February portion of 365

Best Book of February: HHhH: This is a sort of strange book written about one of the leaders of Nazi Germany, but novelized and includes a narrator who explores things personally while "writing." I'm not entirely certain if the narrator is the author, but regardless, this slightly strange concept of writing was something I really loved.  Five stars.  

February 1: Winter weather on our bushes looks like winter blooms.  

February 2:  I remember this Saturday distinctly--it was one of the first totally free days I'd had in a long time (and stay tuned to find out when my next one would show up) and I was watching basketball.  Indiana was playing someone in Game Day and I had the totally dorky plan to watch it and shred for a few hours.  

February 3: Super Bowl fun times at Jade and Kevin's house with the yummiest Bar-B-Que Pizza I'd had in a long time :) And fun times with friends, even in the midst of a black out at the game was a good thing!

February 4: Tortilla soup yumminess.  Sometimes I want to just be a chef.  Okay, I guess a cook since I don't want to go to culinary school.  

February 5:  I got this in the mail and immediately thought of Jade, Janali, and our time together there during college.  I so wanted to go back and Jade texted back that we could go :) But in the end, I would be in St. Maarten (I think) when the concert happened.  But I still want to go back. 

February 6: This is one of the weirdest and probably worst pictures I took this year.  I was pumped to find these hair pins that Jessica got me years ago for my birthday.  They'd been semi-lost for some time and I'd recently found them again, and in the dark GMU parking garage, I put them back in and then took this pic. 

February 7: Today is Aimee's 28th birthday and she is most totally Instagraimee.  So for her birthday today, I did 28 reasons why she is amazing.  Every single one of them is true. 

February 8: Time to head out to dinner for Aim's birthday.  Tim made it super special by inviting several people without telling Aimee and we had a great time eating delicious Mexican food and chatting before going back to the house for dessert! 

February 9: This was the mall that Aim and I didn't usually visit--why go anywhere but Tyson's? But they don't have a Charming Charlie at Tyson's like they do here so we made the trip.  And lo and behold, we found out it was also the Chinese New Year and they were parading a dragon through as we happened to be walking through the mall.

February 10:  The main reason I've started being interested in getting the Washington Post lately is to get back to doing crossword puzzles.  When I lived in ShenCo I used to get the paper at the school and do them while I supervised ISS somedays.  I wasn't doing too well though this first time back at it. 

February 11: It looks like a frigid wintery day, but in fact it was pretty warm (near 60) but from my car in the Mason parking lot looking at the weak sunlight, it seemed like it should be more traditionally freezing outside. 

February 12: I take the Beltway to work everyday and in almost two years of taking it for a few miles, I'd never run into a problem.  Until today.  The nice thing is that in this area, they're pretty used to having people call in that they're stuck in traffic and I didn't end up being too terribly late. 

February 13: This was part of the letter writing campaign of the second graders.  Even though the rest of the year I would end up there a lot with them, at this point I'd barely been in their classes at all.  So I was a little surprised to get this lovely note. 

February 14: It was a Valentine's Day full of loveliness and love.  I was blown away by the present of flowers from Ash and Jake, plus I'd also gotten a card from Jade and two notes from former students about how much they'd loved my class.  Feeling more loved than most :) 

 February 15: We were celebrating Megan's birthday old school style.  It was time to watch Win a Date with Tad Hamilton.  Not old school? The movie like huge screen we watched it on :)

February 16: The trip to Richmond to see Katie and Lauren was so amazingly lovely.  I was pumped that Ash came down too, but she was (understandably) a little tired.  At this point McCully wasn't really visible from the outside but he was making his future momma pretty tired.  Katie and Lauren and I stayed up later talking before we finally called it a night. 

February 17: I hadn't expected to end up in this store, but we were right near it and Ash wanted to get some maternity clothes ahead of the game--and not by herself.  So even though I wasn't sure how much help I would be, we went in and picked her out some things while she wore the baby bump that McCully wasn't producing quite yet. 

February 18: I wasn't sure what was wrong with my car, but there were way too many lights coming on on the dash when I started it and then rumbled a few feet to take chances.  I took advantage of the free towing service AAA gave me and the day off work to have it towed in the early afternoon.

February 19: A storm is rolling in as Aimee took me to pick up my car.  The fortunate thing is that it wasn't too serious a problem-- a mouse had chewed through some things.  I was just super grateful it hadn't cropped up as a problem in Richmond a few days earlier. 

 
February 20: I'm enough of a nerd to really like the arty way this picture looks even though I know it's really just the bubbles in my carbonated water as it's just a little bit open.  I'm addicted to the stuff now, even though it took quite awhile.

