Let’s pretend it hasn’t been almost a year since I did this, and that it hasn’t been forever and a day since I posted here, okay? I figure this is the easiest way to get back into blogging. With no further ado:
1. Starburst jellybeans
2. Making up after an argument
3. Emailing with my sister during the work day. I’m so damn lucky to have her.
4. Non-alcoholic beer
5. Comfy shoes
Hi.
Y’all, I don’t know if I am tired of blogging or busy or just in a down phase or WHAT, but I am sorry that I keep leaving y’all hanging. (You know, as though you have been hanging onto my every word and waiting with bated breath for me to post again…). Since we last met, I have: (1) hosted another baby shower, with perfect timing since my friend went into early labor and welcomed her baby girl into the world a few short days later! (mommy and baby are fine); (2) procrastinated on studying for the Praxis exam (required for admissions into my grad school program) and then studied like a maniac for a week so I could re-learn The Evil Math; (3) took the Praxis exam and got my scores to the Math and Reading Comprehension sections immediately (I did very well) but have to wait on the Writing, which, hilariously and embarrassingly, I think I bombed; (4) messed up, about 10 times, the shawl I am knitting for my friend’s wedding, so that I now am frantically knitting so I can finish it before her big day, which is Friday; (5) did karaoke; and attempted to bathe my dog but got totally soaked myself instead. Needless to say, I have been busy.
To make up for my absence, I am posting here my list of 100 Small Things in which I find grace. Enjoy!
100 Small Things
1. Waking up in the middle of the night and feeling hot, then flipping my pillow over and feeling that cool, crisp, unused side of it and falling quickly back asleep.
2. My dog Chester’s feet. If you want to know why, go find a dog and smell his or her paws. They smell like a combo of Fritos corn chips and popcorn, and I think that’s the cutest thing in the world.
3. The act of dumping a giant pot of pasta into a colander – with the steam coming up from the water and the satisfying plop as that clump of noodles hits the plastic. This is less delightful if I’m wearing glasses (due to the fog factor).
4. Grand pianos. They are magnificent. And yes, giant pipe organs are magnificent, too, but grand pianos are more subtle about it.
5. The smallness of the world now that Facebook is a part of it. Seriously, one of my more recent FB friends is my 4th grade teacher. Considering that I was in 4th grade in 1984, that’s pretty cool.
6. Knitting. Some may think knitting is spinster-ish and quaint, but I do not care. It is immensely satisfying to spend some time doing small variations on two simple stitches and end up with a garment of some sort. I have been knitting for 5 years now and I still marvel at the fact that “oh my gosh, it WORKED!”. It’s amazing what you can do with two sticks and some string.
7. People who do ridiculous, obsessive things – like that Julie girl from Julie & Julia who made every recipe in the Julia Child cookbook in one year, and that Year of Living Biblically guy. I don’t care if it’s a publicity stunt or if it’s something done just to get a book deal – that kind of dedication is simultaneously admirable, hilarious, and absurd.
8. Martha Stewart. You guys can have Rachael Ray – give me Martha any day.
9. This roasted rack of lamb recipe. It’s not hard to make, yet it tastes better than many meals I’ve had in highly-ranked restaurants.
10. Pick-your-own fruit farms, and the fact that I married a dude who likes those, too. I think it might be a bit quirky of us, but we have picked all sorts of fruit together and then brought it all home so I could make (or attempt to make) pies out of it.
11. Speaking of pies, let’s all bow down to the perfect key lime pie – which to me requires a graham cracker crust, a very tart bottom layer, and good old-fashioned merengue. (none of this fancypants nouveau cream for me, thanks).
12. Floaty pens. If you don’t know what one is, here’s an example. I started collecting them when I went to Europe the first time (they were cheap and fit in a backpack) and I still hunt for them wherever I go.
13. Donating money or time to charities when you know that your money and/or time aren’t being spent on the next over-the-top banquet fundraiser event. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – I’d just prefer to see my time and money used in a more quantifiable way.
14. The words “sparkle”, “kerfuffle”, “filibuster”, “perplexing”, “whisker”, “puddle”, and “debacle”. And “galoshes.”
15. All of these probiotic frozen yogurt places that are popping up around here. They are so delicious and I can convince myself that they are also healthy.
16. Speaking of debacles: the debacle that was a Norwegian feminine hygiene product company’s ad campaign during the Nagano Olympics (it involved a maxi pad with a red dot on it so it would look like the Japanese flag.) I can’t help but laugh at that kind of stupidity.
