May #3: British Museum

May #2

May

As you all know, I went to London in May, so all my pictures are of London. I have forgotten almost nothing about this trip. I will provide pictures which need no explanation.

April!

Apparently I didn't remember April because all the April pictures were on MB's computer. But I found out that we went to Lava Hot Springs.

We sat in the hot pools and took pictures of signs and ate at the Thai restaurant. I do remember that we had fun.

Forgotten dates: AWP Chicago

So I went to Chicago for AWP, and I thought maybe it was April, but it turned out it was February. I got to see these lovely people, the Erik/Erics.
And this awesome painting. (I can't remember who painted it, but I'm sure I wrote it down somewhere)
And I had more than one lovely meal with Lisa B, which is a coup in and of itself. I think this was the delicious vegetarian restaurant that Lisa scouted out with her super sleuth skills.
I'll try to figure out what happened in April. If anything.

Also Forgotten: March

I didn't forget most of this, but here's what I did: took Son to Phoenix for Spring Break where we went to the zoo with the cousins

And went rock hounding with Grandpa Jerry

This was lights off night, or whatever it was called, and we lit candles and played Blokus with Son.
One day we went to the Bird Refugee with Son. I had sort of forgotten this, but I remember it was fun.


I didn't forget this awesome chowdah, made with snook and bacon. I will make it again my friends!

My Year of Absences: January

Okay, I looked back at my blog from last year and apparently I did do some stuff in January, and from the sounds of the blog it was mostly watching TV, resuming teaching after the break, and some swimming.
But, also, there was a picture of a day I went skiing at Soldier Hollow when it was 10 degrees. You can revisit that post here.

My Year: A Post of Absences

I know that at this time of year we (and by "we" I mean people I know or am related to, but not actually me) make year-end lists of things we love or loathe and we look back at the year with fondness or skepticism. This year, I want to start MY year-end retrospective by noting that, recently, I had to fill out a form at a doctor's office. The last question required that I mark any "conditions which trouble me." One of them was "forgetfulness." What? Am I troubled by forgetfulness? Or, more aptly, am I human and over the age of twenty? Time was, I made fun of my mother (how could I be so cruel?) for not recalling where she parked the car. This, my friends, happens to me every time I go to Costco. I've been there so many times how could I possibly distinguish where I parked this time from where I parked last time. But seriously, does this "condition" cause me "trouble"?
So, this year, I will celebrate December 31 by providing you with a trail to things I have forgotten.
Apparently nothing happened in January, and I have no pictures to prove it.
In February, Son had a birthday. What did we do? Can't recall.
Oh yes, see, now I remember. Son wanted breakfast for dinner, so we had bacon, eggs and what look to me like frozen waffles. One memory recovered!

Christmas by the Numbers

Christmas movies watched: Two (Elf, Charlie Brown Christmas)
Meals cooked: Zero! (Christmas Eve at a friend's, Christmas brunch at a friend's, tamales from Victor's)
Movies watched on Christmas: Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, G-Force
Good gifts bought for Middlebrow: 3 (whiskey glasses, Django Rheinhard CD, guitar book)
Gift for MB that was really for both of us: 1 (Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express)
Great gifts received: Many! (Running shirt from my sister, sweater from MB, gloves from Ross)
Cookies eaten: infinite! Too many! Make it stop!
Books read since school ended: Two? Age of Innocence & Year of the Flood.
Things to do between now & Jan 11: So many! I choose not to think about this now.

Book!

My book is available for pre-order on Amazon. I received The University of Alabama Press catalog today, which my book, and the other FC2 books appear in. Still says March.
I'm excited though!

Lessons: The Last List!

I'm pretty sure I've run out of wise things to say, but that won't prevent me from offering this fourth and final list.

1. Drink lots of water.
2. Hug people every day (preferably your family and friends, but strangers work too, if they are willing)
3. Go see live music. It is always fun.
4. Have coffee with friends, weekly. You DO have time, and it reminds you why your life is great.
5. Play games, whatever kind you like. I like cribbage, Settlers of Catan, Mastermind and any card game. Also: tennis.
6. Read things. Preferably (for me) novels, but also blogs and newspapers. And mysteries.
7. Breathe deeply.
8. Remember who you were and thank her for getting you to this point. Forgive her for the stupid things she did, for without the stupid things, you wouldn't be who you are.
   
9. Life is too short for envy.
10. Be generous to a fault.
11. Don't forget the past, but keep moving forward.

Here's hoping I learn some other new things in this next year.

