Monday, June 21, 2010

and so it begins


As I write this, it's almost 10pm. For the last hour and a half Ross and I have been sleeping on the couch. Apparently, Tiger Camp (Haylie) + A continuing and mysterious cold (Ross) + One bowl macaroni-and-cheese (Annie's) = Enough to do us in entirely. And no wonder: today was the first day of summer camp, and it was both delightful and eventful. Favorite quote of the day:

Female Tiger camper, said with no trace of giggling or discomfort, in reference to the male Mandrill: I see his penis.

Could be.

This same camper, one of the most petite and ladylike girls in class, also sweetly and proudly announced when she was about to fart.

Could be.

In other news, I am HUGELY grateful for my incredibly amazing staff. I anticipate wonderfully mellow and easygoing things from Tiger B. BRING IT, summer camp. Tomorrow, though. Right now I'm going back to bed.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

signs that maybe you're not meant to be a hipster biker

Remember that time I got in a bike accident and made such a big deal about it? Yeah... turns out that maybe wasn't as big of a deal as I thought. Full story when I can type with both hands (and please note that I'm okay). Bikes + Rain + Me = Double-Plus Ungood.

Monday, June 7, 2010

ross, mr. collins, and me


Two recent moments of perfect happiness:

1. Today, as I stood barefoot on the warm pavement of our deck with Ross, eating the very first harvest of snap peas in our "garden" while Creature jumped around chasing bugs.

2. Last night, as the previously mentioned Ross and I cuddled on the couch watching the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice and geeking out over Jane Austen's boundless comic genius.

Friday, June 4, 2010

a creature by any other name

Hello all. Quick update: last night's mystery date was to Dance United, a collaborative work featuring Oregon Ballet Theatre, the Miami City Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet, the Australian Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. It was delightful (particularly the pieces by Joffrey and San Francisco), although not quite as good as Dance United 2009. Thanks, Ross. You did good.

In other news, my dear friend Amanda mentioned me on her blog, and I thought I'd return the favor, by which I mean that her blog inspired a topic, and I decided to run with it. Amanda talked about the "illustrious triple spoon," a spoon involving herself, her boyfriend (whose name is emphatically not Greg--sorry about that, yet again) and their cat, Lily. Ross and I also enjoy the triple spoon, which has led to Creature receiving the nickname of "the littlest spoon," or the "teaspoon." Anyway, that was a very long introduction to the topic of this blog, which is the many (nick)names of Creature the Cat.
  • Creet Because it sounds like Creature. Obviously.
  • Goober, Nerd, Weirdo and Turkey Because sometimes she's a goober, a nerd, a weirdo or a turkey.
  • Whore Cat This is Ross' favorite.
  • Russian Satellite We like to call her Turkey (see above), which one day turned into Turkmenistan, which turned into Russian Satellite. It's really nerdy in here. You have no idea.
  • Fetcher This is Ross' second favorite.
  • Insert-word-here-Face Foodface. Hungryface. Sleepyface. Kissyface. Sometimes even cuteface.
  • Lady Because that's what she is.
Creature, thanks for giving us (Haylie) so much joy and laughter and for not being hurt by all of the horrible things we (Ross) call (calls) you. You're the best. Stay forever.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

mystery date

Ross is taking me on a mystery date tonight. This absolutely thrills me. I thought we were going to The Lion King, but lo and behold, it doesn't start for another two weeks (and besides, we have tickets for July). So I have NO IDEA. What could it be? Shuffleboard at the bar? A movie date at the Fox Tower Theater (Ross' favorite because of the pretzels, my favorite because it shows documentaries and artsy foreign films)? I have no idea!

Oh, surprises. What would life be without you?

Friday, May 21, 2010

the week of living resolutely, day 5


So I think quick reminder is called for. This week I have pledged to try my hardest to keep the following seven resolutions:

1. Drink enough water
2. Wake up early
3. Write
4. Exercise
5. Eat less sugar
6. Be on time
7. Restrict napping

I've been doing pretty well all week and have been especially diligent, for some reason, about drinking enough water. But today, bruised and scraped and stiff and sore, I decided "to hell with it." I spent all day reading a book called Just Do It! and watching "Pretty Woman." I did not wake up early, I didn't really write, I dumped a liberal amount of sugar into my tea, and I wasn't late to work only because I called in sick. In fact, I didn't really accomplish anything. But I didn't take a nap, I drank an awful lot of water, and I took a much-needed break for my bruised and broken bod. So you know what?

