g'bye september

Dearest September,
We certainly had our ups and downs. It's been...long. Thank you for the outings and the many walks. As for the cold and lingering throat thing...I'm not so thankful.

I could probably have better handled our time together, but, well, I'm ready to move on.

Let's give it another go in about, oh, a year, shall we?

v

addiction

O Dear and Mighty Interweb,

You have this intoxicating quality that lures me in and sucks me into the vortex that is you. You and Sleep don't even seem to belong in the same universe or plane of existence. Blogs! Articles! Music! Moving pictures! And, now, Pinterest!

O gracious, it's just a good thing you have yet to lure me with your games.

I'll continue to let you lead me adrift for another few (or many) minutes, but Sleep is not to be completely ignored and denied. She'll fight you on that.

Much exhausted yet devoted love,
v

open letter: a hairy situation

To the following: bus-riders and -drivers, library-patrons, park-goers, Bakehouse-people, swimmers, and, really, anyone who's seen me in my bermudas lately,

I have finally gotten around to shaving my legs. I hope I haven't made you too uncomfortable, as many people just don't seem to like seeing leg hair on women. As if it somehow isn't natural, which is really funny because it's more natural for me to have the hair than to not have it.

Anyhow, I'm pretty set for the summer, so get ready to once again soon be uncomfortable with my flagrantly hirsute gams.

Much love,
v

sending out for a little universal goodwill

Hello All,

I am writing to ask that you all please send along any extra good vibes you might have laying about. Please?

We are trying to secure a new place to rent (alas, we are nowhere near being close to buying a place) and we are to hear back either tomorrow or Saturday.

Considering no one pays me for raising Pic, I haven't been contributing to our finances for a while, although I'm definitely contributing to our bills. We need to move to somewhere more affordable. (Also, hello, we've been renting this specific place for almost a year. My restlessness is acting up big time. I need to believe that when I buy a place, it will be a forever place. Actually, I'd like to rent one single place for a good long while until we are ready to buy...it's just that we need to be able to afford the place we're renting, right?)

I know that my woes are so small compared to others' yet I'm still asking for a few good thoughts. Please.

Thanks ever so,
v

P. S. If you, any of you, need any good thoughts sent your way, I have plenty. Just let me know.

a happy birthday...

...to Auntie L! I hope it was good enough, although I know it could have been much better. Here's to a wonderful year!

Love,
v

craft ideas needed

Pic's been very into several books lately, one being Don't Cry, Big Bird. Because we buy pretty much every book used, we occasionally come across rips, doodles and other injuries. Our copy of Don't Cry, Big Bird is missing a page (which didn't phase Pic and Baby K when I read it to them, but it did bother me).

This morning, though, Pic revealed that she had found another copy of the same book in her room (I promise, I'm working on the catalogue today...I just added thirty more books), this one completely intact. Of course, we immediately sat down and read it (solving the mystery of Betty Lou's kite ending up in a tree).

In cleaning up, I just found the copy missing a page and was about to put it in the giveaway bag, but...really? I loathe giving away something that is kind of ruined. So, although I'm still feeling trepidation about tearing out pages, I'm wondering if anyone has any craft-type projects we mght do with the remaining pages in the 'ruined' book?

At the very least, I was thinking we could frame some of the pictures for artwork for Pic's room. Any more adventurous ideas?

------------

Oh, and before I sign off, I'll share my donation for the day: another book. We were given this book as a gift...six years ago. Yeah, I'm not so good with the memory books. Ah, well. Perhaps someone else will love it and actually use it.


(Ha! No more Photo Booth photos. Ha! That doesn't make my 'photography' any better.)

virtual penny for your thoughts

Dearest Interwebby People,

First off, I don't have enough actual pennies for your thoughts. Cardo and I cashed in our change recently after a couple of years of saving up. So, give me another couple of years and perhaps I'll offer actual pennies. Perhaps not.

So, I wanted to ask about something quasi-taboo and controversial: homeschooling. I say 'quasi-taboo and controversial' because I know that, often, the term brings up terrible, horrible, no good, very bad connotations, or something.