10 More Lessons (whoosh! Almost done!)

1. You know, life is really, really, really short. It only seems long during the last week of classes.
2. Don't sweat the small stuff.
3. The small things are really important. This may seem to contradict #2, but what I mean is, just loving the feeling of your son's head gently resting on your arm: important. Getting mad at same son because his room is dirty or because he spilled water all over the floor: not important.
4. Some things CAN wait until tomorrow: grading papers, cleaning the bathroom, oh, other things.
5. Take time to run in the snow. Or hang out and drink coffee. Or sing really loud in your car. I mean, if you like it, do it. If you don't like it, you may still have to do it, because chances are it's your job.
6. Remember that no ONE thing is your life. Your life isn't your job or your relationships or where you live or what you do, but an amazing combination of all these things. So if one thing changes, you can handle it.
   
7. You should do situps. You really should.
   
8. Give and receive compliments. When someone compliments you, smile and say thank you. Surprisingly, this is often harder than giving compliments.
9. Stress relief is not optional. Find the thing that relieves the pressure and then make that thing a priority: running, Crossfit, writing, alone time. This is a necessity. It's right behind breathing and drinking water.
10. It's all about the people. At the end of the day, you can replace anything you bought, you can buy a new one, you can find a different meal/book/entertainment option. But without your peeps, friends, family, community, who cares? It's all about the people. I'm blessed to have such good ones. Thanks!
    

More Lessons from my 41st Year

Today, since it is exactly one week until my birthday, I will offer another ten lessons. These, I decided, will be about food, since that is one of my obsessions.

1. The things you love might not be good for you, but you can learn to love the things that ARE good for you (like spinach, kale, chard, peppers, etc.)
2. Always, always, always eat breakfast. Always.
   
3. Protein, protein, protein!
4. Lack of protein makes one a total bitch! And yes, by "one" I mean me.
5. Always, always, always carry snacks. Such as: precooked sausage, apple, almonds. Or: cheese stick, orange, cashews. Or: protein bar.
6. If you have healthy snacks in the house, you are more likely to eat healthy snacks. This also works with children. If you just give them the healthy snack, they will usually eat it.
7. Coffee is not optional.
8. Do not eat to live or live to eat. Somewhere in between is best.
   
9. Savor each bite. If it's not worth savoring, you probably shouldn't eat it.
10. A healthy attitude about food is a gift you give yourself and your children.

Birthday Lesson

A fellow blogger, whose birthday is today, made a list of things he's learned, one for each year. Well, I am older than him, so it's going to take me awhile to think of (gasp!) 41 things. So I thought, in the spirit of breaking things down into rounds, I'd start with ten and do a few lists in the week leading up to my birthday.
Ahem. To begin:

1. There are really very few people who are going to love you in spite of who you are, so when you find him, for god's sake, marry him (done!)
2. Savor each second, minute, hour, day with your child, because pretty soon he will grow up and it will be sooner than you think
   
3. Age is all in your mind (because as far as I'm concerned, I'm still 28)
4. The things that you think you shouldn't do or eat are not as good as you imagine them to be when you are denying yourself; Forget about them and move on
5. If you are not improving as you get older, something is wrong (and the benchmark for "improve" is all up to you)
6. Weightlifting is hard; writing a novel is harder
7. Keep trying new things
8. Fail. Fail better. Fail again.
9. What looks like failure is really just an opportunity to try a different way
10. You must do the one thing you think you cannot do (thanks Eleanor Roosevelt). Like: Crossfit or writing a novel.
    

Giving Thanks: An Abecediary

I stole this idea from Hightouchmegastore.

A...Apples. On which I have nearly subsisted lately.
B...Books. What would I be without them?
C...Crossfit. Enough said.
D...Dessert. Of all kinds.
E...Eggs. I eat so many of them. So often. I wish I could have chickens.
F...Friends & Family. I am blessed to have so many friends from various parts of my life: work, crossfit, writing, running. I especially miss my family at this time of year.
G...Glee. Yes, the TV show. Don't laugh.
H...husband. He's a prince among men. He does laundry, dishes and sort of makes dinner. And now he does crossfit, so he's pretty much perfect.
I...Iceland. Because it gave us my favorite mystery writer, Arnaldur Indridason.
J...Jerks. Without them, I wouldn't be able to feel superior.
K...kitchen. For cooking and baking and standing around talking.
L...laughter. Especially of the kid variety, but I'll take any kind.
M...music. I like to listen.
N...Nutritionist. I've learned how to eat. Finally.
O...Obama.
P...pie: pumpkin, apple, peach, cherry. The list goes on.
Q...Quizzes. Because I need to know which '80s song I am.
R...Ross. One of the true joys of life is when your 8 year old "too cool" son wants to sit on your lap and praises your cuddles. God I wish I could stop time.
S...students: a few make up for the many. And thank god.
T...Thanksgiving. Yeah for turkey and a reason to eat mashed potatoes.
U...Utah. Home sweet home.
V...vino. Of all kinds.
W...Writing. Keeps me sane, makes me crazy.
X...too X-rated to say. Let your imagination run wild.
Y...You.
Z...zebras. Why not?

