TGIF, people!

Overheard at Dawrighthouse

This morning, first thing, G caught me double fisting the Ibuprofen along with my morning coffee, and kept casting sidelong glances.

Me: "Look. I slept all wrong and got a crick in my neck."

G: "I just thought you were starting early."

A Few Things

1. I think I've mentioned that this is my last week of summer work. Well, I'm gonna mention it again! I get a tiny, miniscule break before I launch into the stratosphere this fall.

2. The weight loss is going. Plodding along. More on that later, but I made my first goodwill pile of clothes yesterday that are simply too big to wear anymore! Hallelujah!

Plus a random candle

3. I'm taking a break from the biking commute this week because I've had a thousand errands to run on my way to/from work. Conceptually, I miss the workout. But as I sip my coffee in the car, with the air conditioner blowing in my face, and sing along with Taylor Swift, I don't miss the huffing and puffing and sweating and bug-swallowing all that much. It's a good thing this comfort and luxury is only temporary.

4. Had a girlz picnic last night and talked long after the sun went down. Denver skies are the best.

5. I signed my teaching contract and picked up my office keys yesterday. I guess I really should finish that syllabus.

6. There are too many random piles of books in the house. They're driving me insane and yet I haven't done anything about them. I know this problem isn't just mine, though, because when I was at Nat King Cole's house the other night, I was going to borrow a book, and she couldn't find it amidst all her piles. She has an excuse, though, because she got new book shelves. But still.

There's this

And this

7. Selling the house has escalated my aging process by about a decade.

8. Have you seen the commercials for Behr deck paint? I think it's called "Deck Over." It's a very thick paint that also coats and seals wood to keep it from rotting. When I learned about it, I trotted to Home Depot and got some for our lawn borders. Look at the difference between this and the crappy spray paint from last summer.

Big improvement, right?

9. I looked for a "Bun Over" but they didn't have one. So we're still stuck with this.

OK, that's all I got. Time for another cup of coffee.

Goodbye July & Another Book

Can you believe July is almost over? This is my last week of the grueling summer work schedule and then I get a reprieve until All Hell Breaks Loose in August. There are some organization projects I'd like to tackle around the house, but who knows if I'll actually get to them. The way I see it, I have about 2.5 more weeks of reading for fun. I may just lay around all day, alternating between sleeping and chain reading.

What? Momma's going to have even more time off? Ugh.

The latest book:

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

I've come to realize that even though I like memoirs, I'm usually extremely irritated - sometimes even put off - by the author. A whole book about yourself? Who do you think you are? (<-- says the girl who writes a blog about herself, yeah, I know.)

I have watched a few episodes of Girls (Dunham's incredibly successful HBO show) and it makes me feel old. I mean, it's about, and produced by, a girl of a whole different generation. I don't relate to the blatant narcissism (even if it's ironic) and all the sex and drinking and partying and endless self-involvement. That's not to say that her generation is unique in any of that (hello, Woodstock), it's just hard for me to relate, as a woman, to her oh-so-popular-and-controversial form of feminism.

But! To each her own and all that.

Dunham, as self-involved and sort of crazy as she can be, is extremely smart and a very good writer. I'm impressed with her success at such a young age. I'm impressed by her success in a world (Hollywood) that typically rewards women more for their looks than anything else; she has really tackled it with her skillz. I want to be impressed by her confidence (is that the word? I'm not sure) to bare so much of herself and just put it all out there (literally and figuratively) as she tries to figure it out, but I can't quite go that far.

I guess I'm more intrigued than impressed. It would be exhausting (and she admits this) to truly dwell on how things affect you all the time, to never be able to get out of your own head. I mean, I thought I was bad! I'm practically a free spirit compared to her.

I'm interested to see where she goes from here, what will be her life trajectory. And if (when?) she writes more books, I'll most likely read them.

Conflict of Interest: Harper Lee

So, I'm totes late to the Harper Lee party. I think most of the conversation and controversy has ebbed at this point. I have no excuse for my lateness except (1) selling the house is slowly and painfully sucking the life out of me, and (2) I wanted to re-read To Kill a Mockingbird for the 44th time before starting:

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Some context that one should know before reading this book:

*Go Set a Watchman was written before To Kill a Mockingbird, even though it takes place years later, when Scout is 26 years old.

