Blog Voyage*

Do you remember how I said that I didn’t want to be one of those people that just randomly updated my blog?  It’s fine for some, but it’s not Blog Me’s style.  And lately, I’ve not been feeling the blog.  I used to go through a day thinking, “Ah, that’s blog worthy!”  But in the last few months, that’s less and less the case.  I also have some stuff going on in the coming months that I don’t want to write about here.  So for these reasons, Blog Me is taking a break, a sabbatical, if you will (only don’t use the word sabbatical, as I clearly don’t know how to use that word). 

I’m not sure when Blog Me will resurface, but I wouldn’t mind being kept in your Google Reader, and if I do decide to close shop completely, I’ll post that here, too. 

For the past year and a half, I have much enjoyed my blog.  There were times when it was the perfect distraction from other things, and I’ve so enjoyed staying connected to good eggs like yourselves through this space.  I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed you spending some of your precious time over here. 

Thank you!

*title by Chris, natch (to be pron. like Bon Voyage, of course)

 

Best of January

With the holidays behind us, that means that some TV-watching can be a way to pass a long, cloudy January.  I won’t complain about our weather, because it’s been so bad in my homeland.  But January is January in most places, right? 

Best TV:

I know Michael has commented on this on the blog, and I have to officially concur that Modern Family is a great sitcom, and those seem to be so hard to come by these days.  My friend Aimee first alerted me to this show, and no episode has disappointed.  It’s fresh and clever; any show who gets me to like Ed O’Neill (of Al Bundy fame) is doing something right.  Every character is delightful (my fave is this one, however). 

Other reality shows I catch when I’m too tired to do anything else are Teen Mom, Celebrity Rehab (it’s back!), and I hear the RuPaul drag show is starting a new season, and many people have told me I would love the show, to which I have no doubt. 

Best Book:

Our friend Alex Lemon’s memoir Happy has finally hit shelves and online bookstores, and friends, you must get yourself a copy (except you, Erin–I’ve got one waiting here for you).  It is riveting, powerful stuff, and yet he keeps the book from being overdramatized.  The book has received rave reviews, and rightly so.  I bet if you get a copy I can help you get it signed by the author, too. ( I don’t want to toot my own horn, but beep, beep.)

Best Helpers:

Speaking of Alex, he and his better half have helped me and Chris mucho this month, and we are so grateful.  I’m not always good at asking for help (a few of you who read this are the exception, but it’s true), and they were so gracious they made it easy. 

On to February!

 

Give

You’ve already donated, right?  If you haven’t, there are many organizations, as you know.   I donated to the  Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, because I enjoy the bipartisanship of the call, but there are other  places, too. 

And here’s a moving song from the telethon last week, sung by Jennifer Hudson, for you donate by.

 

Baby Bow-tie

I’m debuting my final quilt of 2009 now I that have finally gotten it to the recipient.   I made my former assistant (and good friend, blog commenter, and all around good egg) Megan a quilt for her and her husband’s baby girl.  This was a pattern I’d had my eye on for awhile–I just loved how its vintage look.  (I found the pattern here.)

It’s called Betty Bow-tie (named for the Hello, Betty fabrics):

So that’s the quilt.  I really like it and figured this would be a typical showcase-the-quilt post.  But then Megan sent a pic of her sweet girl posing with her new quilt, and I knew you’d want to see this cutie (with her mom’s permission granted, of course):

I mean, that is some baby goodness, right there.

 

Snack Pack

My other beef about the new office is this:  I can’t have my fridge any more.  We have a dept. fridge, but it’s smaller than my own and half of it is filled with the icemaker.  Judging from someone already bringing a FULL SIZE bottle of salad dressing (clearly these people didn’t have a mom like me who knows how to re-containerize everything into the appropo size of Tupperware), it’s going to be a tight squeeze for just my cheese sticks alone, as you can see here:

I was just getting good at bringing leftovers and varying my lunches, but my plan B is to have a bigger, better insulated lunch box and to have lots of non-perishable snacks around.  For the former:  my mom had two lunch boxes she wasn’t using and most kindly sent me a photo to compare the sizes, even placing a sample sandwich and soda in view to make the best choice.  My mom, you see, understands the import of knowing food is available.

 

I selected the one on the left, though I have always loved the combo of pink and gray.

And I also now have a snack drawer in my new locker; with the new addition of a microwave and sink so handy, this opens up the snack options.  For full disclosure, I share my snack area, even tho’ it shows some very naughty things like Pop Tarts:

You may think, why do you go on and on about the food and snacks?  Have  you seen the movie Jennifer’s Body?  Well [spoiler alert], it’s about a teenage girl possessed by the devil, and after she eats teen boys, she’s full and happy and pretty again.  When she is empty, she becomes horrible and Satanic–a murderer, in fact.  The other day, after waiting far too long to have lunch, Chris compared me that character, as I was crazy grouchy before eating and then returned to normal mid-meal.  That might help explain why these things are critical to my day, the fact that my husband compares me when hungry to a possessed killer.

