Good book alert

I’m reading Kathryn Stockett’s The Help right now, and you should be, too. It reminds me a bit of To Kill a Mockingbird, not just because of its southern setting, but because it so effortlessly conjures its atmosphere for the reader. I’m only a few chapters in, and I can feel like what it was like to live in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. Even if I don’t really know, I feel like I know, and that comes from skillful writing. The book has three voices, and they all feel authentic. Stockett, like Harper Lee, grew up in the south and she’s just writing what she knows. The old adage was right. This is a great book.

I’m nervous for the film adaptation, but since it’s being directed by Stockett’s childhood friend (her own Capote, perhaps?), I’m hoping it’ll do the book justice.

Happy Thankfulness!

If you're in the mood to guffaw...

Warning: This video does contain some profanity, but my mom rarely reads this blog anyway. And I literally spit fortune cookie all over my computer screen when I watched this.



"Are they fair trade?"

Oh man, I am already sick of this.

The thousands of flashbulbs exploding in your face right now are telling you to run while you still have the chance. Run, girl!

So, it's been what? Two days? And already I can't take any more. These two are everywhere. The CNN front page, Yahoo, Entertainment Weekly. I can't escape them. It's like they're coming for me in my sleep.

And the worst part? It will never be over. There will be the wedding, the first baby, the naming of the first baby, the throne inheritance issues should the first baby be female, the rumors, the paparazzi hunts, the eventual coronations... it's the news cycle that ate New York.

There. Is. No. Escape.

Industrious Weekend Round-up

The results are in!

1. Pick one thing from the crafty projects list and make it.
Done: Pretty paper boxes.


2. Go grocery shopping.
Done: And I'm all stocked up.

3. Start going through Real Simples and razoring out pages to keep because it’s ridiculous to hold on to all these magazines for just a few articles.
Done: I got through four years' worth, but I still have about five more years to go.

4. Hang my new bookshelves.
Fail: The place I planned to put them fell through and now I'm just not sure where to hang them.

5. Clean the whole apartment really, really well.
Done: And it looks awesome.

6. Organize bedroom closet.
Done: It's now my favorite spot in the house. I just stand in there and stare.

7. Organize bathroom cupboard.
Done: I also stare at this.

8. Make some embossed stationery and mail it to my prayer partner from church.
Done: I delivered it to her in person this morning.


9. Measure for and order mats for the maps I’m framing.
Done: And I can't wait to hang them.

10. Start making the super-secret awesome homemade gift I’m making for Jules for Christmas.
Done: But I can't show you any photos of it.

11. Make some more Christmas cards.
Done: And I took Aunt Linda's advice and chucked the plan to make no two alike. Because I believe in making life as easy on yourself as possible.


12. Cook something delicious.
Done: Man, it was so good.

13. Go through cookbooks to see if any should be donated to Goodwill.
Done: I donated four.

14. Drop off cookbooks and items from closet at Goodwill.
Done: I love the drive-through drop off point at the Goodwill. Brilliant.

15. Etch something made of glass with my new glass-etching cream.
Fail: Apparently you need vinyl templates as well as the etching cream. Don't have them, so this didn't happen.

16. Hang my new curtains.
Fail: I needed my dad's super-heavy-duty drill to drill through the plaster in my living room, and I didn't get it 'til this afternoon. I'll do this at some point this week.

17. Read at least 100 pages in my book.
Done: I read 115 and I'll probably finish the last 50 tonight.

18. Winterize the window with the AC.
Fail: I didn't have the indoor cover for the AC, but the outside is covered.

19. Go for a walk each day and enjoy the sunshine and mild weather.
Done: What a gorgeous, sunny weekend!

20. Start working on the Cousin Christmas CD.
Done: The info is in the spreadsheet and ready for layout, and the songs are loaded into iTunes.

21. Sleep in on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It is the weekend, after all.
Done: Was there ever any doubt?

Industrious Weekend was fantastic. My list was a little too ambitious, but I think that pushed me to get more done. And I did spend one evening with friends, eating dinner and playing games, but I have no regrets spending some time that way. I'm going to try to do an Industrious Weekend at least once a quarter.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look at my bedroom closet again.

Read it and weep, James.

For number 12 on my list (cook something delicious) I chose this recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's website. Grandma turned me on to her recipes and I am so glad because this pasta recipe is awesome. I picked this one because it uses lots of fresh ingredients that I love, like tomatoes, basil, and garlic. Yum.