Day 5 of The Week? RESOUNDINGLY RESOLVED.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

the week of living resolutely, day 4

So today was... interesting. I drank my water, wrote for a while, woke up early, ate hardly any sugar, took a nap (whatever), didn't need to be on time anywhere, and WRECKED ON THE BIKE (don't worry, Nicole: the bike is fine, and so am I).

Here's what happened. As you may have noticed, the weather was distinctly bipolar today. It rained, it was sunny, it hailed, it rained again, it was sunny again. And with each change of the weather I changed my mind about whether or not to take the bike out. Finally it was looking sunny enough that I decided to pedal to the library, where I checked out eight books, had a lovely time, and stayed so long that it started to rain again. "Fine," I thought. "No big deal. I'll just be careful." WRONG.

So I'm riding down 10th avenue and trying to stay to the right, which means steering in between the streetcar tracks, which is basically the worst idea in the universe. I know they're dangerous, and I'm paying careful attention, but when I go to change lanes one of my wheels slips on the slick tiles around the tracks anyway and I hit the street on my left side, scraping the heck out of my left elbow and--I think--hitting my head (which was mercifully wearing a helmet--thanks, Nicole!). I get up as fast as I can and, seriously shaken, wheel the bike to the curb. There is only one car behind me. The driver's name is Diana and she's riding with her sister. They stop and offered me a ride, which I accept in a babbling kind of way.

A true comedy of errors ensues as we try to figure out how to get the bike in the car. At first it's not going well at all, so I offer to get on the streetcar instead, which Diana's sister is a fan of but Diana herself won't allow. We can't figure out how to get the quick release wheel to come off (please remember that I'm really shaken up and not thinking clearly), so I call Ross as Diana enlists help from a man walking past. Between the three of us (Diana's sister is still in the car) we get the wheel off but then still can't figure out how to get the bike actually into the car. The lo and behold, our savior arrives, in the form of a somewhat fragrant (but very nice) drunken fellow who hoists it straight in and makes the rest of us look silly.

Anyway, that was a long story. The take-home message is that I'm okay, although with a seriously scraped-up elbow, the bike is okay, and you should never, EVER ride a bike on the streetcar tracks. Also, people are inherently good and happy to help when the situation arises. Also also, helmets save lives. The end.

Day 4 of The Week? Maybe not resolved, but definitely not wrecked.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

the week of living resolutely, day 3

Hello again, all. I just got home from the zoo and I'm TIRED so a quick update tonight. B first, thanks for the love. I really appreciate it.

Today went well. Ross and I actually got up mostly on time, even though neither of us slept at all well due to a more-than-usually noisy NW 23rd and darker forces which will be enumerated below. I was *basically* on time to both Girl Scouts and the zoo, and although I took a nap I did so with full intent and the knowledge that I was working an eleven-hour day. Because of this I wasn't able to take the bike out, but I'm not worried about it since we walk three to five miles every Zoo Snooze. I even almost drank enough water (I feel like walking in the rain made up for the missing moisture). Anyway, the point is that the Week of Living Resolutely continues well.

In other news, last night I made 44 clove garlic soup, which, while incredibly delicious, came with--I'll try to say this delicately--dire gastrointestinal consequences for both myself and the spouse. Hence both the long and sleepless night and my intense gratitude that nobody was coming over today. It was too delicious not to recommend, but consider yourself warned.

Quote of the day:

Haylie, to Ross, over the phone: Hey, baby. How's your bod?
Ross, to Haylie, over the phone: I am a Superfund site.

Day 3 of The Week: RESOLVED.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

the week of living resolutely, day 2

Day two of The Week began rather badly and looks to be ending rather well. Here's a quick reminder of my seven goals:

1. Drink enough water
2. Wake up early
3. Write
4. Exercise
5. Eat less sugar
6. Be on time
7. Restrict napping

Ross and I did not get up at our stated time of 7:00 and instead stayed in bed until 8:00, which meant he was late. I didn't get time to write today (besides right now), but I've had enough water, I didn't eat any sugar that I can think of (besides the sugar in the lemon curd I had for breakfast), and I wasn't late for anything (although this was because there wasn't anything for me to be on time for). However, these triumphs were somewhat marred by my utterly shameful fall off of the "restrict napping" wagon. I was pretty tired, so I decided to allow myself a quick catnap, which turned into two-and-a-half hours of sleeping insobriety. Yikes.