I'm not saying that I'm going into this homeschooling venture, I'm just interested in hearing more about it. I know that it'd be better to ask questions in a broader venue than here at the pond (ha! I'm hi-lar-ious! 'the pond'! I need sleep, stat), but I wanted some feedback from you all first.

Right now, I'm just wondering what your initial thoughts/reactions are? Do you have any stories to share regarding homeschooling? I don't believe that anyone I know to read this here blog has herself (I only know women to read my writing here) been homeschooled, yet I ask.

So, thoughts? Feel free to include thoughts on any other alternatives to public schooling also. It's getting close to the time that Pic will be in school full-time, so I'm starting to obsess about it...more.

Grazie mille,
v

a plea concerning cooking; or, the quinoa picture post

Dearest Interweb,

What are your go-to dishes?

I asked this question of Coach J recently, while she and I took turns grating a block of frozen cheese so she could make quesadillas (at my apartment...I'm the host with the most, no?). We're slowly getting better about eating in and actually eating the food that we buy (geez, the problems of the privileged 'first-worlders', I know).

Anyhow, I'm looking for quick(ish), relatively inexpensive items to make for dinner (recipes that leave enough for breakfast or lunch another day are especially welcome).

Here are my go-to meals I can think of right now:
-- oatmeal (with a bit of TJ's maple syrup, homemade applesauce, pumpkin pie spice usually...otherwise with whatever dried fruit we have on hand, except the other day when we didn't have anything suitable and I used strawberry preserves) (also, usually, I make regular (not instant) rolled oats, but I make steel-cut when I have way more time)
-- risi e bisi (rice and peas) (I'm not a white rice fan, so I use brown rice, basmati or wild)
-- rice and beans (see above rice note)
-- soup (stock, garlic, spinach, beans, small pasta, other veggies, possibly meat, spices, herbs)
-- baked potatoes with cheese and broccoli

There are others, but, really, they're things like cereal; cream of wheat (my ultimate comfort food, which I rarely eat, to which I only add milk and sugar); toasted cheese; spinach and tomato sandwiches; peanut butter, apple, waffle sandwiches; other sandwiches; whatever random assortment of beans and other vegetables make it onto our plates; bean and cheese burritos; frozen pizza; homemade pizza on store-bought dough; blah, blah, blah.

So, what about you guys? Any suggestions for me, please?

Grazie mille,
v

P.S. Of course, I can't post about food without sharing recent pictures. I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted food pictures. Oops. I can't get more than five pictures in a post, so I'll post some pictures here and some in another 'p.s.' post.


sauteed chicken, very lemony spinach (oops), plain quinoa, corn (this is the first time I'd ever made quinoa and I didn't know what it tasted like or what to do with it, hence it being plain here)


quinoa and spinach from previous dinner, mixed...very tasty


quinoa bowl: quinoa, black beans, queso fresco casero, avocado (so good) -- I got the recipe idea from dalai mama dishes and I'm sure I'll eat it often in the future (I omitted a bunch due to laziness and lack of ingredients, but I still loved it)


bean and cheese burrito and quinoa with melted cheddar (I really had to use up the quinoa before we went out of town and it turns out Cardo's not too fond of it so he wasn't really helping me it it...Pic's iffy on it) the next morning, I had quinoa, bean and cheese burritos for breakfast


my iced tea cupcake from Retro Bakery in Vegas: lemon cupcake with iced tea buttercream frosting with a candy garnish (that Pic ate) -- this was really good and the service was great and it's too bad they're so far away (except, perhaps it isn't too bad because I don't need an extra extra twenty pounds)

things that make you go 'huh?'

Um, PETA,

You seem always to be a bit screwy with your ideas for good advertising and spreading your message, and this game is more of the same. How is this even supposed to be challenging? 'Hmm, is that a squirrel or a particularly large pair of breasts that are entirely too big for the top they're squeezed into?'

v

P. S.





'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

Really? 'Vegetarians Have Better Sex'...with their vegetables? I don't think that's the definition of vegetarian.