February 21: I love this city, especially at this time of day.  It didn't matter that it was freezing outside, I was pumped because we were going to the Library of Congress as a class to become official researchers and learn exactly how to use the vast resources that the library offered.  The biggest (and prettiest) library in the world? Yes, please. 

 February 22: The thing I did for Shannon and Amanda (more Shannon than anyone) that I liked the least but did because it kept me fresh--grading reading response journals.  Even a huge stack like this...

February 23: I made a huge sacrifice and left my house, left watching a Carolina game, early to go to Gaithersburg and watch Eli for Chrissy and Andy for the evening.  Jade came to help baby-sit so it was an evening with lots of people who I love.  P.S. Eli ended up with crazy hair after his bath :) 

 February 24: This was a fun afternoon with Sarah as we got things together for Aimee's bridal shower.  I was in charge of making pink puffs out of tissue paper and I think they turned out pretty well :)

 February 25: Quinoa, feta, cucumber salad.   Yup, there are also tomatoes in there.  I'm not sure if there's anything else in there beside a little olive oil dressing, but I know it was yummy.

 February 26: I recognize this is a totally ridiculous picture of me, but I was pretty pumped to get my new Warby Parker frames, thanks to the gift card that Andrew and Jackie had gotten me for Christmas :)

 February 27: This used to be my go-to parking lot and gym my first semester of grad school.  It was a smaller gym and sometimes I ran into Paul Hewitt as he was coming out of the basketball court gym.  But I started using the other gym for different reasons, although this torn up parking lot wasn't exactly enticing me back...

February 28: Last of the month--this was an assembly that I was pleasantly surprised with.  These acrobats were pretty amazing and I think Shannon and I were more impressed with the amount of core strength it required than the kids were :) 

January 2013

Best Book of January 2013--before you get to the good stuff--

Bring Up the Bodies--there's a reason that this won the Booker Prize.  Just as intense as the first part (Wolf Hall), in fact, maybe more so, because the timeline is so condensed and Anne Boleyn's demise happens so fast.  

January 2013 Pictures: 

January 1: 2013 hit the ground running--Aimee's wedding gown fitting was scheduled for the first day of the year! 

January 2: I was studying hardcore
for the Spanish test I was taking in a few
days.  The best study method? Reading
Harry Potter in Spanish.  

  January 3: One of the things I was trying this year was to do a themed picture if nothing particularly interesting was happening that day.  This picture, the cafeteria at Little Run after the kids had left for the day, captured repetition perfectly.

January 4: This one to me is about just how weird getting wedding clothes for guys can be.  Aim and I headed to Men's Wearhouse to look into options for Timothy.  

 January 5: I hate manicures because of how easily they chip, but these are the sophisticated version of the stickers we used to put on our nails as kids.  They stay on for two weeks and look like they took me lots of time, and talent.

January 6: Downton Abbey is back for the season--Aimee and I headed over to Sarah's to watch the season premiere!

 January 7: It was go time--time to see if I could translate 500 words of Spanish into English in two hours.  I just got in under the time limit and felt blessed--it turned out that I recognized the passage from Like Water for Chocolate.  Please pass me.  

January 8: Our recycling day had been Christmas Day and then New Year's Day the last two weeks.  No one was sure if they'd be picking things up the next day or not, so what ended up happening was this--a mountain of recycling by the curb. 

 January 9:

Best news ever--earlier than expected.  Spanish test passed, 

stress level way reduced.  

 January 10: I was pumped to try some things this year--reading Heart of the World, a book Jade had gotten me a little bit ago, and trying to remember to pray for Jackie and Andrew down in St. Maarten.  Somehow the rubber bands were perfect--I would put them on each night before bed and pray for them, then do it again the next morning before I took them off.

January 11: Coming down with a bad cold, scared that it's the flu.  (It doesn't end up being one, thank goodness.  Especially since I had plans this weekend!)

January 12: I headed to Woodstock to see Ash, runny nose and all.  We went to see Les Mis, but the real highlight, the real reason I was super glad to see her was finding out she was going to have a baby!

January 13: I'm not usually too pumped to leave Ash and Jake's and especially considering I was feeling even worse than before, the dreary day perfectly matched my mood. 

January 14: So good to see their (tan) faces! Even though I'd just see them at Christmas, Skyping down to St. Maarten was the highlight of my day!

January 15: George Mason takes on (and beats!) James Madison.  One of the funniest parts--our student section chanting 66 to 81 at JMU's players near the end of the game.  

