life lately

also...

Because my old template is hopelessly out of date, I'm making some changes to the blog. I'm very much self-taught when it comes to these things, so let me know what you think!

inauguration 2013

Just some photos from the Inauguration. You remember... the one that happened in January? Ross stayed home (cold. crowds), but I braved the Mall and, in spite of bad weather and the masses of people and the incredible difficulty of getting home, I'm glad I did. It felt good to physically participate in a political event. It felt like what living in DC is for.

(Besides, we did vote for the guy :)

Expect more catching up-type posts in the near future. In the meantime, have a wonderful week!

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."

margaritaville

(Note: This is the final post in a series on our December roadtrip. See the whole epic journey, from DC to Austin to New Orleans to the Everglades to Key West and home, here)

Although Key West wasn't exactly what we expected (I think we expected a charming, small-town feel, whereas Key West is much more boozy and tourist), we really loved exploring it. We were there for three nights, and quickly established some habits, the most important of which was the sunset. 

Every night the tourists (and lots of locals, actually), gather at Mallory Square to watch the sun go down and ogle the cruise ship. My favorite (to my chagrin) was the Disney ship. I can't help it: I'm a child of Orange County, and while the characters and kitsch don't do much for me, I'm always impressed with Disney's attention to detail.  

Anyway. That was definitely a digression about Disney (alliteration!). Mallory Square always had lots of scrappy street performers. Also, note the mix of sweatshirts and short sleeves. It was that kind of weather.

Sunset #1!

One of the things Key West is known for is its wild chickens (Seriously: see this quirky website). Apparently the city is somewhat split on the chickens, and they have lots of fans and detractors. We were fans.

On our first full day we went to visit the Key West cemetery and came across a hen with eight (eight!) chicks. Obviously, we watched them for a long, long time, as these ten pictures probably indicate. You're welcome.  

(This next photo is my favorite)

At one point, Mama Hen decided it was time to settle down, and within less than a minute all nine chicks disappeared under her wings.

As you can imagine, Key West is colorful and beautiful (in a well-worn, beach bum kind of way). Although there's a lot to do in the town, at this point in our trip we were pretty tired, and I was still feeling pretty crummy, so we spent most of our time just walking. It was wonderful.

Sunset #2!

I call this rooster Paul Newman.

Our second full day in Key West was Christmas day! We celebrated by calling our families and reading in the sun by the heated pool. Let me just say, there are far worse ways to celebrate.

Sunset #3! My favorite sunset. Because of Christmas. And pirates.

After Key West, we drove up to Savannah where we ate at Cracker Barrel (because our roadtrip didn't feel complete without it) and spent a pleasant morning in the town. And then we came home! Our roadtrip was exhausting and driving-intensive, and I'm not sure it's something we'd do in the same way again, but we're both glad we did it. We saw parts of the country neither of us had ever seen before, ate some great food, spent time with and met some wonderful people, and saw some intimidating and charming animals. I even wrote a paper. All in all, it was a grand American adventure. 

of alligators and illness

(Hey! So, predictably, I'm a bit behind on blogging. But today is a "snow" day [more like a day when it was supposed to snow, and the city freaked out and canceled everything only to be totally embarrassed by a boring gray day], so I'm going to try to catch up. A little. First things first, I want to finish blogging about our amazing December roadtrip. This is post 3 out of 4: see the whole thing here)

After our super fabulous extended stay in New Orleans, we drove to the Everglades. And when I say "we," it's really important that you know that I actually mean Ross. I was finishing a paper, and so Ross drove for twelve hours while I typed away in the passenger seat. Obviously, Ross is amazing. Obviously, I'm really fortunate to have such a supportive partner. Now let's never speak of it again. It was a stressful day for both of us. 

After a sleepless (for me) night in Naples, and with my last paper of the term totally and completely done, we drove into the Everglades. One of the nice things about our roadtrip was that we were able to hit a bunch of different travel categories. Austin: Food. New Orleans: Culture. And the Everglades? Behold: nature.  

There were air plants (also known as bromeliads, natch) everywhere.

Just a bald eagle in its massive nest. No big deal.

Our second stop was alligator alley. We were hoping to see some gators in the Everglades, obviously, but we weren't really expecting to. Ahem.

Turns out, the gators in alligator alley are more than used to people. I like to think we maintaining a respectful distance, especially compared to some of the other visitor who were getting awfully close to these incredibly reptiles.

To be fair, it was hard to resist the urge to approach.

We spent the evening camping in the southern end of the park. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures of this, since at this point I was feeling extremely and mysteriously sick. It took me several days to solve the mystery. Turns out, staying up all night staring into a computer screen and eating veggie straws is a really good way to get seriously dehydrated. Whoops. After a day or two, I figured out what was wrong, got some Gatorade, and suddenly felt worlds better. In the meantime, I couldn't shake this fantasy that Ross would have to suddenly pull over the car and I would accidentally puke on a gator. Luckily, this didn't happen.

In spite of my stupidity-based illness, we both loved the Everglades. It's a truly special place, and I, for one, am grateful to the efforts of those who are trying to conserve this incredible ecosystem.

Next up: Key West!

2.14.2013

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

Love, 

Haylie, Ross, and Creature

♥

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.