tasty dinner!

farmermarketdin
Originally uploaded by mnkgrl

This was our dinner on Saturday: roasted potatoes and asparagus, grilled onions, grilled portabello "steaks" marinated in a red wine sauce and Italian bread made with semolina flour. Everything except the sour cream on this plate was from the Farmer's Market. Ever since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I have been trying to go to the Farmer's Market each week. It can be a struggle as it is on Saturday morning, but I think I have made it most weeks I've been in town. There are still not a lot of vegetables in season, but I was proud we could make a dinner out of the market trip this week.

We almost repeated the feat tonight as well. We had the rest of the asparagus (roasted again) in an omelet with spaghetti squash (from the farmer's market) and marinara on the side. I do try and buy local eggs, but the omelet ones were from the grocery store, although allegedly "cage free".

bdaytoe

bdaytoe
Originally uploaded by mnkgrl

Here is my awesome pedicure from my birthday. Woo! I went for a spring-like color even though it was gray and rainy that day.

30. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
OK, I am behind on my book reviews so I cannot do this one justice. I really liked this book. It is a beautifully written story of several characters connected in complex ways between pre WWII Poland to current day New York. Just really well done.

31. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Another Foundation book. I actually think I liked the second book best, but this one was good and did indeed have a female portagonist.

32. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
Loved this book! It is a collection of people's memories of the Zombie War. If you enjoy post-apocalyptic works, you will enjoy this one.

33. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
This is a straight up good ol' fashioned sci-fi novel. Basically, at some time in the future humans have colonies all over the universe. They are protected by the Colonial Forces, which you are eligible to join at age 75. There is lots of adventure and some cool ideas about living in space and human colonization of other planets. It wasn't necessarily great literature, but I enjoyed it. Also nice to read a book from the POV of a 75 year old man. :)

Music meme!

I could not resist (seen all about on various blogs):
The rules, again, should you have missed them the first time around:

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike through when someone gets them right I'm bolding because I can't be bothered to the html for striking through:)
Step 5: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING.

1. Istanbul was Constantinople...TMBG
2. Que sera oh que sera/ The future will be, will be with us I've seen the headlines (NOT Doris Day)
3. Me and all the kids from the neighborhood--
4. She's into superstitions, black cats and voodoo dolls Livin' la Vida Loca -- Ricky Martin
5. destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late,
6. Our first date was our last date.
7. I'm not a leader, I'm not a left-wing rhetoric mobilizing force of one, The pointless, yet poignant crisis of a co-ed, Dar Williams
8. 6 am day after christmas Brick, Ben Folds Five
9. It's happy hour again
10. If you're gonna get your heart broke, you better do it just right, The Blessings, Dar
11. on one hand i'm walking
12. My my my it’s a beautiful world Beautiful World, Colin Hay Band
13. squint your eyes and look closer 32 Flavors -- Ani
14. It's been a while since I've seen your face
15. Holiday Celebrate Madonna! Holiday
16. I'll never know what you'll find when you open up your letter box tomorrow Letterbox, TMBG
17. Look I'm standing naked before you Leather, Tori Amos
18. Secure yourself to heaven Secure Yourself, Indigo Girls
19. Don't worry about me, I'm gonna make it alright
20. I am walking Both Hands, Ani
21. Once upon a sign I read a warning and it said
22. Your eyes are made of wild blue sky
23. Fría como una estatua de sal Vuelve, Shakira
24. oh lordy,trouble so hard
25. Hey Sweet Annie

Facebook

I have a bone to pick with Facebook. I received an email telling me how my friends voted on my good and bad sides. Under bad they had best scientist!!! How can be being the best scientist be bad?? Is Facebook trying to propagate the idea that being a scientist is bad? My other bad quality was punctuality, which I think is a total good quality.

Still alive

It has been a while since I gave my trusty blog readers a real post. Sorry about that. Every day the dissertation becomes more all encompassing. Perhaps this means I will finish it? Who knows.

Anyway, since we last spoke I have had my birthday, flown to Ohio for a conference where I was an anthropology rock star and presented a rock star caliber poster and then returned home, taught, and caught the plague. Actually, it is just a minor plague.

