Writing Marathon

Holy cow! This weekend was a paper writing marathon.

I had lots of help.

Moral support.

Somehow I managed to get them done and submitted. I have to admit the Astronomy paper was the most challenging research paper EVER. It was a lesson in humility. Consequently, I had a bit more empathy for my students who were in the same boat. Creative writing is so much easier for me. I average a page in about 30-45 mins for creative stuff. This technical, scientific stuff... 250 words per 2 or 3 hours. Hmmm...so if I start my next paper on Supermassive Black Holes now...I should be able to squeak out 15-20 pages by the end of November when it is due. Oy vey indeed!

Now I get to grade piles and piles of research papers. Boo!

This helps though. :)

Boggled

So I'm writing a paper in Astronomy on "The First Three Minutes" of the Universe. My mind is boggled and it's late.

"Is that even a word?" I wondered.

Hmm...let me verify.

Yup. Check it out:

Urban Dictionary: boggled

"When u have a lot of sh*t going through your head (Levi)."

Yep. Definitely boggled.

On Writing

In my quest to become a better writer, I've found a few helpful guides along the way. There have been great teachers who not only critiqued me, but encouraged and validated me as well. There have been great writers to inspire me and I am ALWAYS looking for ways to improve.

When I am in Barnes & Noble I always swing by the Writing section to see what catches my eye.

Here are a couple of books I've especially appreciated:

This one is actually a required text for my writing course this semester, but I saw it at B&N and thought I'd include it. Ann Lamott puts my mind at ease with her humorous approach to writing and helps me quiet the critics in my head in order to write freely.


One of my favorite tidbits from Bird by Bird is on silencing all the stifling mind chatter by pretending each voice is a mouse. "Pick it up by the tail and drop it in a mason jar. Then isolate another voice....Drop in any high-maintenance parental units, drop in any contractors, lawyers, colleagues, children, and anyone who is whining in your head. The put the lid on, and watch all these mouse people clawing at the glass, jabbering away trying to make you feel like shit because you won't do what they want...A writer friend of mine suggests opening the jar and shooting them all in the head. But I think he's a little angry, and I'm sure nothing like this would ever occur to you."

I laughed out loud when I read that. Any writer can appreciate that visualization. Plus, I like that she throws in a few curse words to keep things lively. I might just try that out.

The next book is about as indispensable as a thesaurus. I snagged this illustrated copy because it's much more chic than some of the other versions I've seen. Great art and writing tips. Yes, that is White, as in E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web and other delightful stories.

Isn't this cute? PW would be thrilled to see a basset hound on the cover.
Even though I consider myself a fairly decent writer, I know there are things I can do better. This book has a ton of reminders.

With all of that being said, I am thinking about posting some of my essays on a separate website. Several years ago I had a dream that I wrote a book called The Adventures of a Lost Soul. This website would likely be a petri-dish for said book. We'll see what, if anything, grows.

Best Invention Evah

OK, maybe not the best ever, but it sure popped into my life at a good time. This summer I purchased a cardigan from Anthropologie. This sweater cost way more than I would care spend on a non-cashmere item, but it was cute and flattering, and I bought it anyway. When this fantastic cardigan began to pill on the sides after only a few uses, I was disgusted, forlorn, and overall, considering swearing off Anthropologie forever.

Then, when I was at Old Navy this weekend, I was standing in line waiting to check out (jeans only $16?! Go!) I noticed this little gem.

It is the Sweater Saver. I already love this company for making double-sided tape to stop gaping on button up blouses, but I was still skeptical, and tossed it in my bag and figured I'd give it a shot.

Last night I tried it out on the pilling cardigan and it worked like magic. It's just a pumice stone, and it works way better than one of those little battery powered handheld pill shavers. I was stunned. It's definitely worth having one around.

They have them at Old Navy and it seems Bath and Body Works carries this as well.

Everyone should own one. (And seriously, go to Old Navy and buy 5 pairs of your favorite jeans in all different washes and lengths...$16 is ludicrous. I bought 2 pairs of the Sweetheart jeans in the skinny and bootcut regular fits and I am thinking of going back for more.)

Lil' Bit County & Rock N Roll

You know how there are some weekends you wish would never end? I just had one of those weekends. Dinner and wine in Dallas on Friday -- fence building Saturday-- and brunch with friends on Sunday. I can't think of a better way to spend the weekend.

Mmmm ginger and fig panna cotta at Urbano Friday night. It was divine. I only thought I the pumpkin ravioli filled me up. Luckily we split this beauty 3 ways, so it was just right.

And then we went to Veritas for a few drinks and enjoyed the beautiful fall evening on the patio. This photo was taken toward the end of the night. I am really digging my hair color right now. It's getting close to the much-coveted-yet-hardly-replicated Jennifer Anniston blonde. I can only hope.