*Word on the street is that, back in the day, when Lee brought GSAW to her editor's office, they suggested that the back story would be more entertaining than the current story (which relies heavily on flashbacks to the world of young Scout, Dill, and Jem).

*So, Harper Lee ditched her first text and devoted her time to creating one of the best books of all time, the American masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird.

*Here is what I find most significant: Go Set a Watchman was never brought forward by Harper Lee again. Harper Collins has been silent (shady?) about the conditions that brought about the book's recent publishing and release to the public. Lee lives in a specialized facility and word is that she suffers from dementia. Does she even know that the book is out? What would she think about that?

"So, daddy, there are a lot of ethical issues here..."

In GSAW, 26-year-old Scout travels back to Maycomb from her home in New York City to visit her aging and ailing father, good ole Atticus, who is still at it well into his 70's while battling severe rheumatic arthritis.

At this time, the Supreme Court has just decided on Brown v. the Board of Education, and the South is in turmoil as both the NAACP and the KKK are active. During this time of complete cultural shifting, Scout and Atticus do not see eye to eye on issues of segregation and civil rights. Could this Atticus be the same hero who once defended a negro at significant risk to himself and his family?

The thing is, GSAW does not read as a complete book. It's very clear that this was an initial draft that was never revised, and can only exist as an intelligible book because of the success of TKAM. Without TKAM, there is no basis for the emotion and drama that takes place as Scout struggles with Maycomb's "prejudiced" ways. The book reads like a shell, and it makes me sad for Lee, who (I suspect) was happy and satisfied with the message of TKAM and purposefully decided not to dredge up GSAW. Will Lee now be remembered for mixed messages? Will upcoming generations of kids be able to understand the complexity of civil rights in the South? I'm not saying the South was right in its resistance to change, by any means, I'm only saying that its agrarian and isolated society differed greatly - and had much more daily interaction with negroes - than the North. Can new generations truly understand complex and conflicted attitudes in the midst of enormous change? Will GSAW now be taught in combination with TKAM?

That said, the snarky country descriptions, colloquialisms, and wonky ways are classic Harper Lee. At times, I was laughing out loud.

I don't know that I would recommend this, but I'm glad I read it. I was curious and conflicted and interested. But I don't know that Lee wanted us to read it.

I'd like to know your thoughts. Have you read it? Do you even want to?

The Best Saturday Night in a Long Time

Things have been stressful over here this summer. No need going into that but things will continue to be stressful for another month or two. We need a break.

Enter the peeps.

Nat King Cole and Chef Campo to the rescue.

We invited ourselves over to their house for dinner. Chef Campo was a champ, as always, making us fresh ceviche (with sea bass that was to die for) and a tex mex fiesta!

The master at work.

Fresh Ceviche: Sea Bass, cucumber, tomato, cilantro, peppers, onion, lime juice, fresh orange juice.

Add a chip and fresh hot sauce: the perfect bite.

Tequila and hot sauce? What else do you need in life?

Pre-dinner activities.

Looking at nerdy stuff on G's phone.

The freshest bunch of basil in the world. I got to take it home with me.

The most relaxed we've been in quite some time.

Gearing up for another crazy week. The good news is that I'm this close to finishing up all my teaching plans for next semester. Book review coming soon.

TGIF, people!

BFF's

 

The Grueling Summer Schedule

So, the ole summer work schedule is soon coming to an end. And I've been given projects that simply can't be done during my whopping 10 hours a week, so I've had to take work home with me. Might I say that I miss the days of working way less and making way more? Because I do so miss those days. Kind of.

This is what Lucy does while I work. Yes, she is this grumpy all the time.

Also? I'm really sick of all the crap associated with selling our house. I'm tired of talking to our realtor. I'm tired of negotiating and renegotiating terms. I'm tired of circling around the drain of our savings account while we pay endlessly on a house we soon (hopefully!) won't even own anymore.

But! I'm up to my old habits of procrastinating on one thing by working on another! So the good news is that my syllabus is coming along swimmingly, as are some very refined lessons and writing assignments.