"An Education"

Did I like it? Yes I did.
First, it was set in London. So I was watching, thinking, "Was I there?"
Also, two words: Peter Sarsgaard. Of course a sixteen-year-old girl would throw caution to the wind for him. Of course.
Also: Dominic Cooper. So sexy.
Also: Olivia Williams as the "old maid" school teacher with glasses, no less.
And Sally Hawkins has the smallest role possible, but is still lovely to see.
I quite liked this film, but it was, in many ways, a romance, but the happy ending is not the marriage plot.
Plus, it made me want to rewatch many film versions of Austen films (Dominic Cooper is in the latest BBC "Sense and Sensibility").
Also, I don't get to go to movies very often, especially with Lisa B, so it was a grand day out.
Now, back to reality. Today, rowing and then much grading. Then more grading, and when I'm done with that, still more grading.

Dear Student I Have Not Seen In Three Weeks,

You are failing.
Go away.

Twit

I deleted it. Like anyone cares. If you have TV things to say, say them.

Success

...it furthers one to cross the great waters.
Or something like that. It's a quote I'm misremembering from the I Ching, back when I believed that if I threw coins it could tell me something about myself. I don't disbelieve it now, maybe I just believe it a little less. Or, maybe, I want to believe it.
I wrote 2,000 words today.
After my last post, complaining that I couldn't do it all, I did work out today and I even went to Costco and bought various forms of protein and then I cooked a turkey breast (btw, SUPER complicated: you cut open the package, plop it in a dish and put it in the oven). And then I made myself lunch and took a shower. And then I wrote.
Then I picked up the kid from school, drove the carpool, did a little more grocery shopping (what is it about the words "almond milk" that cause that item to drop off my list the moment I walk into a store? Is it because I'm stupid?) came home, surfed the internet for 15 minutes, then I wrote for another hour and then I "made dinner" (made quinoa: boil water, add quinoa; steamed broccoli: boil water, cut up broccoli, put broccoli in pan; cut up turkey I had already cooked; poured chocolate soymilk into glass: Wala! I'm mother of the year!).
Then we watched "Community" and Son had a snack of health food store toaster pastries.
Then I sat on the couch with Son and we both read Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. I finished mine! Then I watched "Waitress." Why can movies have happy endings and not be sappy? Or, are they sappy and we just don't mind? And by "we" I mean "me." I mean, I don't mind.
So that's my "I'm Superwoman and don't you fucking forget it" Day.
Did I mention that MB did all the dishes and a shitload of laundry? I'm sure that had something to do with it. Also, who cares what we have for dinner? I mean, I got all the food groups in there. Plus dessert that comes in little foil packets. That, my friends, is the secret to happiness. Whatever it is, it's just fine.

Too Much

MB suggests I am doing too much. This is after a crazy workout at Crossfit, one that left me tired (I went home and laid down for one hour) and too sore to type. Yeah, I was too sore to work on my novel.
Maybe, MB suggests, you shouldn't try to: teach full-time, keep up this crazy workout schedule, be a Mom, run, be social, etc., especially when I have trouble sleeping, which I do.
Maybe.
Maybe it's my crazy workout schedule (Monday: off; Tuesday: Crossfit; Wednesday: run; Thursday: Crossfit; Friday: run; Saturday: Kettlebell class; Sunday: run). But, sometimes I don't run on Wednesday, sometimes I go to Crossfit or do nothing.
Maybe it's my sleep schedule (go to bed around 11, get up around 7). Sometimes I wake up before 6 and just lay there, my mind busily spinning with the things I need to accomplish. Sometimes I fall back to sleep. More often, I don't.
What is this too much of which he speaks? Is it just the human condition that we try to do more than we actually can? Is this an affliction of the working/writing Mom? Is this an affliction of the woman of 2009? It's not enough to be a writer or to be a Mom, I also have to be in shape and awesome?
I have to say, I like to work out, it's good for stress, though sometimes it causes stress. My workout buddies are my social group, my friends. If I didn't work out with them, I wouldn't see them. Sad!
But what about writing? I will finish the novel this year and I think I can work out AND work on my novel.
In my opinion, it's all the grading that intrudes on my writing time. That, and napping when I can't hold my hands up long enough to type a word. There is that.