January 16: Caribou was pretty new to our shopping complex, and I'm not going to lie, having a coffee shop right next to Trader Joe's is both awesome and dangerous. 

January 17: The day was cloudy, but not snowy.  Even though the weathermen were calling for snow, I was waiting a mile away from work, sadly saying goodbye to our snow day possibility.  

January 18: Kid Pic

January 19: Theme inspired--bright light.  I love the way the sun streams in through these (kind of ugly) curtains.  

January 20: Continuing to get rid of my old fat clothes is a really healthy, cleansing thing.  Except for the part where most of them were cute clothes that I liked.  But these are all going away.  

January 21: Inauguration Day! I wouldn't have braved it by myself, and I might not need to ever do it again, but with Christiana and Tony, I went into DC to see Barak Obama sworn in for his second term. 

January 22:  A Bracing Cold as Sheldon Cooper would say.  If we were lucky it might get to 20 degrees today. 

January 23: Back to buying books again--the semester is about ready to re-start.  I love buying a few new books, especially since my textbooks tend to be fairly inexpensive. 

January 24: It wasn't a huge dumping of snow that got us out for a few days, but it was good for a two-hour delay.  And especially after a late Carolina game the night before, it was perfect. 

January 25: I took Ab to PinkBerry after she came for an afternoon mall trip and got stuck here for the night.  She missed Timmy, and I did too a little bit since I was planning to drive home with her and see him last night too.  But this was a pretty yummy treat.  

January 26: Making up for last night I had a blast hanging out with Tim at Mom and Dad's house.  

January 27: Timmy Bear at church in Newville.  He looks so strangely bald right here since he has hair now!

January 28: Really, these have been the same price for more than 20 years? It almost makes me think they were overpriced then...

January 29th: Aimee models her bridesmaid dress and the necklace she thought about pairing it with after a long day shopping :) 

January 30th: I tend to be cranky driving home super late from class.  Especially in the rain.  Especially when a minor accident totally slows down traffic right before the highway.  Grr... But the colors look pretty. 

January 31st: Applying for jobs--both for next year and summer time--is like a full time job itself!

Project 365, Year Two

Year in Review

So for the second year in a row, I've been working on Project 365--taking at least one photo every day and capturing what's going on in my life and things that catch my eye.  They could be funny or odd or quirky, or endearing.  And as of, and including, today, December 16th, I've managed to take a picture each day.  Which is better than 2012 when by this point I'd missed two days.  So provided I don't screw up in the next two weeks, I'm in good shape.

Unsurprisingly, I've also kept track of the books I've read this year, so along with the pictures for each month, I'm including the best book of the month.  Not officially of course, just in my opinion.

So each month will be a different post, and even though I took a picture each day, there are some days that I took them of kids that I was working with at that time.  Those pictures won't be on the blog for obvious reasons.  You'll just have to trust they exist, but that I'm not putting them on the internet for the world.

Happy last few weeks of 2013!

After 40 Days

Crow

"Courage man, the hurt cannot be much..."

I’m not sure exactly why this is the line that sticks in my mind over the past few days.  It’s not really appropriate at all considering that the line is from Romeo and Juliet and the ‘hurt’ is Mercutio’s fatal stab wound.  But courage has been on my mind lately.

Today is my last day of my 40 Days of Yoga.  I’ve loved it for the most part—there was one day where I did not want to be there.  I wasn’t just sort of annoyed—I actively wanted to leave.  I’m not sure if I wasn’t hydrated enough or very well rested.  I don’t know if I was just having an off day.   All I know is, I couldn’t force my legs into the deep squat of chair pose for the 42^nd time that class, and I struggling to hold wheel for the ten breaths that Churck wanted.

        In a lot of ways, my 40 days of yoga (and by the way, today will be my 33^rd class in 40 days) has been about things that didn’t really happen.  I didn’t go to the coaching sessions after the first two times.  I haven’t done the increasing time of meditation each day.  I haven’t lost a ton of weight—actually if my scale is to be believed I’ve gained two pounds in the past 40 days (I’m going to say it’s muscle).  I also haven’t had to think nearly as hard lately about making sure I’m drinking enough water—it’s become a pretty solid habit especially since I was already drinking a decent amount of water to begin with.  I haven’t become a totally solid yogi who can do ridiculous arm balances at the drop of a hat.                 

               I have also lost my perspective of what’s normal for a person’s body to be able to do.  I feel like a slacker because I can’t do a headstand or side crow, which are totally ridiculous expectations for about 99% of people in general in the world.  But I have this perception because more than half the people in a lot of my classes can do these things, that I should be doing them too.  So yoga, for me, might be about letting go of that idea of what “should be” and just being impressed with what is. 

