penny pinching

So next week is Spring Break, and I'm not going anywhere this year, which means I have all week long to stay home and work hard. This is great, actually, as I have a lot to do, but at the moment it just means that I've completely lost my carefully cultivated sense of urgency. To that end, here is a list of stuff I've been saving up for recently. None of these things are expensive--or at least they don't have to be--but none of them are truly necessary, either. I think that's a good combination: it's fun to save up and anticipate, and these things are cheap enough that they're within reach. Win.

1. A cozy flannel shirt

2. A manicure (fun fact: the last time I had a manicure was a few days before my wedding)

3. Fake glasses. I know 

4. This fake tattoo, because even though my sister-in-law gave me one a few Christmases ago, once is never enough for a rabbit smoking a pipe

5. This album

6. These shoes (which, thanks to the unbelievable generosity of a dear friend with a store credit, are actually on their way!)

7. A simple pair of sleek black tights

One of my favorite bloggers does a series called make-believe, where she imagines outfits or tools for certain activities and places. If this were my own make-believe series, this would be called "Moving to Austin."

resolute. late, but resolute

For the past two years my resolution posts have featured images by Anne

Marie Musselman, a Portland photographer. Musselman works a lot with

animals and conservation in her photographs, and I especially love her

series on the Sarvey Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. It makes me feel hopeful.

Even though it's a bit delayed (sorry about that), I'm excited to post my New Year's resolutions here. As I've said many times, I love January. For instance, last year I wrote that January "feels set apart from the other eleven [months] somehow, a month of new beginnings and hopeful futures." Well put, self. And even though a lot of people find New Year's resolutions to be futile, the fact that I've been faithfully posting these for a long time now means I can look back and see actual, honest-to-goodness progress, and that feels nice. In case you're curious: 2012, 2011 (here and here), and 2010 (I didn't post resolutions per se in 2010, but I did post a book list and a sort-of bucket list). 

This year, I've been thinking about a lot of things I'd like to keep up with or change. So many, in fact, that I divided my resolutions up into two lists: one personal, and one professional. 

Personal List: 

1. Drink enough water. This is my always-and-forever goal. 

2. Eat more produce. I read a suggestion once that at least half of your plate should be filled with fruits or veg. I like that. 

3. Learn: A) To can; B) French. The French goal is a semi-professional one, since I have to take a language exam next October. Did you know medieval England was bi- (and even tri-, if you count Latin) lingual?

4. Perfect homemade pizza and crepes. I make these all the time, and always struggle. No longer!

5. Keep in touch. I made some (small) strides at keeping in touch with friends last year, but didn't do so well with family. I'd like to change that. Part of that keeping in touch will be blogging here: my new, not-crazy goal is once a week. Here's hoping I stick to it. 

6. Grow spiritually. I'm still figuring out what I mean by this. 

Professional List:

1. Increase digital presence by: A) Starting a professional blog; and B) Using Twitter and Facebook more professionally. I've already had some success with both of these. I started my blog and I was active on Twitter during a digital humanities conference. Now to keep it up. 

2. Limit internet idleness. Again, some success here! I use Safari, and I recently altered my home page  so the sites I see are professional ones. I'm embarrassed by how much of a difference this has made. Now if I'm feeling idle, I'm more likely to read the Chronicle of Higher Education than, say, the A.V. Club. 

3. Publish. My first paper is coming out in postmedieval this year, and I'm hoping (this feels scary to say out loud) to line up another publication by the end of the year. We'll see.

4. Apply to (at least) two major conferences.  

5. Get more work out of each day. 

6. Write daily. This doesn't necessarily have to be Writing, with a capital "W." I think blogging, either here or on my professional blog, Facebook and Twitter can all count. 

That's it! No big deal, right? Here's to a 2013 full of adventure and accomplishment. Happy New Year. 

a wish list

As I have undoubtedly mentioned before, my birthday is my favorite day of the year. I know how that sounds, and I don't care. One of my favorite parts of my birthday is crafting a wishlist ahead of time. I know how that sounds, too, but the thing is that I don't expect everything, or even anything, from my list. Making a wish list is an exercise in pure daydreaming, and there's something really delightful about that. Here are some of the things on my list.

1. A bag (not a backpack!) large enough to fit my laptop and books in and nice enough that I can bring it into my classroom. I'm pretty sure grown-ups don't carry backpacks unless they're hiking. This bag is from Moop and is ridiculously expensive beautiful expensive.

2. In the same vein, I'm on the prowl for clothes that I can wear to teach that are not jeans, but also not too fussy. Something sort of like the above.

3. As I've said before, Flight of the Conchords = Happiness. I already have the first album, and I'm pretty sure the second would just double the pleasure AND the fun.

4. I recently was able to experience a Baltimore tradition, lemon sucked through a peppermint stick. It was sweet, tart, and sticky. It was everything summer should be. For my birthday I would like to recreate this experience (major barrier: finding appropriately thick peppermint sticks. They're available online, but for a hefty shipping fee).

5. This birthday calendar from Linda and Harriett. A long-time staple on the ol' birthday list. 

6. Finally, for this list at least, we come to the iPad. I am extremely proud of the fact that in our house there is a carefully maintained line between needs and wants (even if I complain about it sometimes). So even though I'd like to claim the iPad as a need - it would be extremely convenient to be able to bring something smaller than the laptop back and forth to class, and there are a ton of apps that are extremely useful for scholarly, PhD-types such as myself - I can't quite bring myself to do it. The iPad is a want, albeit a lovely, useful, elegantly designed one. And that's why it's perfect for the birthday list.

