Category Archives: me!

100 things-updated!

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I updated my “100 things about me” list. Rand had recently suggested that I do this, and making a new blogfriend in the past week made me want to get on that right away. 😉

I’m counting this (with a link to that) as a post for this week…I didn’t have much time to do anything this week, with grades due and having to choose winners for the Dead of Winter Contest (many, many thanks to Eden, btw, for taking the lead on that one).

Someday soon I think I’m going to add some items to that list, which was originally written in 2004! Before I met Rand!

Not tonight, though. I’m off. ‘Night all!

Dress arrived!

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Source: etsy.com via Erin on Pinterest

 

If you follow me on facebook, you might have seen me recently wondering about whether or not to buy this vintage dress. I bought it, and it arrived today. It is lovely, fits well (except for maybe some minor alterations in the bodice–it’s a tiny bit loose), and I am SO excited. 😀 It does smell faintly musty, so if anyone has any good advice about how to deal with that, I’d love to hear it!

I am now totally addicted to shopping for vintage (and retro-styled) items. Check out my Pretty Dresses board on Pinterest, if you are so inclined…

I might need to learn to sew…vintage dresses aren’t easy to find in my size (was everyone teeny tiny? or did everyone just use a girdle/corset to squeeze into teeny tiny dresses? Hrm. Anyway, there are lots of vintage patterns for sale on Etsy, but  I have never been good at such things. Maybe time to try again?

Walking music

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So, as a part of my “trying to be all-around healthier and happier,” I’ve decided that I’m going to do better with getting some regular exercise. I was doing pretty well with walking in the summer and early fall, and then that kind of, well, went away.

I recently dusted off my gym membership (BAC…I may look for another, less expensive gym when this membership expires…), and I’ve been mostly just walking on the treadmill using my jog.fm iPhone app.

I really like this app–it analyzes your music, and plays music according to the pace of your walk or run. Here are some of my current favorite walking songs:

  • Bad Medicine/Keep the Faith–Bon Jovi
  • Bad Romance/Teeth/Lovegame–Lady Gaga
  • King of Spain–Moxy Fruvous
  • Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It–Will Smith
  • Under the Carlaw Bridge–Lowest of the Low
  • Up!–Shania Twain
  • Without Me–Eminem
  • New Sensation–INXS
  • Happy Girl/My Baby Loves Me–Martina McBride
  • Cold, Cold Heart–Midge Ure
  • Shine/Desperation Song–Carbon Leaf
  • Personal Jesus–Depeche Mode

I like songs that keep me at a decent pace and put a little bounce in my step!  I’m always looking for new things to add, so if you have any suggestions, please share!

 

So this is the new year…

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I have a number of random things to throw out there, so this post will be in numbered list form.

1. An awesome time was had by all at the Lowest of the Low New Year’s Eve show at Town Ballroom. See Jen’s post. Many thanks to Jen and Chuck for dragging us out! If you haven’t already seen it on Facebook, lookit this cute pic:

TB

Awww…

During the show, I tweeted that “Salesmen Cheats and Liars” just wasn’t the same without Lawrence, and he responded by calling me a “doll.” Teehee.

Most awesome exchange between Jen and me during this concert, while the band is playing the song “Winter Sleepers” from Sordid Fiction:

Jen: I don’t like this song.

Me: (shrug) It reminds me of…

Jen: X (code for my ex-bf)! I KNOW! I read something on the Internet today that reminded me of him…Oh, I know…it was a Yahoo article about how not to break up with someone.

Me: *laughs for 10 minutes*

2. I am back to school. I have a ginormous pile of grading to do that I did not do over break that I am procrastinating doing by writing this blog post.

3. I went to the GYM today.

4. In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t spend a lot of time here these days. Here’s a list of other places, complete with links, I can be found online:

Please feel free to follow/friend/whatever me in those places… 🙂

5. I tend to not make resolutions as such, but I’ve been making an effort to be a healthier/happier/less stressed me, and plan to step that up in the coming year. There may be more on this later, unless I get too busy, which is highly likely.

