springtime in laurel

It's springtime in Laurel, and the animals (both domestic and wild) are digging it. We are, too. 

P.S. Please note that all of these pictures (with the exception of Creature, obviously) were taken at the river trail behind our house, which is pretty much my favorite thing about where we live.

study plan

Good morning everyone. I'm on spring break this week, which is great, but which mean lots of time at home. Sometimes being home is productive, but sometimes I get distracted, so to inspire me to get more done I drove into Baltimore with Ross this morning and am currently "studying" here:

Pretty slick, right? Pros: Beautiful, really quiet, relatively distraction-free. Cons: Shockingly dark, and really, really quiet. Almost... too quiet. I think I'm the only non-staff member here.

That's okay, though. My goal is to hang out here for a few hours and edit a paper (which I'm presenting next week in Orlando!). Then I'll have lunch with Ross, and maybe manage to spend the rest of the day outside. Fingers crossed. Spring break has been alarmingly good so far. I expected it to be hellish, given the amount of stuff I need to do (and still need to do, natch), but so far, so good. The gorgeous weather has helped me to focus, weirdly. It's easier to study and feel motivated when I'm warm rather than cold (especially when some of that studying can happen outside in 80 degrees of sunshiney happiness). Yesterday I got up at 4:30am to do some work. Turns out this really works for me. I'm going to take a nap anyway (that's just how I roll when I'm home), so it makes sense to make up that time somewhere. And the house is lovely and quiet that early, so I get a lot done.

Anyway, I'm blabbing on, but I just wanted to check in. Fingers crossed that I get it all done... I will, right? It all gets done eventually. I should really go get some stuff done, though. I hope your week is restful and productive, wherever you are!

real life is for march

It’s 10:40pm on Leap Day as I write this, and I’m trying to tenaciously cling to the last few hours of February that I can. Did any of you happen to catch last week’s 30 Rock about Leap Day? I hope so, because it was a) hysterical, and b) weirdly inspiring. The premise was that Leap Day is a holiday in which real life rules are magically suspended, an attitude expressed best by Liz’s boyfriend: “It’s Leap Day! Real life is for March!” Ain’t that the truth, James Marsden, not because Leap Day is so magical, but because March will be the realest of real. What’s that saying people have about March? “In like a lion, out like a b***”? Yeah... it’s going to be like that.

Before I explain why March will be so busy, I should note that a lot has happened over the past two months in terms of work and school (remember my resolution to blog 10 times a month? Yeah... still working on that one). To sum up:

• In January I was offered a position as a research assistant with one of the professors in my department. The offer was for fifteen hours a week, which is kind of a lot, actually, but I still wanted to be able to keep my other two jobs. Consequently, I now work 15 hours a week for Alex, three hours a week at the Writing Center, and four hours a week for Kid Power. It’s a lot, but I value all three positions for different reasons and I’m grateful I was able to keep my foot in the door. Doors.  
• Also, my research position has given me an office! I share it with four other people, but that’s okay... that’s just how the GW English Department rolls. Almost nobody else ever uses it, which is good, since I’m in there all the time.
• I’m starting to hear back from graduate schools! I apologize for being a little cagey about this, but without knowing who reads this blog I don’t want to reveal too much. Suffice it to say that I’ve received one offer of admission and I’m wait-listed to TWO other schools, and all three options are really exciting. I only have one school left to hear from (unless you count the schools at which I am wait-listed, which I guess you probably should). I’ll keep you posted.  
• I’m taking two classes, an English class called “Screening Shakespeare” and an Art History class about medieval manuscripts, and I like them both.
• Over the past weekend I spent a LOT of time putting together a grammar workshop for my writing center coworkers, which I presented this week. It is, if I say so myself, kind of awesome, and you can find it here.

So that’s what’s been happening. Here’s what’s going to happen in March:

• Spring Break is in a little over a week! Woot! Of course, that sounds relaxing until I consider the rest of the list.
• In mid-March I’ll be flying with a bunch of other GW folks to the International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts in Orlando. It will be four full days of hanging out in conference rooms listening to interesting people talk about interesting things (and some pool time, obviously).
• The very next week I’ll be flying again to the school at which I’ve been accepted to tour the campus and see what they have to say.
• I’ll be working with two writing center folks to do another presentation, this time on disciplinary conventions. This will be as boring as it sounds, probably.
• Most importantly, I'll be trying to prepare for all my looming deadlines, such as my master's portfolio (April 1st); my final papers (May something something); two presentation (due to a scheduling glitch, both on April 11th); and the graduate school decision (April 15th). Yowza. 

Anyway, that’s what’s new with me. Fare thee well, February. March, bring it on.  

And I'll work on that blogging thing... I promise. 

happy valentine's day!

In spite of all the very good reasons to hate Valentine's Day, I love it. I've always loved it, even when I was single. Sorry.

This year, what with the V-day falling on a Tuesday and all, we're taking it really easy. I made chicken pot pie for dinner (see above, and marvel) and now we're going to watch Sunday night's Downton Abbey and eat this tart. I hope your day was similarly lovely and exactly what you wanted it to be. V-day for the win!!!

little thank yous

Dear iPhoto,
Thanks for allowing me to come across old photos I'd forgotten I'd taken, like this picture of a Scrabble game I played with Ross. Looks like we were really rocking the w's: Tweed. Trawl. Wink. Cowl.

Dear Mom and Dad,
Thanks for spelling my name so weird. Even though people misspell it all the time, it comes in handy when I want a simple email (haylie@gwetc., for instance).

Dear Deweys,
I know it was a while ago now, but I had a really good time with all of you at Christmas. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of the family.