But this, like all good stories, is a story of redemption. Although ashamed by the nap debacle, I dragged myself out of bed and onto the bike, upon which I rode ALL. THE. WAY. to the zoo. For those unfamiliar with the area, this entails 3.6 miles of merciless vertical climbing. I am woman. Hear me roar.

Day 2 of The Week: RESOLVED.

Monday, May 17, 2010

the week of living resolutely, day 1

Image again borrowed (stolen) from here. I'm getting lazy.

I am a huge fan of resolutions. When I was in middle and high school I used to carefully write out a list of resolutions for the new school year every September, and I am a devoted New Year's resolutions maker. Most of all, though, I make weekly and daily resolutions. These are subtly different than to-do lists, somehow: "email Kathlene" might go on a to-do list (and is on my current one, as a matter of fact), while "drink 64 oz. of water" is a resolution. To-do lists are about accomplishing tasks. Resolutions are about doing things to become a better, happier, and healthier person. I make both constantly.

But I've been noticing something in the past few weeks--while my to-do lists change all the time, my resolutions are almost always the same. Drink more water. Write. Exercise. Simple stuff, really, but apparently I haven't been getting it. I've also been reading Gretchen Rubin's book, The Happiness Project, in which she decides to dedicate a year to doing small, measurable things to make herself (and, hopefully, by extension her family) happier. Inspired partially by this and partially by a giant confluence of other things, I have decided to make this week, May 17th through May 23rd, The Week Of Living Resolutely. For one week I'm going to try to actually do all those things I keep telling myself I need to do. I narrowed it down to seven basic things:

1. Drink enough water (defined as 64 oz., which is ludicrously hard for me to do)
2. Wake up early (defined on weekdays as somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30. I haven't decided yet for weekends)
3. Write (for at least half an hour a day. Blogging counts)
4. Exercise (for 30 minutes to an hour)
5. Eat less sugar (this has the pornography definition; I know too much when I see it)
6. Be on time (oh, gosh)
7. Restrict napping (to times that I pre-decide based on the events of the day; no more napping just because I'm bored)

Here's the thing--I realize how pathetic this sounds. I mean, "restrict napping"? Really? Yes, really. These are my little things. I share them with you simply because I'm hoping that in sending this out to the universe that I'll feel more inclined to actually stick with these resolutions. Ross is also joining me in some points of The Week of Living Resolutely (specifically, getting up early and eating less sugar).

Now for the check-in. Today went well, actually. I drank my full 64 oz. of water, which seems like nothing short of a miracle. Spouse and I got up at 7:30, I'm writing now, and I took THE BIKE up to Washington Park (Dear Nicole: Thanks so much for the loan!). I only put two sugar cubes in my tea, as opposed to my usual... actually, let's just keep that number to ourselves. I was almost on time to Girl Scouts, and I didn't take a nap.

Day 1 of The Week? RESOLVED.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

jai ho

Photos from today's Bollywood-inspired fashion show. Excuse the profusion of pictures starring myself, but it must be said that I felt pretty darn beautiful. Has anyone, ever, invented an item of clothing that is more flattering and feminine than the sari? I think not.


My escort was named Noah and is in the second grade. But he assures me that he's very advanced.



Friday, May 14, 2010

lovely lovely day


It was at least 80 degrees here today. All our windows are still open and it feels like we're in the midst of a giant party because of all the carrying-ons below. Portlanders really know how to enjoy nice weather. Ross got home early today and we went for a picnic at Jamison square followed by a v-e-r-y long walk and a short nap at home. It was perfect, or nearly so (of course I had to get all nervous about something, but no matter now). I hope your day was as lovely.

Tomorrow I'm modeling (!!!) for a friend in an ethnic Indian fashion show. Pictures to follow.

Love and sunshine,

Haylie