dimarts, d’octubre 31, 2006

Happy Halloween

Today is Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, but there won’t be too much by way of festivities. We were gone over the weekend when the majority of parties took place so we will just hand out candy to the few neighborhood ghosts and goblins that stop by this evening. It’s the first year I haven’t come up with a new costume, kind of a disappointment, but I have a fabulous bride of Frankenstein wig that I can always slap on for door-answering. Even more disappointing is that in between the trick-or-treaters, I will likely be grading compositions. Ah, well…

Merry Christmas

On Friday after work, I went with Angie to go look for a dress for me to wear to her wedding. She and my brother have decided to have a ceremony on the beach in Cancun at a resort that they’ve been visiting for years. There will also be a reception in Wisconsin in February for family and friends to attend. Anyway, when we were looking at a few things, the clerk realized that Angie’s dress had come in early so I got to see that. Luckily we had brought along my veil which she was considering borrowing so we were able to see the two together and it was just perfect. I’m glad my veil will get to participate in another wedding and in Mexico, no less!

On Saturday, Austin and I and Sean and Angie all headed up to way-northern Wisconsin for what we call “Fake X-mas;” we give Gramma a big send off right before she heads to Arizona for the winter. This event brings together around 30 people so it can be a little overwhelming when you first arrive because everyone is talking on top of each other. In addition to X-mas, we also had a shower for Sean and Angie and it went really well. After the big par-tay, we went back to the hotel which had only six rooms so our whole family took it over that night. It was really homey and cute so it was fun to have all of us there.

Sunday morning, fully enjoying our extra hour, we went out to the “Covered Wagon” restaurant, a name that made some of us with the maturity level of a 13 year old snicker. The food was Perkins-like but it hit the spot and then we headed back home. It was a gorgeous fall day with bright blue skies, white clouds, and golden sunshine splashing on what yellow leaves were left.



At home, I mostly studied for my Second Language Acquisition midterm and got a few things organized for the week. Yesterday I had night class so it was a long day and work had been rather stressful but the night ended on a positive note when I learned that Austin had booked our trip to Mexico so we can be there to support our sibs. ¡Viva México!

dimecres, d’octubre 25, 2006

Fall Mornings

The sunrise machine is working splendidly! For those who know me well, it's no secret that I need any and all sleep help I can get. Falling asleep and staying asleep is a frequent problem that I experience though I'm finding ways to get it under control. I currently sleep with a fan on (for white noise only), a clock-radio that makes cricket chirps all night (extra white noise), the atomic clock must be set so I know I'll wake up at exactly the right time, and now the sunrise machine provides additional back-up to the atomic clock (what if the batteries die?). Well, I guess the atomic alarm clock is really the back-up to the sunrise machine because the sunrise provides a much gentler way to wake up on a dark fall morning with its warm, incandescent glow slowly filling the room. Yeah, a real sunrise would be better, but I'll take this as second best anytime.

This weekend we fall back which will help a little bit in the mornings though the sunrise machine will still earn its keep all through the long winter. Incidentally, this weekend we'll be at a family event in northern WI and sharing a hotel room with Sean and Angie. This means I'll be completely stripped of my sleeping tools but I'm hoping the excitement of the day and the good food and wine will help me catch some Zzzz's in this interesting little hotel that has six rooms.

Looking forward to the weekend but today is only Wednesday.

divendres, d’octubre 20, 2006

He Is My Sunshine

I hate waking up at 6:00ish right now because it's completely dark and feels like it could be 3:00am. Austin, in trying to "provide a technology-based solution," bought a device that plugs into an outlet and controls electric current. He then programmed it using the accompanying software and set it to allow the lightbulb in the lamp to increase in wattage by X% every 10 seconds in effort to create a sort of sunrise. We had previously tried a lamp on a timer but it snapped on just as harsh as an alarm clock, even with a 25 watt pink bulb that gave our bedroom a lovely brothel-esque glow. The electric sunrise has been in effect for two mornings now and I like it but both times, I have already been stirring a bit. The true test will come when I'm deep asleep.

As for the weekend plans, this evening I'm having wine and cheese with some colleagues/friends and we're discussing the need of K-12 teaching licenses for those with advanced degrees. They're a fun group so I'm expecting much delightful veering off topic.

