Thankful
This Thanksgiving has reminded me of all the things I'm thankful for:
My sweet boy
My parents
My sister
Friends--both here and away
My job
My students
Clementine
Henry and Oliver
Red wine
A lovely house
My current fitness level
Fresh sheets
Sweet potatoes
Almost 30 great years

Domestic Goddess
I'm feeling very domestic--I just baked a pumpkin and a sweet potato pie. I figure I need to make them twice as good because they will be the only home cooked items at tomorrow's Thanksgiving celebration. A travesty.
I have a hair appointment in a few minutes because every baker needs to look faboo.

Come On Baby Light My Fire
The above pic is me with my fabulous new nephew a.k.a. Jen's new puppy Oliver. To say I am smitten is an understatement. I have never met such a lovely, precious little baby.
We all went camping this weekend at the ranch. Hell must have frozen over because Jay and Todd taught Jen, Vange, and I how to shoot. I learned how to fire a shotgun and a hand gun. Distrubing, no? I felt completley bizarro, like it wasn't really me. still, it was neat to learn something new. I also learned how to play Texas Hold 'Em. Although learned might be a bit of an overstatement. My midwestern background does not let me get comfortable with betting. I have some sort of deep Norweigan guilt about the whole thing.
As I was out in my shirtsleeves this afternoon, I am having a hard time believing that Thanksgiving is this week. It's times like this that I really miss Ohio. There the holidays always felt somehow more real. No, I take that back; they felt more like the movies. I am rather non-plussed with the thing this year.
I'm also dealing with big, bad, green ugly right now. I don't want to go into it, but some days the universe really does seem to conspire to rub in my shortcomings. Enough.
I have a sack of papers to grade, but I am really feeling more like watching the Cowboy game and/or reading my book.

Not Waving, but Drowning
I am deluged by papers and responsibilities and feeling completely overwhelmed. There are days I wonder why I do what I do.
We did have faculty happy hour tonight, though, and I felt more and more comfortable with myself. I remember last year thinking I would never have friends, and now I truly feel I have people to count on.
I guess it just goes to show that life does, somehow, magically, get better.

It's a Wonderful Life
That was the theme for last night's big gala--it was indeed a wonderful party. The Ritz Carlton is stunningly posh; the dresses were dazzling, the wine was freely flowing; the dinner was delicious; the dessert was perfection; and the company was delightful. In short, we had a wonderful time.
It's been an extravagant weekend, actually. On Friday night we went to the opera and saw Macbeth, which featured a soprano who conquered even the terrible acoustics at the music hall.
Today's featured activity will be sitting on the couch for long periods of time broken up by occassional naps.

Nerd Herd
Eh--it's 9 p.m. and I just walked in the door. I can't figure out if the day is endless or too short--one of those strange time paradoxes. Reminds me of that Next Generation episode. Yes, folks, I did just go there.
I picked up my dress this evening, and I was feeling all princessy. You have to love that about black tie events--eveyone is themselves, only sparklier.
In bonus news, the school decided it needed to increase salaries, so they gave me a retroactive raise. Not only do I get extra per month, I will get it to cover July through November as well. A sweet deal. It's a sad statement, but I now make almost double what I did at St. Mary's. Of course those wages were criminally low. With this newest increase I feel, finally, like I'm getting a just wage. It's just enough money to cover all of the medical bills I have piling up from the surgery. Isn't that always they way? You finally get a little ahead only to have it grabbed away again? Still, I acknowledge how truly blessed we are. We may not often have extra, but I can pay out medical bills unlike a lot of people. I really have no reason to complain. It's just often difficult to spend life in the company of the city's richest people and not think how they live is normal. I don't want their kind of money, but what I do want for us is to be able to take interesting vacations every chance we get. That's my financial goal.
It's getting towards that time of year when snuggling beneath the covers is the best reward for all of the nonesense of the day. Come on, autumn, show me what you've got.

Morning Glory
I'm going to a conference today near the airport which means at the decadent hour of 7 a.m. I'm still at home sipping a second cup of coffee and catching up on the news. I do not have to be there until 8:15 which is practically mid-day in a teacher's world. Best yet, the conference is at one of the airport hotels so my commute will be only minutes. I just might get spoiled.
THe only thing marring my morning is the fact that Toby is running around barking his head off. Jen has found me a grayhound named Banjo that she wants us to get. I am so tempted, but I know we cannot handle two dogs. Perhaps we can trade Toby in? Trade in the compact model for the sedan?
I've made the switch from American news to the BBC, and I continue to be amazed at how much broader the coverage is. I feel truly informed about everything from the suspension of the constitution in Pakistan to the police murders in Kenya and even to the state of cricket in India. Not once have I heard about Britney Spears. Refreshing. The other aspect that I appreciate is the lack of opinion. The American news networks have based most of their programming on people trading opinions and yelling at each other, each trying to out smarm the other. Last night I got stuck watching Tucker Carlson's show on MSNBC while I was at the gym. I almost attacked the television. It's amazing what they'll put on the air. I won't go into it because I can feel my blood pressure raising just thinking of it.
I might take a little morning walk before my conference. How decadent!

Falling Back
Sad statement: This weekend has been one of my most relaxing ever, and I'm freaking out wondering what I'm missing, trying to figure out what to do, what chores I can perform, how much of a work out I need to do. I've been given this extra hour, and I'm fighting really hard to use it for nothing.
We just got back from Dan in Real Life which was different and better than what I was expecting. It was the sort of movie that I thought did not get made any more--sweet, funny, touching without being like a sappy Hallmark card. I think what I found refreshing about it was its lack of irony and smarminess. I'm not going to say it was a great movie because it was a clever mix of a lot of the movies I used to like, but it was the sort of sweet, mellow treat I needed on a November day.
I also cannot believe that this is November already. Only 26 days until I am officially old. I am trying not to get a complex about this number. Life is infinitely different from what I pictured it would be like at 30--it's mostly happier and fuller but very different.
Jen is on me about adopting a grayhound. All logic aside--I could use some snugglebugness in the form of an 80 pound racer.
In other news, I'm up to 10.2 miles--only 3 to go. Sometimes the will of steel comes in handy.