Dear Illuminated Manuscripts class,
Thanks for making The Secret of Kells even more interesting and awesome than it was before (among other things). For instance, I totally know what the Chi-Rho page is now.

Dear gossip,
If indulging in you is wrong, I don't want to be right. Thanks.

Dear Lorin and Asenath,
Thanks for the angry birds catnip pig you brought Creature the other night. She cuddled up with it today and it was killer adorable.

Dear Teecino,
Thank you for existing (and intertextual thanks to Charlotte for introducing me to you). I don't know what I'd do without my daily dose of fake coffee.

Dear self, 
Thanks for forgetting the iPod today. It really made me realize how addicted to it I am, and how much better... 

Dear iPod,
Thanks for always being there for me, loaded up with "This American Life" and "Fresh Air." I'm sorry I left you behind. I miss you.

Love,

Haylie

laurel

Now that we've lived in our town for well over a year, I think it's time that you (my readers) and it were introduced. We live in Laurel, MD. Our town straddles Howard (good schools), Anne Arundel (okay schools), and Prince George's (bad schools) counties. We live in the Prince George's section. Fact: Several of the hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 (Pentagon) stayed in Laurel prior to 9/11, so, you know. That happened. Thanks Wikipedia.

My point is that Laurel is definitely a mixed bag, but we actually live in a great area with a lot to recommend it. Exhibit A is the Patuxent River, which run directly behind our house. During the winter, when the leaves are down, I can see it from my desk. The river has a trail which runs along it and which is probably my very favorite thing ever.

Aaaaand the river in winter:

Besides geese (and goslings!), we've seen woodpeckers, cardinals, kingfishers, turtles, deer, and fawns near the river. Also, this big-a**, terrifying spider web.

Yikes. 

We live on "Laurel's Historic Main Street," which sounds charming and mostly is, although it's seen better days. Every year Laurel stages a huge festival with food and music and a parade, and it's literally outside our door. Which is pretty cool. 

My other favorite thing about where we live, without question, is the library.

You know that silly book and blog, Stuff White People Like? Well, as it turns out, I really like books that white people like. Because of that, and because our library is just generally underused, books I would have to wait weeks for in Portland I can get immediately here. It's pretty cool.

Anyway, that's Laurel! We like it.

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.

2011 in review

Happy 2012! Every year, I try (oh boy, is that ever a key word) to post a year in review. By try, I mean that I created such a post for 2009 and began, but never finished, another such post for 2010. Ah, well. But here it is, 2012, a new beginning, and here, for your reading pleasure, is 2011 in review.

January began, not very auspiciously, with some winter blues and sleepiness.

We also saw (and loved) The King's Speech, Creature had a seriously unfortunate poop explosion, and this incredibly charming thing happened.

In February, Miss Kathayoon Khalil and I started a design blog (still going strong!), Creature helped us celebrate Valentine's Day, and Mr. Chris came to town!! (Please excuse the poor quality of this photo. It was dark).

In February, I also officially became a vegetarian. It's been good. 

In March, I presented at my first ever conference, Ross was in the midst of reading the Harry Potter series in Polish, I wrote some acknowledgements, and we had some more friends come to town:

We also celebrated Earth Hour by playing candlelit boardgames, which was lovely. 

In April we went to the cherry festival, I wrote (a lot) and I traveled to Salt Lake City for a conference and to see my family. 

We also broke ground on a garden we made with some dear friends. 

In May, we had an amazing day with yard sales and good stuff, I didn't blog (at all), I started my wretched job, and best of all, we went to Charleston and Savannah! 

There were also ducks in May. 

In June I missed the zoo, and hated my job (although Creature liked the materials end of it):

Also in June, Ross' brother and family moved away. June sucked. 

July was awesome, though! In July we went camping near Harper's Ferry and got our Civil War reenactment on.

My birthday was (and remains) in July, and Ross took me here for an amazingly delicious dinner and then surprised me with tickets to Harry Potter. Which was awesome. 

August was busy! We drove to Chicago to visit Ross' grandparents and got to see the city from Joe's boat. (Can you find Ross-first picture-and the two of us?) 

For Ross' birthday I staged a scavenger hunt, and Ross' obsession with plants hobby began to really take off. 

Oh, also, there was a hurricane which wasn't, really. Not for us, anyway.  

I didn't blog at all in September or October because I am the worst. Also, because I was trying to be super student. But we still did stuff! 

In September we went to the National Arboretum...

and I went to the National Book Festival... 

In October, we spent our second anniversary in New York. 

Also in October, Ross gave me the best present I've ever been given. I'll try to blog about it soon (it will require me to come to a better place with our scanner). 

Also also in October, we celebrated Halloween with our new friends, Katie and Evan. I went as a fox...

Ross went as three hole punch Jim. I didn't get a picture of Ross, but this is kind of what he looked like:

In November I went to a really boring conference (but at least it was in Miami)...

we hung out in DC...

and we drove Shenandoah with our friend Chris. Can we talk about Shenandoah for a second, by the way? People here LOVE it and think it's the most amazing thing ever, but the three of us--spoiled Northwesterners all--were somewhat unimpressed. Anyway, here are some pictures:

In December I wrote like a madwoman for a while, and then we left for Portland, where we visited beloved people...

(Next two photos by the fabulous Nicole Dewey)

and places...

It was the best.

Since we've been home (January bonus!!!), we've been doing a whole lot of blissful, wonderful nothing. Lots of movies, lots of books, and lots and lots of food. Last weekend the weather was incredible, so we went rollerblading at a park near the University of Maryland. It was, as the kids say, "rad." 

Happy New Year!