please find me at tumblr.

is this sound okay?

lots of good people in this one.  and lots of good fashion, too.

things that have started to attract my attention

the crying habits of the neighbors' new baby

eyebrows

pick up trucks

joanna newsom

cookbooks

handwriting

thrift stores and the people who inhabit them




things that no longer attract my attention

headlines

women in this town who go to walmart in their pajamas, i mean loungewear

green bay accents

hallway screaming in the middle schools

meat

differences in shampoo quality

strange dreams

eleven things i love

1. north avenue beach. 

we used to walk there in the summertime.  i won't forget will and drew dragging the cooler full of beer, stopping frequently to drink some to lighten the load.

2. hanging laundry, and the beautiful color of this house.

3.  this birds-on-a-wire wall decal

4. this look.  (funky sweater, skirt with tights, and the camera looks beautiful too!)

5.  dearest neil.  an eternal favorite.

6. this minty blue nail polish

8. the beautiful sound of the sitar

9. these paintings by rosiemusic

10. riding in cabs at night

11. delicate dresses with dark tights

unsourced photos from weheartit

we are so wisconsin

here's our big block of frozen deer meat - obtained and donated by andy from will's work. 

as will's sister put it "the real free range meat."

and to the left is will's wedding ring, which he takes off when he helps me cook.

boiling potatoes while we cooked the venison with the onions and butter, carrots, corn and peas.

delicious?

pre-oven, assembled shepherd's pie

into the oven for a half an hour on 400.

i have no photos of the finished result.  picture the above with more of a golden brown look.  i think we were so eager to eat we forgot about the camera.  and i won't embarass my husband or myself by telling you how much we devoured in one sitting.  but it was really delicious and moist and only slightly deer-ish.

we'll add this to our list of nice dinners we've made using wild game from friends.  pheasant alfredo, venison stir fry, and now shepherd's pie with venison.  yum.  

look what i can do

i've decided to go back to school to get my general music certification.  i taught the subject in chicago for two years, but never had the official licensure (i'm a licensed instrumental music educator in wisconsin and in illinois).

this will open some doors and give me some new opportunities.  it gives me more utility, and it's going to make it easier for me to teach full time.

today:

• i tried cruise control for the first time while driving to work.  not bad.  i can see why people do it.
• i switched all of my students positions in the orchestra and was reminded once again how much whinier my 8th graders are than my 7th graders.
• i called uw-oshkosh, which brought me one step closer to a general music certification.
• i have a staff meeting, before which i plan to grab a soy cappuccino from starbucks with found dollars (source: dryer).
• i'll teach one, half-hour lesson before freedom.

have a wonderful, sunny, nearly tee-shirt weather day.

well at least

if there's not a reason to celebrate
you should look for one.

you can be calm for now.

(somebody else is driving)

you may discover

over tea and toast

that i'm not who you think i am.

today is a saturday that feels like a sunday, which is like saying i saw a sparrow that looked like a crow.  the thing is, it's been a long week of successes and mistakes.  incidentally, i've decided it's better to have just one category.  successes or mistakes.  what's hard is the combination.  you feel bad celebrating when you've spoiled it with something else that went wrong.  so you just sit in one place while your mind bounces between i can't believe i phrases and  well at least i ones.

well at least i'm healthy.

well at least i have will.

well at least i have a job.

tonight we go to the levines' for dinner and the company of the alexanders.  we'll bring our records back to their massive record library and come home with a lovely new batch.  i had a dream that i accidentally ruined all of the records we're borrowing right now.  that's the way i've been dreaming lately.

well at least i have my violin to play.

well at least i have all of my limbs.

there's always something to worry about.  the only thing i do about that is to stop feeling worried.

well at least it's sunny today.

[thankyouforreading]