I'm so happy I made enough for lots of leftovers, because this recipe is flippin' delicious! Number 12 is officially crossed off. What do you think about that, James?

I also tackled number 7: organize bathroom cupboard. This is the "before" picture of my cupboard. I feel like you can't really get an idea of how hideous it is, especially that middle shelf. There are layers and layers of crap just tossed in there.

And here is how it looks now. Nothing like being able to actually see the stuff in your cabinet. I had no idea, but now I know I'm low on toothpaste, conditioner, and, horrifyingly, Burt's Bees lip balm.

I also went grocery shopping and now I'm off to take my walk before tackling some cleaning and some crafty projects.

So it begins

Today I tackled what was undoubtedly the biggest item on my list: number 6: Organize bedroom closet.

It took most of the day, however, I did sleep in pretty late since I didn't get to bed 'til after 3:00 AM because Game Night with the work friends went until 2:30 and what the crap are we in high school or something? That was nuts. But back the closet. It's done! Also, I read 20 pages of my book, took a lovely walk in the sunshine, went through my cookbooks, and started going through my Real Simples, so I think I'm doing pretty well on my list.

I didn't take a before picture of the closet because it was just too appalling, but just imagine something from that A&E show about hoarders. Here is the after:


My walk-in closet is walkable once more. (Yeah that's a flapper costume and a witch dress on the left.)

And just to give you an idea of how hideous it was before, I pulled out ten bags of stuff to donate and four bags of stuff to trash. I have no idea where it all came from. Probably a hefty portion of it came from the 90s.

Tomorrow: the bathroom cupboard!

Industriousness will abound

Tomorrow is a federal holiday so I‘m taking Friday off and giving myself a long weekend. During this weekend, I am determined to be super industrious. In order to ensure that, I’m posting my To Do list here, so that when I get the urge to sit down and watch an episode of Castle on my DVR, I will be dissuaded from that course of action by the terror of failing publicly on my To Do list. (And Castle is a really good show.) So, you’re keeping me honest just by reading this post. Good for you.

Here’s the list. Yes, it’s long and ambitious, especially considering the effort involved in numbers 5, 6, and 7. And 12! Am I mad? A little, yes, but you know what Norman Bates says about that.*

1. Pick one thing from the crafty projects list and make it.

2. Go grocery shopping.

3. Start going through Real Simples and razoring out pages to keep because it’s ridiculous to hold on to all these magazines for just a few articles.

4. Hang my new bookshelves.

5. Clean the whole apartment really, really well.

6. Organize bedroom closet.

7. Organize bathroom cupboard.

8. Make some embossed stationery and mail it to my prayer partner from church.

9. Measure for and order mats for the maps I’m framing.

10. Start making the super-secret awesome homemade gift I’m making for Jules for Christmas.

11. Make some more Christmas cards.

12. Cook something delicious.

13. Go through cookbooks to see if any should be donated to Goodwill.

14. Drop off cookbooks and items from closet at Goodwill.

15. Etch something made of glass with my new glass-etching cream.

16. Hang my new curtains.

17. Read at least 100 pages in my book.

18. Winterize the window with the AC.

19. Go for a walk each day and enjoy the sunshine and mild weather.

20. Start working on the Cousin Christmas CD.

21. Sleep in on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It is the weekend, after all.

*“We all go a little mad sometimes.”

I love this week!

This is the one week of the year that I do not have trouble getting up in the morning (unless you count things like Christmas week, during which I have no trouble getting up but only because I'm sleeping 'til 11:30.) The time change has tricked my body into thinking I'm sleeping an extra hour, and the sunlight that floods my bedroom each morning beats my alarm clock to the punch. I awake feeling rested and peaceful. This is the closest I will ever come to understanding what it's like to be a morning person.

Soon it will all end, and I will once again be filled with loathing and spite as my alarm blares in my ear like the sirens that went off during the London blitz. But for now, I'm going to enjoy it. Man, it is so sunny.

Conversations about genocide and offal meats

So, I was talking with two guys from work: Matt, who is a vegetarian and vocal about it, and Chris, who loves every food that once had a mother. The end of the conversation went thusly:

Chris: You realize you're knocking your German heritage by ripping on things like Scrapple?
Matt: It's disgusting.
Ali: Well, there's a lot in our German heritage that we're not so proud of.
Matt: Yeah, you want me to bring you some blood sausage?
Ali: I was actually thinking of the Nazis, but blood sausage works, too.
Matt: Oh.

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