For Thanksgiving, I tried a couple of new recipes. One of the nice things about having a large family is that none of us has to make very many things. We each just bring a couple of things and then we have a massive feast. This year I contributed Brandi’s Green Bean Bundles, Smitten Kitchen’s [...]
Categories: General
Mike and I noticed today that Sonic had a sign that said, “Open on Thanksgiving!” Now, it’s hard to get me to go to Sonic under any circumstances, but I can’t imagine what would drive someone to be at Sonic on Thanksgiving. Let’s say our car broke down. And no one could repair it. And [...]
Categories: General
As I mentioned a few months ago, my high school librarian will be on Jeopardy! tonight. Please watch and cheer Mrs. Pate on. Maybe we will see her next week on the show as well! (I’m so excited! And nervous! Yay, Mrs. Pate!)
Categories: General
When I was starting high school, I kind of wanted to be on the cross-country team, but it didn’t work out for a variety of reasons. When my brother started high school, he joined the team, and I was too proud to join at the same time he did. I did not want to be [...]
Categories: General
Things I did not do this weekend: -Homework Things I did this weekend: -Cleaned out Big Bunny’s cage. She now hates me more than ever. Because I ran both the Roomba and the vacuum cleaner in close proximity to her. -Saw Twilight. It was Really Terrible. I was hoping it would be terrible in a [...]
Categories: General
As I got out of the shower this morning, Mike’s phone rang. I thought, “Is it possible we have a two-hour delay? Maybe it’s so cold the buses can’t start?” Actually, we had a two-hour delay because . . . wait for it . . . it snowed! It snowed! And this is the south. [...]
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I entered a contest on WFDD’s website to win two tickets to see The Santaland Diaries at Triad Stage on opening night. Which is tonight. And I won! Yay! Mike is not the only winner in our family! (I entered him, too, but I am the one who won! And I will take him with [...]
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If you look at some of my book lists, you can see that I have read a little bit of Frederick Buechner here and there. Telling the Truth and Wishful Thinking were helpful books for me at a difficult time, but I haven’t read some of his most famous books. Godric, for example, has been [...]
Categories: Books
I listed Looking for Alaska as one of my favorite books of last year, and I enjoyed An Abundance of Katherines quite a lot, too. So I was pretty excited about the arrival of Paper Towns on my front step. Paper Towns is the story of Q and his next-door-neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman. After she [...]
Categories: Books
Mike has “gone into the front room” to “read” and “drink tea.” To translate, this means that he has gone into the front room to listen to Christmas music. He thinks that because I am in the back of the house and the dryer is running that I cannot hear him. I KNOW WHAT YOU [...]
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I have already mentioned that taking two graduate classes this semester was too much for me. I won’t be doing that again. October was brutal with work and school, and I did not hold up well. To cope, I have taken the past couple of weeks off from homework, a decision that might not have [...]
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The first time I saw Over the Rhine sing “If a Song Could Be President,” the crowd got pretty rowdy, especially around the lines: “Break out of this minor key / Half-truths and hypocrisy / We wouldn’t need an Underachiever-in-Chief / If a song could be president.” When I got a copy of the song, [...]
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Growing up, I remember seeing pictures in textbooks of people in other countries waiting in line to vote. There would always be a caption saying something about how this was the first election in that country, and that people waited in these huge long lines for hours in order to be part of that process, [...]
Categories: General
I am not one to write down quotes or mark in books, but this book is something pretty special. There was something beautiful or thought-provoking on almost every page. Acedia & Me is Kathleen Norris’ account of her experiences with acedia. Acedia, as I mentioned last week, is a listlessness or despair that is different [...]
Categories: Books
We all know how much I love and obsess over my birthday. I did not get that from my mom. In fact, I have no idea where it came from. Probably my own selfishness and self-centeredness. Since I love my birthday so much, I can’t help but be jealous that my mom gets an extra [...]
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