a babysitter. But they always need to go back into the pantry, because if they are out we will use them, even though we know full well that we function just fine without them.
All of this is to say: if you still use paper towels and napkins, the beginning of the year is a great time to make the switch. Just sayin'. You will not regret it.
5. I almost wiped out at church on Christmas Eve, walking a rarely-used pathway that was unexpectedly icy. The only reason I didn't fall completely was because my boot caught a step, giving me a chance to right myself. Sadly, the boot took one for the team. My beloved black motorcycle boots that I got in 1999 and just had reheeled last winter for my interview weekend (why yes, I did wear motorcycle boots...) are goners; the leather ripped. When I went to the store to replace them there was a buy-one-get-one-half-off sale going on. I couldn't resist a pair of dressy suede ankle boots that are perfect for winter (especially since they were originally $90 and I paid $15). I wore them this morning for the first time, and while they're really comfortable, they're also really slippery. Every time I stood up to do a prayer or distribute the elements, I was repeating to myself don'tfalldon'tfalldon'tfalldon'tfall. I'm going to get them reheeled with special Clumsy Lady Material. They won't make the same click-clack, but I'd rather sacrifice the click-clack to avoid the boom-crash.
6. I will post pictures of the shoes when I get a chance. Other than Juliette being born, the most comments I ever get on this blog are responding to shoe posts. We have our priorities. ;-)
7. I made up a recipe for olive bread tonight. The bread machine will do its thing while we sleep, and in the morning I'll find out if I'm really clever enough to make up bread recipes. I did cheat and learn from the internet that you mix some of the brine into the water. I have no illusions that any other family members will partake of my bread, even if it is a masterpiece, so I'm going on the Olive Bread Diet tomorrow. All you eat is olive bread. I hear it works just as well as the Grapefruit Diet.
8. The same jar of olives was first opened on New Years Day, for pizza.
The olives were only on my slices, of course. And my salad. When only one person in the family eats olives and therefore only splurges on olives once a year, one goes to lengths.
9. Ben turned 36 on New Years Eve (he's thirty-six years and one day older than his youngest nephew!). It's nice to have a birthday on a day when one often doesn't have to work. We got a babysitter in the morning and headed to the Art Institute for a couple hours. We bought a membership, as the museum is enormous, the daily rate is steep, and the membership includes unlimited admission for a year. They have a great kids area, so we're planning to be museum rats this year. Around here those memberships are almost always a better deal than the daily rates, but I think we're tapped out with the zoo and the art museum. It was a great date, but the real celebration of the day was that I cooked rib-eye steaks for dinner that were off the hook. Prior to December 31st, 2010, I had never successfully cooked a steak. When Ben said he wanted steak for his birthday dinner, I was thrilled to have yet another chance to ruin expensive meat. Thanks to Mark Bittman, my kitchen guru, those steaks were so good I still can't stop talking about them. (Pan fried: preheat skillet on med-hi for 5 minutes, salt/pepper meat, sprinkle salt in skillet, three minutes on each side, and you better have a great vent). Exquisite. The meal was finished with chocolate cupcakes.
10. We're going to join a CSA this summer. I can hardly wait for our weekly 3/4 bushel. I think it's going to be a lot of produce for a little family, but the plan is to go mostly-vegetarian during the twenty weeks of the season. (I'd say entirely vegetarian, but for my recent encounter with the perfect rib-eye steak.) There's a bit of sticker shock with CSAs, since you're paying for all your produce up front. But if you divide the cost by the number of weeks and take into consideration that unlike most of what we get now, it's organic, I think it will be worth it.
And now, I'm locking myself in writing jail and throwing away the key. The manuscript is due in less than a month!
2. I don't really do New Years resolutions, though I love the feeling of the first day of a new year. I like to harness it into one big New Year's Day Project (ha... apparently Marie does, too; this year hers was: have a baby). This year I did a major overhaul of the kitchen and pantry closet. It's amazing how much needed to be done, considering we've only lived here since June. Part of it was reorganizing space based on how we actually use the kitchen and phasing out as much plastic as we can (yay for Pyrex storage containers!). And part of it was collecting a ridiculous number of almost-empty bags of slivered almonds. Apparently we eat a lot of slivered almonds, but have an aversion to actually finishing the bag.
