MeMeMe

Then YES.

Like many other things, a sense of accomplishment is relative, I suppose. It’s been a good week for that sort of thing – on Monday a copy of our new book was delivered into my hot little hands. (So I guess for those of you who were wondering, since I

MeMeMe

My kingdom for a cupcake

I gave up baked goods for Lent. I’m not saying I’m sorry, but, dang. I want a cupcake. photo by clevercupcakes

Nerdery

The man your man could smell like, behind the curtain

You may already keep up with TWIT or their YouTube channel. But if not, I offer this. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDk9jjdiXJQ&w=480&h=295] One continuous shot. Even more glorious. I’m on a horse.

Tunes

The Soundtrack of My Life: 2006

I think I am tiring of this theme, so I can’t imagine how worn out with it my limited reading audience might be. 2006 – well, I didn’t move. This is news because for the first four years that I lived in Chicago, I moved an average of once

Cookery

Odds & ends soup

Should I be calling this stone soup? I don’t really remember that book or story very well, I’ll admit. Right, so sometimes I have a lot of odds and ends around the pantry and I’m feeling a bit lazy. In the winter, I’m a big fan

MeMeMe

On being dead

This might seem like a strange transition from mulling over being real; but it seems like a fitting bookend. Real? or Dead? After all my fine words about LOST and being done with it, it turns out that five seasons of investment generated enough curiosity to drive me to watch

Tunes

The Soundtrack of My Life: 2005

2005:  the year I turned 30. I know a lot of people who seemed really downcast on their 30th birthdays. Honestly, by the time 30 rolled around I felt like, ‘Bring that on!’ 29 was much harder for me – I was still laboring under the weight of all the shoulds

MeMeMe

On being real

It’s messy. And it hurts. And I could end it there. But that would be a lame post, wouldn’t it? I think so. I’ve been thinking about this lately, on several fronts, the idea of ‘being real.’ What is authenticity? What does it take to get there?

MeMeMe

Paradox

It is a strange and unknowable paradox to me that any overflowing emotion – grief, happiness, anger – can manifest itself in tears. How can this be? One doesn’t have an uncontrollable desire to smile when sad. (Does one? Laying aside Tweedy’s instructions as expressed in “How to Fight Loneliness,

MeMeMe

Of dirigibles & small gravity railroads

roller coaster –noun 1. a small gravity railroad, esp. in an amusement park, having a train with open cars that moves along a high, sharply winding trestle built with steep inclines that produce sudden, speedy plunges for thrill-seeking passengers. 2. a car or train of cars for such a railroad.

Tunes

The Soundtrack of My Life: 2003 & 2004

The Lost Years of that decade – Musically speaking, anyhow.  So I’ve been avoiding this entry. I have no memory of this place. Maybe not that bad, but still – it’s so fuzzy. Somewhere around the beginning of 2005, I can start to tell you again about which musical directions

Tunes

The Soundtrack of My Life: 2002

When I look back at 2002 I choose to remember its bright points. Beautiful snows in winter, a lovely spring weekend in New York, a roommate who was also a much loved friend (and who also found need to practice a lot of baking and cooking for chef school … delight)

Tunes

2001: The Soundtrack of My Life

Dave? Can we talk this over? In retrospect, it’s possible that my 2001 was a bit like the HAL 9000: that is to say, not without its advantages, but tricky and in the end a trifle malevolent. There was some carnage, for sure. Be that as it may. Here’

Cookery

Mastering the Art of ... um, Cooking

If I have a cooking show, someday, I might have to call it, Cooking with Captain Obvious. And I will talk about things like how brown butter sauce, although it sounds fancy, is really just when you let butter brown. And then use it for a sauce. Or at least

MeMeMe

Alchemy

The moment where loss becomes freedom … It’s a beautiful transmutation, isn’t it? The other day the opening phrase just popped into my head, and it feels so familiar, I have a sense I must have read it somewhere. It is just possible, however, that it burbled up out

Tunes

Y2K: ERROR! ERROR!

Figures that in writing a post about 2000 I’d get muddled. It feels like a long time ago, what can I say. Because it is of earthshattering importance I desire accuracy to a degree that is probably not typical, I feel I should make the following correction – that Fiona

Tunes

The Soundtrack of My Life: 2000

I have an uneasy relationship with blogging these days. Can’t say it was ever too simple – what to say, what’s too much, what’s just plain boring … but with my tendency to overthink coupled with a busy schedule and a lot of things I’m not always prepared

Photos & such

seen today at foster beach

MeMeMe

Shhh

Has NaBloPoMo dragged me into a disgusting cycle of hypocrisy, wherein I have become what I hate and have ranted about for years – that is to say,  useless, old-news pieces produced primarily for the purposes of proving that you wrote something (and hopefully keeping you from getting fired …at least

Cookery

Chickens, lend me your thighs

I’d like to begin this post by saying – I realize I haven’t really been bringing it lately. I’ll try and do better. With that in mind, if you can’t be interesting, at least give people something tasty to think about. Meat eating people that is; at

MeMeMe

Oops

While laying awake last night at 3am, I realized, among other things, that I had forgotten to post. So, NaBloPoMo, you win. Or lose. Anyway, my 16 day streak is broken. At least I got more than halfway through before blowing it – that’s something I guess. I am going

MeMeMe

I am not a night person

Despite the fact that I routinely stayed up until 2a in college, I am not and never really have been a night person. Just because you can (or must) do something doesn’t mean that you do it well and I think anyone who knows me would agree that after

MeMeMe

On Productivity

This was the first totally free Sunday I’ve had since the 18th; and I won’t have another where I’m not working or out of town or guests in town or what-have-you for another few weeks, until the 13th of December. It was nice not to leave the

MeMeMe

On teaching

Happy timing, really, that I should have a totally respectable, academic post following up on such a fluffy one. On that topic, I can only say this – I’m every woman. It’s all in me. Right. I was trying to be academic. So today I taught my last class

MeMeMe

You Lucky Fug

Call me shallow if you like, but two of my most reliable sources of enjoyment are Lucky magazine (on a monthly basis) and Go Fug Yourself (on a weekly basis – although they post daily I like to save it up as a special treat). Yes. Shopping, and snarky commentary on