17. Sleeping with my cat snuggled up to my head.
18. The Doxology. I am not the most religious or churchgoing of Facebookers, but I find a lot of peace in that song/prayer.
19. Goofily singing the Peanut Butter & Jelly song (from my days as a Girl Scout) to amuse my niece and nephew
20. The names of OPI nail polish colors, like “Not Really a Waitress” and “Grape Wall of China”.
21. Midday naps
22. The smell of pipe tobacco. Even though it has been ages since my dad smoked a pipe, I still think of him whenever I smell it.
23. Butternut squash soup.
24. Pumpkins, in all their fat, jolly glory.
25. My steadfast refusal to stop wearing Birkenstocks even though there are more fashionable comfortable shoes on the market that don’t make people presume I’m a lesbian.
26. Playing silly made-up card games with my niece.
27. Snow. The Florida girl in me will forever feel like snow is something magical and worthy of celebration.
28. Nice table linens.
29. Glorious, luxurious yarn.
30. The Wissahickon Valley Park. It’s one of my favorite things in Philadelphia and is a true gem.
31. People who call toilets “commodes”.
32. Meeting interesting people
33. Going to concerts, preferably with my sister. She’s my favorite live music buddy.
34. 30 Rock. I think it’s hilarious.
35. The person who emailed an acquaintance of mine who works for the Destin Chamber of Commerce, asking if sharks are poisonous.
36. Chili cook-offs.
37. Occasionally kicking it old school by writing an actual letter – preferably on high quality stationery.
38. Saying things like “kicking it old school” and “whatevs” and “dude”, as though I were some sort of hip person when really I am just a dork.
39. This picture. Or this one. I can’t decide which is my favorite.
40. The sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing everything on a to-do list.
41. Theme parties.
42. Breaking the apple pie curse! (Long-ish story: the first time I made an apple pie completely from scratch was about 6 years ago, and it turned out perfect. After that, every subsequent attempt – and there have been many – was a disaster…until last night.)
43. My newfound love of brussels sprouts and beets. I used to hate all vegetables (except corn and potatoes).
44. My not-new-but-new-to-me watch. I’ve been needing one but never found one I liked, until Rob and I found this one at an antiques festival and it’s from the 1940′s. I love its style and the fact that winds up instead of running on batteries.
45. Figuring out the right career path for me after heading in the wrong direction for so long. My graduate school program to get my Master’s in Education (assuming I am accepted into it) begins in January! (How’s that for a FB announcement?)
46. Walking into a store or restaurant and hearing a song I’ve completely forgotten about but previously loved.
47. Rainbows. I know, I should probably include puppies, unicorns, and the color purple in here to properly sound like an 8-year-old girl.
48. Baby cuddles
49. The memory of the day that I surprised my Aunt Jane (not really an Aunt, more like a surrogate grandmother) by showing up on her doorstep one October night with a carved, lit jack-o-lantern. She was in her mid 70′s at the time, but as she stood there in her nightgown and laughed, I saw her as a little girl.
50. Lifelines. If you’re a knitter and you’ve ever done any lace knitting, you know what I’m talking about.
51. Coming home to a box of books from HarperCollins (I write reviews for them in exchange for free books).
52. My clothes steamer. I hate ironing, so the steamer dramatically improved my life.
53. BYO Club! It is a group of fabulous group of women (myself included) who dine at a different BYO restaurant once a month.
54. Actually, BYO restaurants! (I should explain. A BYO restaurant is one that does not have a liquor license and therefore lets customers bring their own wine. There are tons of great ones in Philly, so there is no shortage of new places to try in a variety of price ranges and cuisines.
55. Emails that make me laugh during an otherwise trying work day.
56. Karaoke.
57. Bands that use a lot of instruments that aren’t typical of rock music, like cellos and accordians and hurdy gurdies.
58. Being able to play all 7 tiles in one turn in Scrabble.
59. Taking the train. I love not having to sit in traffic every morning to get to work, I love not having to drive very often, and I love being able to read or knit during my commute.
60. Cheesily awesome movies like Another Cinderella Story, Center Stage, Au Pair, and other made-for-the-ABC-Family-Channel types.
61. Whenever any of my animals does something clumsy. The other day, Chester was busy looking at a train that was stopped on a trestle behind us and he walked himself into a telephone pole, and last night, Alex tried to jump up on the dining room table but didn’t quite make it. Heh.
