March 2006 Archives

today was the first day that i got to where my brand new goshes.  or as the boring people in this world might say: galoshes.  they are so adorable and i look hot in them.  yes.  my lime green, glow in the dark, so bright the sky must poor down rain in order to keep them from hurting peoples eyes, goshes.  and i look adorable in them.

the shoes don't make the woman.  the woman totally makes the shoes.  and i do love shoes more than most things.

so, obviously, it is raining here today.  and this is not going to be a be a post about how wonderful i am in new goshes, although i am, it is a post about my garden and the honeysuckle.  my garden is growing and growing and this year, hopefully, the fleurs will be magnificent in all their splendor.

the honeysuckle on the other hand.  i have none.  i don't grow honeysuckle, but some people around the corner from us do.  and it is in bloom and i love it.  i love that sweet smell and i stick my nose in it and i love it to the point that i imagine a garden with it.  there is a catch.  it is either the honeysuckle or something that blooms at the same time, but man do my allergies get me for sniffing the honeysuckle like a coke-addict. 

at least i look cute in my goshes.

so in my line of work, i do a lot of weird things.  i have discussions much like this one.  i convince students that french is much more than fries.  i discuss books, texts, vocabulary, travel and food with students.  i travel with students.  well.  i do a lot every day.

the most fun for me though is when i get to read with my students and work beyond just reading and understanding the text.  granted, when students are with me, this is still very elementary in thought and development.  not just because some of them don't know how to have a thought beyond "beer" but because there is a linguistic issue at hand.  my students are asked frequently to have a "thought," a critical thought at that, about something in a language they have not mastered.  this is more than just ordering a glass of wine in a restaurant.  (side note: some of them are actually incapable of doing this simple task)

the hard part is not building their vocabulary up to do this; something i work diligently on in two separate courses here.  no.  the hard part is getting them to say something.  students frequently understand what they read before they can actually speak.  students frequently understand what they hear before they can actually speak.  this is the most frustrating feeling in the world for many of my students.  to know what they know, to understand something, to want to express a thought, and have absolutely no ability whatsoever to express it orally.

what i love about my job: getting them to express their thoughts in french.  getting them to express a sophisticated thought about something we have read (or seen if it is a film) and explain it to me.  although still simplistic for some of them due to age.  it is still a thought.  and it inspires me still to continue teaching.

thomas found a link to a post about raisins.  he knew i would completely agree with it when it discusses the problem with raisins and how, in this case, they ruin oatmeal cookies.

personally, raisins only need to be in raisin bran.  that's it.

which brings me to my point about fruit.  i know i am not a fruit person.  i like choices, and when presented with a choice, i normally don't choose fruit.

it isn't that i don't like fruit.  it's that i only like it under certain conditions.  unless it is wrinkled, fuzzy or slimy.  then it is off my list.  like peaches or raisins.  i shudder.  or, if raisins are in the bran.  that is ok.  but who wants to eat a grape that lost its plump juicy funness.

who thought to turn a grape that was fat and happy into something that is no longer at its full potential?  who thought to put those nasty slimy little wrinkled things in cookies or muffins?  the only reason they are good in raisin bran is because they plump up in milk...

here is a lesson in southern charm concerning pregnancy:

it is improper to ask someone seriously if they were pregnant unless you know they are trying to conceive or they just peed on a stick in front of you and you are trying to determine what the double pink line means.

you don't assume someone is pregnant because they are of the age to get knocked up or just because it is kentucky.

no matter how much a woman looks like she is pregnant, there is a chance that she is just plain fat or that she ate too many krispy kreme doughnuts and is just downright bloated.

somehow, these lessons have not made it out to everyone in the world.  i thought i would share them before there is an embarrassing situation that causes a meltdown of all the polar caps in 3 seconds because someone is offended by the mere suggestion that she is pregnant.

i thought i would leave you with some random thoughts:

why don't children, when asked what they want to be when they grow up, say "cat-burglar?"

if there is ever a job that i am not willing to do, no matter how hungry i am, no matter how much it means i could by prada or have a home in the city i know and love in france that has that fabulous hat shop where you can't try on the hats or touch them because the owner has a sick and twisted sense of humor, no matter if it guaranteed a cure for cancer and world peace to everyone where all we thought of was fuzzy cute bunnies and soft purring kittens, no matter what, i could not work as a plumber.

henry rollins is funny.  i forgot how funny he is, although he needs more punctuation, or at least to take a breath.

i like that point in sleep, when t tries to wake me up, but i am totally drunk on sleep, that moment where sleep has taken me over to the point that dreaming and waking are the same thing and your body walks through quicksand just to blink your eyes open but it feels good.  i like that.  cause when you do get up, there is no hangover.

apples are good for you.  thank god there are a ton of varieties to choose from cause i really like gala apples.

thomas is right.  i am not a big fruit person.  give me veggies any day.  who doesn't like fruit?  wtf!!!  oh well.

leah asked the following question: I’m curious to know if people who had hard childhoods and/or don’t really like themselves intend to raise their children to be different from themselves.

and it got me thinking about my childhood and some of its difficulties.  things i don't really think about or ponder.  but just because my childhood was hard has no bearing on how i want my kids to turn out.  i totally want them to be like me.  since i am so perfect and all.

i would want them to be like thomas.  i just don't want them to go through some of the situations i faced as a child.  anyone who plans on having kids only wants the best for them.  that is perfect parenting.

things are growing up around these parts.  and in honor of spring, i thought i would tell you all about my day back.  back at the office that is.