3. The other inspiration for the housework was the gift I received from my mother, Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. I've been a fan of Simplemom.net for a couple years, and have used her Daily Docket off and on. I've gotten so many ideas from her that I've actually used - and have actually improved our lives - that I knew I wanted a copy of her new book. I've already finished it, but I'm looking forward to spending more time with it over the next few months, as I realized the first eight chapters will make for great material to read in the moms group I lead at church. While it isn't overtly Christian and is packed with the sort of practical advice you're more likely to read in an Oprah magazine than discuss at a bible study, the whole foundation of the book is profoundly theological. She writes, "[Simple living] means that all the parts of your life are pointed in the same direction, a direction that has purpose and vibrancy." Part of the task is to discern that direction. Tsh shares her family's shared purpose, which begins with wanting to "glorify God in all we say, do, and are," and she stresses the importance of relationships, learning, hospitality, stewardship, etc. At the same time, it doesn't lay it on too heavily; some of the Christian homemaking stuff out there is, well, out there. I'm really excited to explore this with the women at church. I'd been searching with no avail for good resources for this group, and there it was, under the Christmas tree.
still life with bull4. We've used cloth napkins for the entire duration of our marriage, thanks to Lisa H. Actually, we've used the same cloth napkins (plus a few new sets) for the entire duration of our marriage. I couldn't make up a better endorsement for using cloth. They are the antithesis of disposable. We have two small baskets ($1 each from Target) under the sink; one for clean and one for dirty. They get laundered with whatever load has extra room, so the extra laundry is absorbed into the whole. A couple years ago we also gave up paper towels. That was a little harder. For a while, I rejoiced when my mother would cushion packages with paper towels. We just keep an assortment of towels and rags - some under the sink with the napkins for daily kitchen stuff, some in the extra pantry closet for cleaning. The dirty ones go in the same small hamper as the napkins. After going cold turkey for a year or so, I do like to keep a roll tucked away in the pantry; there are a few things for which paper towels are uniquely helpful, and I like to put them out when Juliette has a babysitter. But they always need to go back into the pantry, because if they are out we will use them, even though we know full well that we function just fine without them.
All of this is to say: if you still use paper towels and napkins, the beginning of the year is a great time to make the switch. Just sayin'. You will not regret it.
5. I almost wiped out at church on Christmas Eve, walking a rarely-used pathway that was unexpectedly icy. The only reason I didn't fall completely was because my boot caught a step, giving me a chance to right myself. Sadly, the boot took one for the team. My beloved black motorcycle boots that I got in 1999 and just had reheeled last winter for my interview weekend (why yes, I did wear motorcycle boots...) are goners; the leather ripped. When I went to the store to replace them there was a buy-one-get-one-half-off sale going on. I couldn't resist a pair of dressy suede ankle boots that are perfect for winter (especially since they were originally $90 and I paid $15). I wore them this morning for the first time, and while they're really comfortable, they're also really slippery. Every time I stood up to do a prayer or distribute the elements, I was repeating to myself don'tfalldon'tfalldon'tfalldon'tfall. I'm going to get them reheeled with special Clumsy Lady Material. They won't make the same click-clack, but I'd rather sacrifice the click-clack to avoid the boom-crash.
6. I will post pictures of the shoes when I get a chance. Other than Juliette being born, the most comments I ever get on this blog are responding to shoe posts. We have our priorities. ;-)
7. I made up a recipe for olive bread tonight. The bread machine will do its thing while we sleep, and in the morning I'll find out if I'm really clever enough to make up bread recipes. I did cheat and learn from the internet that you mix some of the brine into the water. I have no illusions that any other family members will partake of my bread, even if it is a masterpiece, so I'm going on the Olive Bread Diet tomorrow. All you eat is olive bread. I hear it works just as well as the Grapefruit Diet.
8. The same jar of olives was first opened on New Years Day, for pizza.
The olives were only on my slices, of course. And my salad. When only one person in the family eats olives and therefore only splurges on olives once a year, one goes to lengths.
9. Ben turned 36 on New Years Eve (he's thirty-six years and one day older than his youngest nephew!). It's nice to have a birthday on a day when one often doesn't have to work. We got a babysitter in the morning and headed to the Art Institute for a couple hours. We bought a membership, as the museum is enormous, the daily rate is steep, and the membership includes unlimited admission for a year. They have a great kids area, so we're planning to be museum rats this year. Around here those memberships are almost always a better deal than the daily rates, but I think we're tapped out with the zoo and the art museum. It was a great date, but the real celebration of the day was that I cooked rib-eye steaks for dinner that were off the hook. Prior to December 31st, 2010, I had never successfully cooked a steak. When Ben said he wanted steak for his birthday dinner, I was thrilled to have yet another chance to ruin expensive meat. Thanks to Mark Bittman, my kitchen guru, those steaks were so good I still can't stop talking about them. (Pan fried: preheat skillet on med-hi for 5 minutes, salt/pepper meat, sprinkle salt in skillet, three minutes on each side, and you better have a great vent). Exquisite. The meal was finished with chocolate cupcakes.
10. We're going to join a CSA this summer. I can hardly wait for our weekly 3/4 bushel. I think it's going to be a lot of produce for a little family, but the plan is to go mostly-vegetarian during the twenty weeks of the season. (I'd say entirely vegetarian, but for my recent encounter with the perfect rib-eye steak.) There's a bit of sticker shock with CSAs, since you're paying for all your produce up front. But if you divide the cost by the number of weeks and take into consideration that unlike most of what we get now, it's organic, I think it will be worth it.
And now, I'm locking myself in writing jail and throwing away the key. The manuscript is due in less than a month!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)