62. My KitchenAid mixer.
63. Rediscovering coffee! I shunned it forever in favor of Diet Coke (which is still #1 in my book), but then Rob and I brought some back from Costa Rica and my friend Rosie made me find my coffee pot and in turn created a coffee-lover. I agree with her: the act of having a nice cup of coffee while puttering around in the morning is lovely.
64. I can’t deny that a brand new box of 64 crayons still makes me a little fluttery inside like it did when I was a kid.
65. XPN Free at Noon concerts (even though XPN broke my heart a couple years ago). They are exactly what they sound like: free concerts at noon. All you have to do is sign up early enough to get a spot, then show up at the station at noon that Friday. These aren’t tiny little unknowns performing, either – this Friday’s show is Los Lonely Boys.
66. http://www.mylifeisaverage.com.
67. The Muppets.
68. Seltzer water. I’m kind of obsessed with it.
69. Getting to know all my nieces and nephews. I have 26 of them on my husband’s side of the family, so with that many, it is taking time, but they’re all great kids.
70. New York City!
71. Costco
72. Getting a good bargain. I have a J.Crew raincoat that was regularly priced at $198 but I purchased it for $12.
73. Pink dogwood trees
74. Rocking chairs
75. The view of the sun’s rays peeking out from a hole in the clouds, so that the sky looks like I always imagined heaven would look like.
76. The farm stand that comes to my train station (which also happens to be underneath my office) every Tuesday.
77. Honeycrisp apples! They are the best!
78. Being in a sports bar when the local team wins an important game (go Phillies!).
79. Working very hard at something and seeing positive, tangible results of doing so.
80. Weddings. I’m a sucker for them.
81. The similarities between wild cats and domestic housecats. I get a little choked up when I see the tigers at the zoo bathing themselves the same way my Alex and Biscuit do.
82. Pedicures.
83. My neighborhood. Although the drunk college kids can be annoying at times, I love having a jogging/biking path, a bustling Main Street, and a dog park nearby.
84. Seat warmers.
85. Raking leaves. I know that sounds crazy, but there is something very Zen about it to me.
86. Board games. I recently bought this one on sale for $10, and I got the kid’s version to take down to the Shore house, too. It looks super-fun.
87. www.woot.com. It’s hit or miss, but you can find some really great deals! (that’s where I got the Dicecapades game). Today, you can get 75 Christmas cards for $4.
88. Doing nice things for people when they least expect it.
89. Making friends in strange places, like dog obedience school and the dog park and the yarn shop.
90. www.ravelry.com. It’s a knit-and-crochet-centric Facebook of sorts, but even better because it has patterns and discussion forums and all sorts of other things.
91. Cozy sweaters.
92. Choosing wine based on price and label-prettiness. My latest find is Layer Cake Malbec, on sale for $7.99 a bottle at the PA state stores.
93. Seeing Amish people in Lancaster County. Despite my feelings towards the Amish (just google “Amish puppy mills” and you’ll see what I mean), I’m still fascinated by them.
94. Smiling so much that my cheeks start to hurt.
95. Hugs.
96. The beaches in my home town. I’ve been to beaches all over the place (Hawaii, Italy, the Caribbean, California, Massachusetts, South Florida, Maine, Costa Rica, oh, and let’s not forget New Jersey…) and none of them compare to those in Okaloosa-Walton Counties.
97. Train station buskers. I even love the bad ones, because it takes a lot of guts to perform for a bunch of strangers!
98. Used bookstores. This is my favorite one in Philly, and I have a $60 credit there!
99. Google Maps – especially the version I downloaded onto my faux blackberry. So handy!
100. Avoiding political conversations with people who fall on a different side of the fence than I do.
Have y’all ever noticed that work-weeks that begin with a holiday often seem longer despite actually being shorter? To me they do. (See aforementioned pessimism. Ahem.) Suffice it to say that I am pleased as punch that it is currently 5:33 p.m. and my office closes at 6.