So, my birthday was the 6th. R had to leave that morning to be woo-ed by grad schools so we celebrated the night before by taking the ferry to Staten Island and eating at an Italian restaurant staffed by Italian grandmas. Some of the food was great, some was mediocre but the wine was awesome as was the whole experience of taking the ferry, etc. On my actual birthday I met two friends for brunch and then we went for pedicures. Yay, pedicures! It was awesome and relaxing and now my toe nails are a nice robin egg blue. I am going to try to make pedicures a bigger part of my life.

On the 9th I flew to Ohio for a conference. I love conferences. This was the 4th time I had attended this particular conference, and I am starting to feel really comfortable at it, seeing all the same people and I'm more comfortable chatting with strangers. I had a poster to present which basically means I tack it up in a big room for 3 hours and stand by it for 1.5 of those hours, answering questions. I got really good feedback and lots of people said they couldn't wait to see the stuff published, so that is good and inspired me more to finish my diss and get papers from it out there. The whole conference was really confidence boosting as I conversed intelligently about my field with all kinds of people. Sweet! I also got to see grad school friends which was also fun.

I got home from that on Sunday, dove into prepping class and finishing grading. Then I taught a great class, became sad there are only 2 weeks of the semester left, and got sick. I was tired Tuesday night and then yesterday I decided to sleep in a little and ended up being out like a light until 11:30! eek. I slept almost all day. I am a lot better today so I think I was just over-tired and needed a rest. I already spent the morning grading and soon will dive into dissertation chapter 4. Watch out, chapter 4! I'm a-coming for you!

Haiku

Haiku2 for lrigyeknom
will be off for a few more real solutions for people who live
@ aboutmylife.netadvogato.orgblogger.comblogs.gnome.orgblogspot.comdeadjournal.comgreatestjournal.cominsanejournal.comlivejournal.commyspace.comspaces.msn.com
Created by Grahame

Photobucket Meme

From Profgrrrrl
DIRECTIONS:

1. Go to http://www.photobucket.com/
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box.
3. Use only the first page.
4. Insert the picture into your Blog.

1. What is your relationship status?


2. What is your current mood?


3. Who is your favorite band/artist?


4. What is your favorite movie?


5. What kind of pet do you have?


6. Where do you live?


7. Where do you work?


8. What do you look like?


9. What do you drive?


10. What did you do last night?


11. What is your favorite tv show?


12. Describe yourself.


13. What are you doing today?


14. What is your name?


15. What is your favorite candy?


16. What is your favorite drink?

books

26. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
I read another book by Zadie Smith when in the field and loved it, so when I saw this at the library I thought I would give it a try. I didn't like it that much. It is a complicated story about and Englishman who's best friend is a Bangladeshi he met in WWII. They each get married and have kids and the story follows their families over quite a long period. There is lots about immigration, race, etc. I liked the very end more, but it was hard for me to get through the first 3/4.

27. To-Do List by Sasha Cagen
Very fun little book of collected to-do lists on everything from groceries to pros and cons of leaving a husband.

28. What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris
29. When Gods Die by C.S. Harris
Two more historical mysteries. I love these. I liked them better than the third book, but I think that's because I learned more about the characters. If you read these, read them in order.

Feels like Wednesday

It's a metaphor. Although it would most likely be a better metaphor if most of you weren't likely to read it on an actual Wednesday. Anyway.

I feel like I am at the Wednesday of my dissertation. If my dissertation were a week, I would be at Wednesday. I feel like I have been pushing and pushing this boulder up a hill (some metaphor mixin' for you) and am juuuust about to the top, whereupon the boulder will roll easily down the hill. I can totally see the summit. Yet although I am so close to the top, I am still suffering procrastination. I have learned over the last year or so that my procrastination is worst when I am scared of something -- what am I scared of? Going down the hill can only be good, right? That is true, but it is also scary. Once I go down the other side of the hill, or get to Friday, then other people start to look at my dissertation. So far it has been just me and my advisor in the thick of it (also R has read a good chunk). So it is like soon I will have to share it, and defend it, and explain it to others. eek! Scary! And then I will graduate! And have to get a job! And do the job! And find new things to research! See why it is scary?

So that is why it is Wednesday and why even though it is Wednesday I am still procrastinating. When I told R the Wednesday theory, he said he thinks it is actually Thursday, it just feels like Wednesday to me. Now I am waiting to realize it is actually Thursday but feels like Wednesday.