And the fence is up! Thank goodness we only decided to fence in a small area of the yard. Living on black clay and limestone makes for laborious fence post-digging. We still need to figure out how we're going to embellish the gate, but the dogs are so happy to be able to run and play unleashed. It also makes our back patio feel more private and intimate. Wonder what deals I can find patio furniture this time of year.

That tiny little speck in the bottom left corner is Pheebs checking out her new doggie yard.

So I wasn't much help with the manual labor this weekend, but I did cook and serve as water girl (and I will stain the fence in the near future).

Apparently standing around in the sun all day wore me out because Joe and I were both in bed, asleep by 9:30pm on Saturday.

And, as if my weekend couldn't get any better, my dear friend Kim called this morning and invited us to brunch at Restaurant Ava in Rockwall. Joe had stuff he wanted to finish on the fence, so I went alone and met Kim, her college roomie, and our favorite Veritas wine guy, and we sipped mimosas and ate some yummy food.

The chef sent us a complimentary fritata while we waited for our food. I love stuff compliments of the chef. It makes me thankful to have well-connected foodie friends. I had eggs benedict with a poblano hollandaise, and it was slap-yo-mama good. There were many sighs of contentment. This place is big on local farm to table cooking, a trend that is catching on in the area, and one I hope continues. If you are ever in Rockwall, you should check this place out. It is worth the drive.

Life is good.

It's a Problem

Lately I've had to put Tim Gunn--my fabulous sewing machine, on the back burner and it hasn't been easy. I'm up to my eyeballs reading and writing papers for my graduate work (one class in writing Non-Fiction and the other in Modern Astronomy). Throw in teaching research to 10th graders and you will find me clutching my head, rocking to-and-fro and mumbling gibberish before it's all said and done. When I should be reading, or writing, or grading...I have this sick compulsion to stop what I am doing and start a new sewing project.

In fact, I had to drive down to my parents' house to get any school work done. Weekends at the casa are not conducive to study due to football season. Joe watches every dadgummed game that airs like a Vegas bookie. Now I like football, but I only care to watch my teams. Since my Horns are sucking it up this year, I root for the Frogs, too; but beyond that, I don't care.

Anyway, last night I was reading Steven Weinberg's book The First Three Minutes for Astronomy, and I remembered that I purchased several super cute appliques and had not tried them out yet.

Let me show you my stream of consciousness last night: First three minutes.....Hubble constant....light years...elementary particles...hmmm appliques...Kelvins...galaxies...omg the baby seal....must focus...redshifting galaxies...oh! and I have that minky fabric I need to use...hydrogen and helium.

Yes, I was thinking more about Applique Planet more than the origin of our planet. You see? It is a problem.

I really wanted to try out a new applique I bought, and I still had a couple of cloth diapers left for burp cloths. Does it get any cuter than a baby seal? How could I possibly focus on my reading with this little guy begging to be added to a burp cloth?

Oh! I finished the diaper cake. Ta-da! I found that zebra at Pier One and strapped him on there.

Mycousinamanda's baby shower went well. I am so glad I co-hosted with two others. Knowing me, it wouldn't have happened, so it was nice to work as a team to make sure all the bases were covered. Mattito's was the perfect space and so many wonderful people showed up. Let's just say that baby Maia is set when it comes to her wardrobe...though I did notice she only got one pair of shoes. Homegirl is going to need to do some serious shopping if she is going to keep up with her mama.

Still Tweaking It

I've been working on this stinkin' blog layout all. day. I think I'm just going to pay someone to update the facade next time since am grossly inefficient at it, but I kinda like how it turned out.

Urban Bazaar

Joe and I lucked into the Urban Street Bazaar in the Bishop Arts District when we decided on Cafe Brazil for brunch this morning. It is Etsy live. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. You should check. check. check it out.

It runs until 8 pm today and 12-4 tomorrow. 8th and Bishop in Oak Cliff.

They had such cute stuff and I should have taken pictures, but I collected business cards of my favorite vendors instead. But here's the link to all of the Urban Street vendors.




First there's this place: June Rose Designs.
I loved these earrings. Too bad my ears aren't pierced. She did have a matching pendant though. Hmmm.I thought these were cute, too.
Whimsical things make me happy. Weird whimsical things make me happier. Signifying Not made me want to dance a jig right in the middle of 8th Street. The shop had so much more than listed on the website. I especially liked this gentleman centaur print. They had it on baby-adult tees.

Another little tee shop that made Joe want to drag me in the opposite direction as soon as possible was Rainbow Swirlz. I envision mycousinamanda's sweet baby Maia in this little diddy.
And I would be remiss to not mention my favorite B.A.D. shop Shambhala Body Gallery. They have the best smelling candles. I like the obnoxiously strong Tyler candles with the best of them, but Shambhala has nice earthy scents like Mission Fig, Sequoia, and my all time favorite, Tomato Basil. The owner makes the all natural lotions, soaps, and candles and I think that's pretty cool. I spent a nice chunk of change in there today and now my house and hands smell divine.

I want to go back. Who's with me?!