 

Office Space

School started this week, and that meant that last week (and some this week), I was settling into my new office.  Kind of.  I’m going to leave lots of boxes packed, because we are moving again in August, and I’m lazy.  So last Saturday Chris came and helped me get the boxes as out of the way as they can be. 

All in all, I like the new office.  Apparently it’s a big deal to hang stuff on the wall, no painting is allowed, etc., so this, too, will stay pretty sparse until I’m in my more permanent space.  But aside from the institutional feel that will bring, I have a much bigger desk than I’ve ever had, and things seem ergonomically much better, too.  As much as I liked my old, old desk, it is nice to have shiny, new stuff, too. 

Here are a few views:

That’s a locker back there–to hold my coat and snacks, very important things.  One nice difference is that things are more contained in this office. My purse and other bags can be concealed beneath my desk instead of piled up in front of all to see every day. 

Here’s the view from my desk to where students will sit (Chris in the role of student).  This is also very different, as now the desk is a barrier.  After all these years, I now tend to think that the less homey feel is best, as some students don’t have the best professional boundaries, and I think this will help invoke that some:

[Notable aside:  Chris wore this shirt for the first time yesterday, and no less than four strangers complimented him and asked him where he got it.  These people were all youngish, too, so he felt quite hip, as did I, by proxy.]

And here is basically the rest of the office.  I’ll fill a couple of these shelves, but likely leave the rest boxed up.

There are really only two main drawbacks to the new digs that I can see; one I’ll write about tomorrow, and the other is that there is now a window in my door.  At times, it’s important to be in my office but not advertise that I am there, especially now that I am right by the main office–as in, the dept. copier is right outside my office.  If these first two days are any indication, the traffic to my office is going to increase greatly.  How bad would it look to cover the window, especially if I’m the only one in the office suite who does?  (I realize how unwelcoming this may sound to those with a different job, but I think people who aren’t in this field don’t realize how much work we have to get done even when our days are filled with student appts., meetings, etc.).

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

 

Settle a Score

So Chris and I were having a little debate the other day, and, as usual, I turn to you all as the voices of reason to settle things.  I brought home an old clock that I am not going to keep in my new office because it no longer picks up NPR (I added that detail just to annoy my brother).  Once Chris saw it, he began mocking it, calling it ancient, etc.  And I said that our guests often want an alarm clock so I thought we could keep it for that. And he replied:  we have an alarm clock for that already.  And he, after dissing my clock, showed me his.  He claims his is much newer than mine, and I feel confident it’s not. 

Let me clarify:  I am not saying my clock is not ugly.  Why I bought it in tan, I have no idea.  But I feel the model he has is clearly much older, even if it is a more deluxe model (two alarms, etc.).   So, what say you: which clock is newer?

Exhibit A–my clock (aka, as you can see, Dream Machine):

 

Exhibit B–his clock (note the wood paneling)

They are both functional; the “loser” clock will be donated. Vote carefully, future guests!  And remember:  you are voting for the newest clock, not which one you like better.

 

Quittin’ Time!

So my dad’s retirement party was a smash!  I heard the play-by-play from my parents, and they had more guests than they thought they would for the sub-zero weather and that a good time was had by all.  Check out the cool cake my sister-in-law ordered:

And my niece and nephew made him a banner. My brother and I did the same thing for my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary back in the 70s, so this seemed all the cuter to us. 

I also sent my dad a little something to go along with another retirement gift:  a quilt for his wall.

This quilt was one of the hardest I’ve made.  I bought it from Erin’s mom’s store years ago, when I was too new a quilter to understand that small does not equal easy.  Then I got freaked out at how small the log cabin blocks were and tried different math, and that was a disaster.  In the end (duh), I just followed the pattern, and I am really pleased with how it turned out, and just the thing for Soaring Eagle to show his patriotism. 

So today is my dad’s first day of this new phase. I expect more time for blog commenting!

 

He’ll be Working on the Railroad (All the Live Long Day)

Today is another big milestone day for my dad, as it is his last day being a workin’ man!  He’s retiring after working longer than I’ve been around.  I have pics of him working at a desk, but I can’t find them, so you’ll just have to imagine those.  I also have pics of him being Photoshopped by his work cohorts or posing with his female co-workers whilst they are clad in Halloween gear, but I don’t think they’d all appreciate me posting these pics.  What they show, though, is how well my dad is liked around the work place.  His office is dismayed that he’s packing it in.  And me, I’ve only got one more day to call or email him at work about something. 

What I do have pics of is what I imagine him doing with his time now that he’ll be retired.  Here’s a top priority:

When spring comes, there will also be lots of this:

(Okay, I’m aware that this is fall foliage, but  you see I’m referencing yard work here.)

I suspect there will also be much computer putzing and who knows what else he’ll dig into. 

So a huge congratulations to my dad!  Again, I wish I could be there in person to celebrate this huge milestone!

 

Birthdays Come But Once a Year

Today is my dad’s birthday, and it’s a milestone year, too.  I wish I could be there in person, but instead there will be phone calls, perhaps some Skype time, and a loving blog entry.  You can see below how my dad has always taken his job as dad seriously, and his kids are the better for it. 

Happy Birthday, Dad!  Have a fabulous day!  I love you!