(Yes, I know the ad isn't new, but I didn't want to post too many examples of PETA's wackiness here.)

calling all biggest little citians...

Dearest All,

First off: Ha! I created a word...kind of.

Anyhow, I was wondering if any of you in this here Biggest Little City have a bit of time to hang out so I can basically whine and sound unsure of myself. Sounds like fun, no?

Actually, I need some level-headed advice and I'm really not even close to level-headed (ever).

And, I know it's been over a month since I've graduated, but I'm finally starting to try to get things into some kind of sense of normalcy. I apologize to all that I've kind of sucked this last month. I hope all is well with everyone else.

Thanks in advance for your sage words of wisdom,
v

open letter

Dearest Darling Sleep,

Oh, how I miss you. Oh, how you taunt me with your soft-spoken promises of calm and sanity. However, I cannot give in, no matter how alluring you definitely are.

I'll embrace you once again in about twenty-six days. In the meantime, don't forget or give up on me...I shall return.

With fond memories,
v

open letter

(un)Dear Semester,

You suck.

All my lovin',
v

open letter

I have been composing this letter in my head for a couple of weeks now. Just so you know the extent of things here, when I can't even post a proper blog entry.

Hello out there,

I am barely treading water over here. I cannot even think of a better idiom. I cannot even play with this one because what I am experiencing feels so much like I would imagine drowning to feel.

I often let myself believe that 'this time' I will sleep like a normal person. I will get to everything in a wonderfully timely fashion and I will have time to actually sleep when all the rest of La Casa B is slumbering. However, somewhere deep inside, I know that I never believed this.

I have been pretty much nonstop reading for the last month. (Hey, I did qualify that statement...I know, I'm not reading right now...well I am reading as I type, but whatever.) I will be pretty much nonstop reading for the next twelve weeks. Actually, at some point, there will be more writing going into the process, although the reading will not diminish.

In light of this information, I have decided that I have to stop telling people that I will do things. I cannot. I just cannot do things. I don't care how enticing these things sound. I'd love to go to the climbing gym. When the weather is more friendly, I'd love to go climbing outside on actual rock-faces. I'd love to go snow-shoeing. I'd love to just hang out. However, these things are becoming less and less possible with each passing day. Every time I take time out to do something like this (or like posting a blog), I have to deduct that time from sleep so that I can -- you guessed it -- read some more.

I am losing all sense of self here (though I am, ironically, no less self-centered, obviously) and that is not easy when I am at the end of a definite stage in my life. I am supposed to be making major decisions here, but instead, I'm muddling through Marx, slogging through Shakespeare and groping my way through Greenblatt. I'm liking myself less and less with every passing day, but so far, I'm managing to cling to something like reality and sanity (I just knocked on my wooden desk). This hold, however, I know to be tenuous.

I know, I know, I know that I am not the first nor the last person who has gone/will go through this. So many of those I know have already done it and with grace. This is a first for me though, folks, and every day, I dread failure. I know that I should ac-cen-tuate the positive and e-lim-inate the negative (or something), but that's a hard ideal for me to stick with at the moment. I am trying to focus only on the day to day, but that isn't entirely possible because I also have to line up what is next for me and mine.

And, all this talk about me when I can't even figure out who that is is infuriating...to me.

So, I am going to be a lot less accessible to most everyone for the next three months. I apologize for this in advance. This does not mean that I love you and cherish you any less. If I'm snappy or loopy or just hysterical (you know, being in possession of a uterus (that I don't really use) and all) and insane, I really apologize. If I ramble for a good part of class, I'm going on autopilot here and I don't even know for sure if I possess this autopilot of which I speak. I don't know how to get through this without being almost wholly self-centered, but if you have suggestions for successfully getting by, please let me know. For those of you who have been here (no matter where, just in any stage of your life), I'd appreciate some understanding. For those of you who are not nearly as dramatic as I, please just feel free to ignore me for three months.

A fond farewell and until we meet again,
v

P.S. This does not mean that I will be silent here. This is how I release and I can do this in the middle of the dark which is probably preferable for those of you who prefer to sleep at such times.