i forgot my books at home which made it hard to teach.  i saw a friend and we ate lunch.  i attended a lecture.  i came home.  i walked our new baby.  and now, i am thinking how horrible of a week i have left facing me and it is only monday.

how does that happen?  how can things be fine the week before, you wake up, go to the office and see that to-do list and panic at what you have to accomplish in a few days time?  wtf!!!  seriously.  how does this happen? 

well, we got her back.  roxie is now lying down (the first time since we got home two hours ago) in the hallway.

one of the cats is locked up so she can get some peace and quiet.  our youngest cat has absolutely no interest and total fear of roxie.  the other two do not fear her but have shown utter contempt for all things dog.

we have managed to get ourselves a very high energy 2 year old.  so, thomas, who is fabulous with getting dogs to listen to him (it's all in the voice) has his work cut out for him.  me, on the other hand, well, dogs love me, that's for sure, but they look at me as a play-friend and don't listen to me.  only well trained dogs actually do what i say.  our whole family has some adjusting to do. 

did i mention that i can't imagine a baby.

i should be posting photos of our dog and not claire, my parents pooch.

but wait.  what dog?  apparently i was hasty in thinking that we have a sweet little pooch since she broke away from me twice today, and the second time, well, i can't find her.

and after melting down while looking for her, causing thomas to come all the way home from work, going and looking again, driving to the humane society, filling out a form, asking anyone and everyone in the neighborhood about her, well, we still have no dog.

i, am apparently incapable of taking care of a dog.  and now i sit here and i am worried that she is cold, hungry, lonely, sad, hurt or worse.  she is so sweet and adorable and i get to go to the humane society in the morning and take the tour of all the strays, which breaks my heart.  so, i have had a rough day and to be quite honest, i don't want to talk about it. 

sorry for the absence, oh faithful readers.  we have been in chicago.  the fair and gusty city.  i do love chicago if only for the reason that i can get fat in thirty different ways.  i will not discuss the beignets, the fondue, the pizza or the martinis that were consumed.

but i will talk about the fact that my mother and father got the doodle there in the photo a while back.  that's claire.  of course, this sends me into fits of "must have puppy" and to make a long story short, we are the proud parents of a two year old mutt named roxie. 

photos to come.  but she now has three cats of her own.  a bed.  a purple collar.  a pink leash.  a pink bowl, and a way-overpriced ceramic water dish.  she also has a bone and a lovely toy she is not interested in... well, she was too overwhelmed to pick out her own toy.  you know the routine, too many dog hinds to sniff.

recently, a discussion with a french person occurred.  this is not a rare occasion for me since i manage to speak with the froggies on regular basis.

the discussion centered around the definitions of nerd, geek and dork.  for several of us who participated in the conversation, who use the terms somewhat regularly, who speak the english language fluently, who are quite proficient in one or two other languages, who are articulate, who are well-read, who are intelligent people, we had a hard time with this.  how do you define these terms?  when you can define one, how do you distinguish from the other?  and which category do you fit in?

so after much research that involved several dictionaries, including the oed, i have come to some conclusions.

a. nerds are studious and socially inept.  they are the true academics and have a strong thirst of knowledge.

b.  geeks are nerds but typically have an affinity for computers and technology.  they get excited when the new gadgets come out.

c.  dorks are generally silly goofs who enjoy doing things like playing games and spend their times doing things that are not necessarily trendy.

considering i went this evening to a lecture for a distinguished professor and then considered his points, laughed at his jokes, and reflected on what he said to a degree that some might consider disturbing, came home, chatted with my husband and then realized i should totally blog about it... i realized, i am a nerd.

so.  when you go to quilt for a weekend, and you are proud because you finish all your quilt blocks for a quilt (queen size) even after running out of fabric, you think you are doing a rock on job.

well.  let me tell you.  some people are there just to show you up.  this was one of my cabin mates pieces of work.  this is part of her project for the quilt challenge lucky in kentucky.  when she got there, all she had was her drawing (she drew it herself) and the brown background cut out.  she then spent the weekend cutting all the little pieces to create his shading, his mane, his eye, his nose, mouth, snout.  there are hundreds of little pieces to this... and one woman's vision.

this is what the phrase "i was honored to be nominated" feels like.

well i am off to go quilting with a bunch of women this weekend.  most of them are slightly nuts.  i know this because a few of them are family.

i really don't think anyone else can top the excitement of my weekend.  i mean really.  you all know you are terribly jealous of my weekend away with a sewing machine.  where i get to sleep in, read, do whatever or sew.

the lovely thing is, i have laryngitis.  which means my mother will spend most of her time driving me nuts about how i am always sick.  and the funny thing is, i haven't been sick all year... but she'll drive me nuts.

but, i'll get to work on my polka dot quilt... =0)

well, i miss posted the ad with the roses about what you buy your wife and what you buy your mistress...  yeah, this one is way more appropriate.

so.  a friend was working at one of the local elementaries.  and well.  let's just say that on an occupational level, he is quite the catch.  you can figure out the profession.

some of the teachers emailed their photo to a third party to see if he was interested.  seriously.  and to boot, he's married.  wedding band and all.

ladies, ladies, ladies.  seriously.  in an act of looking for a husband, you would resort to third party photo-sharing.  what the f?  why?  why would you want to marry a man (who is already married) after having enticed him out of the relationship?

did their mother's not have this talk?  did they not tell their young impressionable daughters that you don't marry a man who cheated on his wife with you?  did they not explain that you become his mistress???  seriously.