I am ridiculously tardy in announcing this, but my oldest friend has started an awesome food blog and if you are into food blogs, you should get into hers. You can find it here. I met Annemarie when I was a mere 2 and a half years old – that’s right, Sam, she beats you in longevity by half a year!. My parents were busy moving us into our new house in Annemarie’s neighborhood when they were interrupted by a knock on the door. My mom answered the door to find what I suspect was the world’s cutest six-year-old on her doorstep, who boldly announced, “Hi! I’m Annemarie! Do you have any kids for me to play with?” My mom said she did but that we were busy helping her unpack, but we could play with Annemarie the next day. And so we did – and every day after that. Our adventures with Annemarie were wild and varied: we formed a girls-only club, with an official color (purple) and the awesome name of The Cinderella Superstars; we had weeks-long marathon paper-doll extravaganzas; we fawned over the members of Duran Duran after we got a little older; she bears the honor of coining a nickname my family members still use for me (Larpa); and suffice it to say, I pretty much idolized her. She’s an incredible person and an amazing cook, and I still think the world of her all these years later. I suspect you will, too.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Mine will be filled with (hopefully) dresser and TV-buying, knitting, and a possible trip to my brother- and sister-in-law’s house to watch football (although, let’s face it, I’ll probably play games with my niece and nephew or just knit my heart out instead of paying any attention to that football nonsense).
Today’s Grace in Small Things:
1. Actually remembering my umbrella on this icky, rainy day.
2. Scoring tickets to the Pixies concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of their album, Doolittle (which is one of my all-time favorites!)
3. My sweet, sweet husband’s quick forgiveness of my event-scheduling-mishaps.
4. Consuming an appalling number of peanut butter M&M’s without (much) guilt.
5. A surprise phone call from my mom in the middle of the day.
I have really been neglecting the giant piles of books that are taking over my house these days, but I finally finished one that my pals at HarperCollins sent to me. The book is called I Shudder: And Other Reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey and is by Paul Rudnick.
I don’t quite know what to say about the book. I liked it, but didn’t looooove it – but I’m hesitant to say that because I’m beginning to suspect that I simply don’t looooooove any sort of memoir/collection of essays type of book, and I fear that my criticism is more one of genre than of the book itself. I chose this book partly because it’s fun to make fun of New Jersey (even though they DO sell beer, wine, and liquor all in one store as opposed to Stupid Pennsylvania) and partly because I figured that it was bound to be funny since the author wrote the screenplay for the movie In & Out and I laughed a lot in it. The essays in the book fit a few different categories: (1) general wit and wisdom; (2) anecdotes about famous people and making movies and plays and stuff; and (3) what I presume are fiction vignettes from the “diary” of a character named Elyot Vionnet. In general, I loved the essays that fell into categories 1 and 3 and found myself skimming those in category 2.
There’s no denying that Paul Rudnick is a funny dude, and his book makes me want to go back in time so I can participate in some of his escapades (most notably, I would like to attend the party his friend William threw at The Chelsea Hotel. I’d also like to meet William’s sister Laura), but I’d also be content just to have a drink with the guy one day. Anyone who subsists on treats like Peeps is pretty ace in my book.
***
In a complete shift of gears…
When I was in either 7th or 9th grade (I can’t remember which), some sort of motivational speaker dude came to my school. I remember very little about his speech other than the acronym he hammered into my young adult noggin: P.A.C.E., which stood for Positive Attitude Changes Everything!
I know. It kind of make me want to vomit, too. Here’s the rub, though: I think perhaps I should give it a try. I’ve come to the realization lately that I have really been looking at the dreary side of things lately when I don’t have that much to complain about. Sure, my job is ridiculous right now and I keep finding myself on the receiving end of such dire statements as, “If you don’t make a direct hire placement [translation: put an attorney in a permanent position with a big fat fee attached to it] soon, you’ll be out of a job” – but HELL, at least I still have a job, and I still have a job that ultimately isn’t that horrible. And I’m tired of letting that get me down.
SO. I think it’s time to get back to that Grace in Small Things project I was doing a while ago. I may not do it all official-like, where I go in and post my small things on the special Grace in Small Things website – that seems a bit overwhelming and high maintenance as I’m having a hard enough time posting over here on a regular basis lately – but I vow to at least attempt to write my little lists here. I am hoping that such positive thoughts will, indeed, Change Everything.
With no further ado:
Today’s Grace in Small Things:
1. My pretty pink argyle cashmere sweater that I’m wearing.
2. The fact that I ate coffee cake every day during my mom’s visit and still managed to lose 3 pounds.
3. This one girl that was in my sister’s grade when we were growing up who is now my facebook friend even though we really don’t know each other. She is always so funny and sweet and commenty on my page and I get the biggest kick out of her.
4. I’m almost finished with the body portion of my spiral sweater! (Here’s an example of what it will sort of look like, but with different yarn.)
5. A full commitment-free weekend ahead of me.