I've also made a command decision for the fall semester - or at least until it starts to snow. I'm going to ride my bike to campus a couple of times a week. My quads have finally adjusted to the workout and I want to (1) work in some work outs (<-- see what I did there?), and (2) save on gas, mileage, and parking fees. This will mean looking less than perfect for some classes, but it beez what it beez.

I can't always look like a super model. Let's be real.

The riding is exhausting, but overall it's going well! I've been caught in the rain twice (luckily, on my way home). The water helps wash down the bugs that inevitably fly into my mouth. But, on the other hand, it brings out the snakes. Pros and cons.

OK, this work isn't gonna do itself. Get used to my whining again, peeps, because it's about to start up in earnest. I'll pay you $1,000 to buy my house.

Feminism and Christianity - What Gives?

Remember how I took that Feminist Thought class last semester? And totally loved it and learned a lot? Before taking that class, I would not have described myself as a feminist, simply because I'm not a bra-burning man-hater. However, as we studied the impact and evolution of ideologies and theories over time, and how the pendulum regarding a woman's nature and whether or not she should have rights tends to swing back and forth wildly over generations, I realized that, oh yes I'm a feminist.

Source

I also realized that feminism is not one distinct thing in our culture. It can mean many different things. For me, it doesn't mean that I view every situation in life through the lens of Mars v. Venus, but it does mean that as a result of my experiences, I notice things that, say, G doesn't. Like, when we bought our first house, and met with the lender, and I was the one answering the questions, but for over an hour the man still directed all the questions to G. That type of thing. But as the class continued and I whined about papers, I also began to wonder where Christianity fits in all of this. What does it mean to be a feminist Christian?

Enter a very good book, recommended (with caveats) by Nat King Cole:

The Accidental Feminist: Restoring Our Delight in God's Good Design by Courtney Reissig

In this short gem, Reissig provides a brief description of the three main "waves" of feminism over the course of the last century. Although these movements have led to very positive results for women (the right to vote, own property, not be considered property, join the work force, to control their own bodies) they have also led to the flawed belief that women, according to Reissig's interpretation, are better than men and deserve to have it all: marriage, kids, a career, everything all at once. I differ from Reissig in that I don't believe, necessarily, that to be a feminist is to believe I deserve everything I want and getting it should be easy. I don't believe that women are better than men. But, aside from that...

Reissig's book is well-written and heavy on scripture, which I appreciate. The woman knows her theology and quotes many modern writers, both secular and Christian. I haven't looked to see what other books she has published, but I hope she continues to write. She has tapped into a conversation that desperately needs to continue. I would read other books by her.

Source

That said, while I agree with the majority of her points, I resent the fact that by the end of the book, women are right back in the kitchen with babies crawling at their feet. Careers and other aspirations are mere dreams deferred and women are encouraged to put many of their goals on the back burner in favor of the other demanding seasons in their lives as a result of having children. I just can't let this go.

99% of my main peeps are Christian women who have multiple children. Nothing wrong with that. However. I think it's a problem to send women the message, however supported by Biblical verses it may be, that to have children even if you don't want them or don't like them is your job. Some of my mom friends have discovered that in order to be better wives and mothers, they need a purpose beyond the house. You know why? Because they have talents and gifts that cry out to be fulfilled. Does this mean every mom should work? Of course not. But it means that women should not be treated in this cookie cutter manner that assumes their ultimate career will be one of wife/mother. I say this as someone who spends a lot of time (with God!) trying to be a good wife. But still.

Reissig makes a point to write to single women, and women without children, throughout her chapters. But the underlying assumption is that a woman is working toward a man and a brood. Yes, the Bible has many scriptures about family. Yes, the Bible is truth. However, we live in a time that is complicated, and this may not be the path for women (or men) due to complex reasons and life experiences. Just sayin. A woman's worth is in God alone (Reissig does stress this) as is a man's.

In short, I believe Reissig attributes too much power to the feminist movement(s) and to Betty Freidan. I don't think that feminism is something that women now need to "recover" from. I hope that there are books out there for guys, talking about how they can serve others, and love girls appropriately, and encourage women, and what they can expect out of the various seasons of their lives. I really hope that inside the church we are not placing the burden on women for their purity and the purity of others. I hope that women are being empowered to be godly and independent - not because men are bad, but because women are individuals. Men are not being raised (as far as I know) to put a ton of meaning on finding a woman. It is to a girl's detriment to treat her goals as something that occur "in the mean time" until Mr. Right comes along. What if he doesn't? What does it mean that we imply that her dreams are temporary?