                I’m going to miss belonging to this studio, but I’m also excited to not feel so chained to the classes.  It’s been one of the first things I’ve had to plan around when I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing in the evening, and there isn’t really a way to do it from home (at least not really as effectively) if I can’t or don’t want to head over to Dancing Mind.  I’m also sort of glad I didn’t lose a ton of weight.  If I had totally changed my body into a lean, mean, yoga machine I would probably be trying harder to make myself find this affordable.  So as it is, I’m walking away from Dancing Mind for the next little while.

                If there’s something I am disappointed about, it’s about that fact that I still can’t do crow.  I understand better how to, know what I was doing wrong before, but I still can’t do it.  And as Maggie, the hardest instructor I’ve had for any athletic class anywhere, ever, told me, it’s fear that holds me back.  And she’s right.  The moments I’ve been just about there are when I can feel that I might actually do a total face plant into the ground and that has made me come out of the pose early. It’s totally fear.

                The interesting thing about being in pretty warm yoga is that, even now, there’s a small element of fear—will I get too hot, will I be able to make it through this class, will I fall flat on my face—much more so than any other exercise program.  And not to sound too much like a cliché quote with a pretty background that you find on Pinterest—I sometimes wonder how much I would be able to do if I wasn’t afraid.

                Fear doesn’t rule my life—it doesn’t have nearly as much control as it did at other parts in my life—what if I don’t do well in this class, what if this person doesn’t like me, what if I let this person down—but there are still things I shy away from because I’m afraid.  Yoga has taught me something about what I can do—and also what I’m not doing, but maybe could.  If I tried crow, really tried, I would probably fall the first time or first few times.  But it wouldn’t hurt that much.  Certainly not as much as Mercutio’s wound.   

NaNoWriMo

"You better [start writing] now because you know how to write, and you have fingers, and you have this one life, and during this one life, you should put your words down, and make your voice heard, and then let others hear your voice. And the only way any of that’s going to happen is if you actually do it. People can’t read the thoughts in your head. They can only read the thoughts you put down, carefully and with great love, on the page.  –Dave Eggers

So I have another project that’s come up in the past two days.  I mean, I haven’t decided it in the last two days, I’ve started it in the last two days.  November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short.  I didn’t actually come up with that particularly strange nickname, but I have decided to participate in it. 

            What is NaNoWriMo you ask? It’s a decision and commitment--not financial, just personal—to write everyday for the month of November and to have that writing come to at least 50,000 words. It’s the writing of your novel (usually you first one I believe).  The one that needs to be written that you can’t seem to do and this is the thing that pushes you into actually doing it.  You don’t finish with a final draft, ready to send out to publishers book, you have a first draft that you can then do some things with it—revise it and then move on to getting your novel really finished enough to send off to publication. 

            So I’m doing it. 

            It isn’t the best timing considering my forty days of yoga doesn’t end until November 15^th, so having two things I’m committing to do pretty much everyday is going to be a stretch.  A pretty big stretch and maybe a sleepy one on some days.  (So I already apologize for the times I’m cranky, especially the beginning of this month.) But it’s also something I need to and that I’m excited about.  (On a side note, yoga is continuing to go really well.  I made it six days a week the first two weeks and have gotten there five days a week the past two.  So with two more to go, I’m aiming for six times a week once again. My arms are getting much stronger and maybe it’s only me that thinks my triceps are less flabby, but I’m feeling more tone overall.  The only strange part is that I’m starting to think that being in a hot yoga room for about ninety minutes almost everyday has lessened my tolerance for other, cooler temperatures.  Not that I can’t deal with the cold, just that I never used to get cold before and now I always feel cold.  Sort of weird.)

            So I’m pumped to write my novel.  Other than the part that I’m not writing a novel.  Not really.  I’m writing a memoir of sorts—the book that has been inside of me that needs to be written is not fictional.  I’m not writing about something that’s imitating life, I’m writing about a key part of my life.   I’m writing the story about the student who has been the most meaningful of my career, the student who taught me more about life and what it means to struggle and to have a wonderful life even with struggles.  It’s the story I’ve been meaning to write for a long time, the one that one my best writing mentors, Patrick, told me he hoped grad school would help me write.  Grad school has gotten me ready to write this story even though I didn’t write it for one of my classes.  So even though it should be a novel, I’m going to write a book-length, novelesque memoir. 

            So I started the book over that I’ve tried to start half a dozen times and this time I might actually be able to finish it.  I will actually finish it.  This month.   

            I’m not slightly terrified by those two sentences.  Not at all.