There are no other scheduled plans for the rest of the weekend although we have lots to do. We are still tackling the monsters in the storage rooms using new shelving and rubbermaid bins. I have lots of prep work to do for my Second Language Acquisition midterm. I am also considering attending a workshop on Differentiated Instruction. The last task that comes to mind is that I need to upload some wedding photos to flickr and order some prints for us and for the grandmas (next weekend, we celebrate "Fake Xmas" before Gramma Bev heads to Arizona for the winter).

For fun, there might be the usual cooking and wine drinking. With the cool weather, I am also feeling the urge to bake although I haven't been inspired enough by a particular baked good to want to make it. I'm more of a dinner chef, not so much a baker. Any suggestions?

dissabte, d’octubre 14, 2006

Some Pictures From Last Weekend

Here are a few pictures from our decadent dinner at Louisianne's in Middleton, WI.

Appetizers: Crawfish Cheescake and Lemon Artichoke Baguette





And for the main course [drumroll...], Lobster, Crab, and Scallop Linguine Au Gratin

dijous, d’octubre 12, 2006

Woo Hoo!

An article that a colleague and I worked on has been accepted for publication!

My name's gonna be in print for the first time in a real journal. In England! (For some reason, that seems even cooler than an American journal.) Happy day!

dimarts, d’octubre 10, 2006

Tempus Fugit

I just wrote a huge post that got eaten by the interweb, ugh! Anyway, I will attempt to recreate.

This past weekend, we went to Madison to visit Austin’s mom and my sister. We left work on Friday around 3pm though I nearly was late because I was obsessing over a lesson plan for my Monday observation. We ended up heading out of town around 4pm and got to my sister’s around 7-something, ready to have some “interesting pizza” for dinner. It seemed that all of Madison had the same idea, however, so after too many waiting lists, we ordered a pizza margherita with ricotta and picked up some Rioja. Austin and I got to his mom’s around 10pm and pretty much crashed.

Saturday was a busy day. We went to the lovely farmers market near the capitol building and drooled over the amazing produce, flowers, and products. We had an impromptu picnic on the lush, green capitol lawn and then finished our shopping. I scored some pear jam, dilly beans, and gorgeous leeks. I was also able to cast a big ol’ practice ballot to vote NO against the proposed amendment that would define marriage as a hetero-only privilege. Boo!

After the produce-n-politicking, we headed to a teacher store where I found an adorable Thanksgiving book and some materials to use with the hellacious four year olds. Then it was off to the bridal store to try on the bridesmaid dress for a wedding I will be in in September. They didn’t have my size so I didn’t get the full effect which was a bummer so in consolation, we went wine shopping. We got a jammy Argentinian Malbec and something else a little challenging that I can’t remember right now.

Then it was time for the pièce de resistance, dinner at Louisianne’s, The Best Restaurant in the World. As usual, we were not disappointed and thoroughly enjoyed the hedonistic experience. After a decadent meal, some French martinis, and wine, we went to bed early and slept in late.

Sunday we were a little behind schedule but had a nice drive home. We stopped at Humbird Cheese and tried 10 year old extra sharp cheddar, potent stuff! We ended up buying the 3 year old version and some garlic-herb brie.

Once at home, we made a Target run and then Austin did laundry while I went into work for a few hours. It was a busy Sunday but there was much satisfaction in actually Getting Stuff Done.

Mondays are always my long days. Yesterday, I hung out with the hellacious four year olds (H4YO’s) in the morning, taught all of my classes and was observed, then headed to my three hour SLA class.

Luckily today is my prep day, then tomorrow I’m moderating a roundtable discussion for Latin American Week, and Friday we’re going to an art gallery showing that includes a jewelry collection by my friend and colleague. After that, it’s a full weekend at home, woo hoo! I think there will be some decorating for Halloween and other autumnal rituals.

That’s the big update, photos coming soon.

dimecres, d’octubre 04, 2006

Catching Up

It's been awhile... I was home last weekend for my 10 year class reunion and was feeling a little under the weather. A late night out that ended in a smokey bar wasn't the best way to treat my aging body so I have been spending the last few days just trying to keep up enough to teach and go home and drink Nyquil.

It was nice to see some people after a decade, though, and the fall leaves were near peak up there in my little hometown. Here's some pics for Bad Z.





Luckily I'm on the up and up today and starting to feel like myself again. Austin and I are indulging in our guilty pleasure tonight and watching "Lost." To make it feel more like our own private party, I'm making a nicer dinner. A green salad, a baguette, and linguine tossed with a creamy gorgonzola sauce and topped with toasted walnuts. I thought that sort of fit the whole "stranded on an island eating Dharma Initiative beans theme." Or not. But it will be fun.