Anyhoo. Still, I think this book is worth reading. This is a conversation worth having. I'm getting off my soapbox now.

10% Happier

The alarm went off at an ungodly hour this morning (we had lofty notions to go on a hike at RMNP) and we chuckled to ourselves, turned it off, and slept in until NINE THIRTY. What? Who are we? That never happens.

Now I'm gulping coffee, G is deep into some WWI book, and Lucy has decided to switch things up:

See how she's laying? Facing the opposite direction? Things are getting cray cray up in here.

One of the latest books I have voraciously consumed with the clock ticking loudly in the background as the fall semester rapidly approaches:

10% Happier by Dan Harris

Have you read this one? The complete title is: 10% Happier: How I tamed the voice in my head, reduced stress without losing my edge, and found self-help that actually works - a true story.

The key is to read this as a memoir rather than as a self-help or "useful tip" book - from the very beginning. You may know Harris from his reporting and anchoring work for ABC news...if I watched the news, he might seem more familiar, but alas. Anyhoo, I was about 50 pages into the book, reading his accounts of reporting in Iraq and Afghanistan, before I was like, wait a minute - what about the 10% happier part? The book truly is about his life experiences, and he spends a lot of time setting up how fast-paced and stressful his life was/is, living in NYC and working for a popular news agency.

His writing is witty and self-deprecating and a good balance of humor and down-to-earth seriousness. In fact, he starts the book by recounting the event that sparked his quest for calmness: he had a panic attack on air, live. The book tells of his encounters with fallen evangelists, cooky New Age proponents, and Jew-Bu (his word) believers who introduce him to the world of meditation. The book was interesting to me because it's about how to reach out and find help when you're a non-believer looking only at secular options. I appreciate how an atheist (or agnostic at least) tears down the flaws in the whole send-out-good-thoughts-into-the-universe mentality.

Harris is honest about his need for help controlling stress and anxiety in a way that I think most of us can relate to. And he doesn't get all metaphysical when talking about meditation; he concentrates on deep breathing and on trying to identify our thoughts as thoughts, which can be controlled and changed. We can control them rather than letting them take control of us; this was a powerful lesson I've had to learn in the past.

Anyhoo, it's a good summer book. Worth the read, whether or not you're looking for ways to reduce stress. :) Another book review coming soon!

Must Be Nice

Yesterday I volunteered to help at a kids' summer writing program. I was at a table of twelve year old girls and started to make conversation by asking what they're doing this summer. Turns out, they're traveling. All of them. On huge vacations. They were talking about Italy and London and Turkey and Dubai. They were comparing trips to New York City and D.C. Twelve year olds.

I was tempted to ask them for help selling the house.

In other news, I ditched my craptastic, cheap-o, falling-apart monthly calendar in favor of this:

 

It's called procrastinating from updating the syllabus.

Updates

It begins. Well, in a few weeks.

All the books for my Virginia Woolf class. Can. Not. Wait.

Last night I went to the Russkie's house for dinner and to admire her newly renovated and decorated library front room. Hmm. Sounds so familiar. :) I stink REALLY BAD at taking self portraits. I've figured out that this is because my phone is the size of a brick and my hand is too small to hold it AND somehow press the button to take the pic. So in all the pics I take, my friends look happy and I look like I'm concentrating. Because I am.

If Lucyfer let me hold her like this I would never leave the house. I would just sit on the couch with her and eat Haagen Dazs coffee ice cream all day long.

Also, I know that you've been dying to see a yard update! Remember when I spent my spring break removing all those stones so that "grass" could eventually grow? Well, here's where we are with that.

Before

Now

There are patches of brown nothingness, but still. It's coming along! The Scott's Lawn guy says that the grass seeds really germinate in the fall. So, by this time next year, we should be seeing some progress!

Before

Now

We still have a ways to go, but I'll take the weeds and I'll be thankful for them because they're green. The house is looking less ghetto all the time.

A close-up of my beauties, for good measure:

Please buy our VA house. That is all for today.