Thanks for letting me share! In case you're curious, the rest of my birthday list (as well as last year's) can be found here. Happy July!

talkin' 'bout a resolution

Last year in my resolutions post I featured a photo by Anne Marie Musselman, a Portland photographer whose series on the Sarvey Wildlife Rehab Center I really love. This year I decided to do that again. 

In spite of the cold and general bleakness, January is one of my favorite months of the year. It seems set apart from the other eleven somehow, a month of new beginnings and hopeful futures. Eileen Joy, a scholar I quite admire, described it here as heralding 


[if even as a mirage] new beginnings and re-tooled ambitions and second [and third and fourth and so on] chances as well as a chance to pause and rest and refresh. 


I love it (the quote and the month). I know many, many people find New Year's resolutions an exercise in futility, and while I understand that, I love them anyway. Longtime readers (defined here as people who have loyally stuck with me in spite of my apparent inability to consistently post), however, will know that the only thing I love more than making resolutions is sharing them. Hence the ill-fated week of living resolutely, which went well until I crashed on my sister-in-law's bike. Hence also last year's New Year's Resolutions, and the following, my resolutions for 2012 (many of which will be familiar):


1. Exercise three times a week. I actually did rather well on this resolution this past year, and especially during Fall term. Last year I became much smarter about how I set up my schedule, and I was able to go to yoga class at least twice a week (more than that, I've discovered, and I'm just too darn sore). Over the summer I also "ran" several times a week for nine weeks. This year I'd like to keep up that progress, and possibly even find a way to transport my things to campus so I can continue running.
2. Drink enough water (64 oz. daily). Always and forever.
3. Continue to improve the way we eat. Last year I became a vegetarian, which has been wonderful. But it's also been challenging, and it's often hard to think of ways to give myself (and more importantly, my meat-loving spouse) enough of the right kind of food. A few sub-resolutions will hopefully help me break this down:
     a). Eat less sugar. This has the pornography definition: I know it's too much when I see/eat it.
     b). Eat three food groups at breakfast (courtesy of this great article at Runner's World, which I read     even though I totally don't qualify as a runner). I don't often get to eat a full breakfast, but when I do, this will be my guide.
     c). Fill half the plate with produce (courtesy of the same article. Also, really difficult, even for a veggie eater like me).
4. Write daily. Like many of these resolutions, this will probably be on my to-do list until the end of time. This year, my goals are: 1) To write short weekly responses to the things I'm reading for class; 2) To write 10-15 posts for this blog a month. I really love this blog and love knowing that people are out there reading it. I've been a bad online host, and I want to work on that; and 3) To blog at my cherry amour once a week, and to try to make my posts as cool as Kathayoon's.
5. Find a summer job I won't hate. I failed epically at this last year. This year, I am determined.
6. Be more generous to people (mostly Ross).
7. Make time for adventures. Of all types.
8. Relearn French. I've got to say, in terms of enthusiasm, this resolution tops the list. I've been thinking about trying to re-teach myself for a while now (Ross' continued facility with Polish is inspirational). Armed with a bunch of books and tapes from the library, I'm finally ready to give it a go.
9. Carry less stuff. I mean this literally, in terms of the sheer amount of heavy s**t I carry back and forth to school every week, but I mean it figuratively, too. I've been trying for years to shed a lot of negative emotions and anxiety, and for the most part, my efforts (bolstered by the incredible amount of support I've received from, oh, everybody) have paid off in slow and steady progress. I want to keep that up. Earlier this month, I hit a milestone in regards to a persistent and irritating problem I've been facing for a while now (sorry to be vague, but there it is). So I'm already making progress on this one.
10. Keep up with old friends. You are the hummus to my carrot sticks, the frosting to my graham cracker, the nap in my long day. Happy New Year.

looking forward

Sometimes when I feel a little bleak about leaving our incredible apartment (and sometimes, I feel a little bleak about leaving our incredible apartment), I try to remind myself that there are even cooler places that we could someday aspire to live. Like, for instance, on a houseboat in Amsterdam with a tiny blue bathroom and ducks for neighbors.

Just sayin'.

just in case your brain is spinning like mine

i want to go to there

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

snob

Sometimes I imagine vacationing with Ross at incredibly exclusive and beautiful resorts. But then I realize that these places are only visited by the super-wealthy, which means we might have to socialize with the aforementioned, which would probably ruin our trip. *Sigh* Foiled again.

Pictured: Dunton Hot Springs

truckasaurus helps me procrastinate

Today I took a break from working on my personal statement to make the following list:

Stuff I Want To Do
*Ride a camel in the Middle East
*Get a Ph.D. [editor's note: this would probably go faster if I worked on my personal statement instead of making lists]
*Go to a rodeo and a demolition derby or monster truck rally
*Live in the South [editor's note: where, presumably, I could accomplish the previous item]
*Live abroad (again)
*Road trip cross-country
*Play touch football with Ross and our kids on a lovely fall day

In retrospect, almost all of these items are charmingly blue-collar. Except for the whole Ph.D. thing. Interesting.

i want this

Dear Elna Baker,

This is just a note to express my appreciation and gratitude for your non-conformist fabulousness. As you probably know, George Dawes Green had this to say about you:

"Elna Baker's memoirs of Mormon chastity and self-denial are presented with such passion and wit and unbridled effervescence that somehow her life comes out as pure erotic adventure, a romance of wild sunshine hedonism. As she juggles it all before us-her doubt and her deep faith and her lust and longing and fierce discipline-she's a dazzlement, a living breathing paradox and an absolute original and a joy to behold."

If I buy your book for all my friends, will you please teach me how to be you?

Sincerely,

Haylie Swenson