6. I read 47 books in 2011, which is just short of my usual 50 or so…I started reading a 48th, but am not yet finished with it. I was feeling some mild guilt about this, but then I said, “Wait a minute…this is silly.” So I’ve decided that my only reading “goal” for 2012 is to enjoy as many books as I can and not allow myself to feel one second of stress over something I do for fun.  See #5.

7. I think I posted here something like…8 times in 2011? While there’s a part of me that would like to post more, well, see #5 and #6.

8. On that note, I should find something productive to do…happy 2012!

Book sales = Love

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book sale

No matter how many books I have, I cannot resist a good book sale. For the past several years, I have attended the AAUW Book Sale, which is just fantastic. I went twice…once early in the sale, when the selection was still pretty good, and then back for the bag sale on Sunday.

Bag sales are the best. $3 to fill up a paper grocery bag.

book sale

I also keep my eyes open for the local library sales. The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library has made this a lot easier, by adding this calendar to their website. (The libraries also usually have bag days on the last day of the sale!)

book sale

As an English teacher, these sales have been SUCH a huge help in building up a classroom library. I’m probably going to run out of room soon, but I can’t stop! There’s another sale at a nearby library this week, and you can bet I’m going to be there…

Garden!

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When Rand and I first moved in, I was very excited about this little patch of garden area on our patio. I was going to grow herbs! And maybe some flowers! I decided to let it go the first year, because with the wedding and everything, I didn’t expect to have time to get it going.

So last year, I went and got some gardening supplies, and made an attempt to dig in. I failed. I found the dirt hard, filled with rocks and roots, and basically impossible for me to deal with.

And then this happened:

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The condo association had this new fencing put in, and in the process, they left my little “garden” (which was empty, but not in horrible condition) in a mess that was going to make it even more difficult for me to deal with.

2010-07-20 20.03.18

But instead of calling anyone to complain, I just left it like that.

Now, if you’ve ever been a part of a condo/homeowners association, you’ll know that they like things a certain way. Passive-aggressive memos started to appear in the newsletter about keeping your garden area maintained, or else pay to have it removed and have grass planted in its place.

Well, anyway…I called my parents, who are slightly more green-thumby than I am, and we arranged for a weekend for them to come and visit and participate in a festival of gardening! That happened this past weekend, and this is the result:

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We planted a collection of herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, lavender, and cilantro, which I added later), some flowers, and a lilac bush.

I also bought this hanging basket:

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We also bought a cover for our grill, so we could leave it out and actually, y’know, use it.

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So yay for productive weekends, awesome parents, and really cool aunts who buy herbs for us. 🙂

The Best Movie(s) of 2010

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This is tough, as I saw several movies that I liked, although they’re all very different.

Even though I didn’t see it until this weekend, I think I’m going to have to go with Tangled.

I love Disney movies. I love musicals. I’ve been lamenting the fact that Disney went so long without making a musical. So, I wondered, why Disney took such great pains to NOT LET ANYONE KNOW THIS WAS A MUSICAL. (with music by Alan Menken, no less…who also wrote the music for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin among others)

At any rate, Tangled was fantastic. I loved it, and it will soon find a place among my favorites. 🙂

Last year was a great year for animated features…I also saw Toy Story 3 (sob!) and How to Train Your Dragon.

For non-animated, well, I haven’t seen a lot of the big ones, but I did see (and very much enjoy) The Social Network. Great writing, great performances, and a compelling story out of something that didn’t seem like it could make for such a compelling story. I also enjoyed The Kids Are All Right.

What were your favorites, and what do I need to see?

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What I accomplished in 2010

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In the grand scheme of things, 2010 probably wasn’t all that eventful for me. I read 50 books. I started teaching AP Literature. I did a bunch of normal stuff.

But if I have to pick one thing that was kind of a Big Deal for me, it’s this:

I sang. With Rand. On a stage. In front of people.

Yeah, I was in a musical when I was 12…and I did Greek Sing in college, but I was just a voice in a chorus. This was different…and if you had asked me a couple of years ago if I would ever do this, the answer would have been a resounding “no.”

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