The Best Book I've Read This Summer

I spent just under four hours yesterday tweaking my syllabus and adding in some lessons and activities. And that's just for Unit 1 (there are three units), and I'm still not finished. Remember when I said I needed to do a little tweaking? Mmmmm. It's a good distraction from thinking about selling the house, though.

Ok, best book I've read in a long time, right here:

The Martian by Andy Weir

Have you seen the movie trailer yet? Can. Not. Wait. To. Go. See. It.

Set in modern times, main character Mark Watson is part of NASA's third trip to Mars. His team of 6 astronauts is scheduled to live on the planet for a few weeks and collect samples, run tests, all that fun stuff. A storm quickly moves in, though, six days after they've settled on the planet, that causes them to abort and in the process, he's pinned down by some huge pieces of flying debris. The crew thinks he's dead and they are forced to leave in a hurry.

But he's alive. And by the time NASA discovers this (because the storm wiped out all comm systems) it will take months to figure out how to rescue him. He doesn't have enough food to last for that long. Not by a long shot.

The story is a whirlwind of problems and unbelievable solutions, told from the "Martian's" perspective and then eventually from many other characters involved in his saga. The book is entertaining and crammed with space knowledge and also humor to lighten it up at times.

I highly recommend this as a book to read for the sheer pleasure of it and also because, as we know, Mars travel and colonization isn't very far into our future. We could be facing problems like these very soon and it's fascinating.

Go get it and start it today!

Ok, For Real

So, out of sheer desperation (and to avoid working out) I revised all major paper assignments for my classes today. Each semester I try to employ lessons learned from the previous semester, and the bad news is that there's always something to tweak. The good news is that the tweaking becomes easier and easier. The good news is also that the work is keeping me from inhaling a pint of Haagen Dazs Coffee ice cream.

Tomorrow I'll tackle all of Unit 1 - the first third of the semester. All homework assignments and lesson plans and handouts and exercises and points to emphasize and funny examples to use, concentrating on the first two weeks of class so that I don't have nightmares in August.

Whatever distracts me from worrying obsessively thinking about selling the house.

What? Mom's working??

Also? A big vacation for next summer is in the works. We are on the brink of complete mental and financial collapse so we figured if we're gonna go out, we might as well go out with a bang! 

In my life I've spent lots of money on house stuff and lots of money on vacations. The vacations are the only thing that makes sense right now. They're the only "big" financial thing I don't regret right now, so guess what? We're planning one so that we have a doozie to look forward to after The Year of the House. More deets later.

Time to plan student conferences in September. Where's that ice cream?

And by "bikin" I mean, "sitting on the couch, lesson planning"

Countdown (+ book review)

We are still 100% stressed out. In case you were wondering. We spend our days harping at the realtor, harping at each other, harping at Lucy, and harping at inanimate objects. By the end of the day all three of us are so exhausted that we look like this:

Not kidding.

It helps that it was shark week on the Discovery channel. That was entertaining.

We were supposed to go on a super duper hike in RMNP today but are staying home instead because some decisions need to be made with our realtor. We are not thrilled but our leg muscles are celebrating the unexpected break.

And now, on top of it all, the countdown to the school year begins. I have a month. One. Month. Instead of glancing here and there at the syllabus, I need to get busy and finalize things, but I procrastinate instead. And mope around, looking at pictures of Croatia, where we were a year ago. I have several projects to wrap up at my grueling summer job and I just want to lay around and drink wine. And read.

Which brings me to the latest book review.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

The only other book I've read by Franzen is Freedom (oddly enough, I read it this time last year), and I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed this one. G asked me what this book was about, and I replied that it follows an American family over time and depicts the many changes that have happened (rapidly) in American life: economically, sociologically, psychologically. And then he asked me, again, what it was about. And I was like, yeah, ok, that's all I got.

The thing is, Franzen's books are true. You know how they say that good art or literature reflects truth, reflects authenticity? That's what this book does. The plot is that the aging parents of a family (with the dad suffering from Parkinson's) request that the grown children come for one last Christmas together. The three grown children are wildly different: the oldest son is thriving financially and personally, with a wife and three boys, but is battling depression and is burning the candle at both ends trying to keep his wits about him; the middle son is a floundering academic who has hit rock bottom and is in the process of getting involved in all kinds of illegal trouble; the daughter (in her early thirties) is recovering from a failed marriage when her career takes off. The book follows each character and weaves their stories into a greater narrative of life in America over the past few generations.

Franzen's writing is witty, and humorous, and touching, and real. While I don't exactly identify with these characters in particular, I found myself struck by how authentic their experiences are.

And there you have it. I only have one more month to read. I ordered all the books for my Virginia Woolf class yesterday and got both giddy and nervous at the same time.

Off to procrastinate some more!

TGIF, people!

Living the Life You Want

There's a book review at the end of this. If you prefer to skip the personal philosophy, then scroll to the bottom. :)

This is an extremely stressful time for us (<-- which is quite the understatement if this Type A can say so herself) because we're trying to sell the house. I've also dusted off my class syllabus and have started to revise and tweak it, along with my assignments and lessons. And, my responsibilities at the writing job have really increased! I'm excited about it now even though I know full well I'll be complaining non-stop in under two months. Mark. My. Words. I've been put in charge of some projects and have been assigned to work in multiple colleges/disciplines, so this is like the poor person's equivalent of a pay raise! Ahhhh, I remember with fondness those days. When a promotion actually came with money attached.

That's to say we have a cocktail of good and bad stress right now. We're like, drunk on it. That's not good.

And, I'm not going to lie, I've been a sloppy drunk (<-- metaphorically speaking). A more mentally stable person might kindly point out that I'm letting the stress get to me. As if I have a choice. But the thing is, I do have a choice.

As I try to form better habits with diet and exercise over the summer, it's becoming increasingly obvious to me that once school starts and my schedule gets out of control, I will want to lapse back into survival mode. Introvert Survival Mode. This mode consists of working as hard as possible so that I can then sleep. This mode does not have room for a "life." I want to hike and socialize and read for fun and meet regularly with friends...and I feel strangled by a busy schedule that consumes not only my time physically at work, but my time away from it as well (grading/planning/giving feedback/doing homework/writing papers). The days off (read: weekend) aren't actually days off. So, my unfortunate default mode during busy times is to choke off all the fun stuff, keep my head down, and try, try to keep up.

Remember several months ago when I was on a goal kick? Actually, I'm always on a goal kick, I just don't mention it here on the blog. Anyhoo, my main goal for the fall is to make my personal life as much a priority as my professional life. I don't want to sacrifice hanging out with friends or hiking on the weekends (let's be honest: watching Razorback football on the weekends) because I feel tethered to papers and work. This has been on my mind because I'm just not sure how realistic this goal is.

Any thoughts?

Related to living the kind of life you want is our latest Lit Society book:

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

If you've never read anything by historian David McCullough, then chop chop! Get to it! Start with 1776.

This book is so good for so many reasons. It gives the history and family life details of Wilbur and Orville (they had a sister who was incredibly influential). It relies on a variety of primary sources that allow the author to realistically paint their personalities. The author takes a story that everyone thinks they already know, and opens up a whole new world. The brothers really and truly cracked the code of how to fly. They tried and failed and tried again over and over and overcame serious obstacles in order to achieve what they knew they could achieve, not only for themselves but for their country (which is ironic. This will make sense when you read it.) and for anyone who wanted to learn how to manipulate the wind like a bird. Learning about the Wright brothers renewed a bit of my faith in humanity and fanned the flames of my motivation to work hard to pursue the things I believe in.

Now if that &*&^%$^* house would just sell.

Happy 239!

This morning, we were up before the sun (well, almost before the sun) and were parked in RMNP (along with about 5,000 other people, I might add) waiting for a shuttle bus to take us to our trail head. G chatted up some Germans who were in line behind us, and the guy widened his arms and gestured to the park, saying, "Today! Is your birthday, all of this, yes?"

Yes.

Happy 239, America.

A year ago today we were also on a bus. In Croatia. G didn't flirt with geriatrics today, though.

Today's hike was a grueling 3-ish miles uphill to this gorgeous glacier lake (and then a lovely 3-ish miles back down again). It was the perfect day for it, although we could have used some oxygen. Seriously.

The view was ok, I guess...

The danger of relaxing like this after a literal uphill battle is that it's nearly impossible to get back up. Only the thought of a downhill walk - to lunch! - got me on my feet again.

A little patriotic dessert...

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!