Kate and Dan

A quick video I put together of my cousin Kate and her husband Dan's wedding on New Year's Eve 2011. Hope you enjoy!

Home is where the heart is

I spent three impromptu days at home in Chicago. They were wonderful. Mainly because I didn't do anything but hang with those I love. Then it was back to the grind of work and school in Minnesota. Two highlights: 1) One of my students told me I looked like Luke Skywalker. When I asked why, he responded, "Because you're wearing a belt." Classic. 2) I finished up grad classes for the semester. Hopefully that means Thirsty Thursday can commence. 

1. A cup of joe for my dad Joe. A beautiful mug from the maker Cat Studio.

2. My dog Lenny. The Marlon Brando of black labs. 

3. My darling grandma in her senior graduation picture in 1933 from Mercy High School in Chicago. The caption under her name says, "An Irish nose that wiggles expressively when she talks... optimistic philosopher." I'm not quite sure what that all means, but I like it. 

4. A close up of her - top right. 

71st Anniversary

Today would have been my grandma (Q) and grandpa's (Doc) 71st wedding anniversary. Good people. Real good people. My grandma always liked calla lilies. However, she did not like fake flowers. She thought they were tacky. One time she took the plastic flowers that were in a vase in the bathroom, down the toilet. Rebel. My grandpa liked to sneak cookies. He would put one finger up to his mouth and say "Shhhh" before my grandma walked into the room.

Also, when we'd be out to eat and he'd have a glass of wine, he'd say to the waitress, "Well, would you look at that. You brought me another glass with a hole in the bottom. Again, rebel.

When I'm Silly

Today and tomorrow my students are taking the math MCA (state standardized test for Minnesota). We've been doing something a little each day over the past week to pump us up for the test. Today we had a dance party to a pump up song. It... was... awesome. Watching a little 4th grader with severe bed head do the robot is a sight to see.

So the following is nothing like our mini dance party, but this dance party rocks on so many levels.

Extras = one of the best shows ever.

Spring Break

image via

I'm on spring breaaaaak! For a whopping 3 days. Party time! And by "party time", I really mean "napping time".

Minni Apple spring break 2012: Biking, Breakfast, Beer, and Bitchin' good times!

Today I sat on a porch chair much like this. It was wonderful. It wasn't so wonderful when four kids came over and kept pointing at it to their mother and I instantly felt like I had to be a kind adult and let the kids have the swing chair space. I smiled as I offered up the chair to the little ones, but on the inside, nuh uh.

In unrelated news, here is a list of people and things that can take a hike.

In no specific order.

1) People that get tan.

2) People that comment on my sunburn any time I get a sunburn.

3) Cats (I don't trust them. They always ignite a small panic attack. Except kittens. They're ok.)

4) Staplers that are jammed.

5) People that jam said staplers and make no attempt to fix or replace them.

6) Girls who talk about salads and diets a little too much. Newsflash: I don't care.

7) Girls who ask if I wanna split a meal. Heck nah.

8) People with expressionless faces.

9) People who don't wave back.

10) Thunderstorms that last less than 1o minutes. What a tease!

11) A belabored topic.

12) Public mushy couples. Yuuuuuck.

Ireland

I'm saving up for Ireland. $1.00 a day. Trying to find a jar that when you look at it, it basically says, "Cheers!"

down at the reservoir

Madison Square Swim Club 1940 archive via

I always said that if I were ever to hypothetically audition for American Idol, I'd sing "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman.

I've changed my mind. "The River" by Bruce Springsteen. That's my final decision.

For now.

I can confidently say that I don't think "car" and "reservoir" have ever been so purposefully and well utilized in a song. Lyrically beautiful. Compositionally beautiful. All around - beautiful.

The River

I come from down in the valleywhere mister when you're youngThey bring you up to do like your daddy doneMe and Mary we met in high schoolwhen she was just seventeenWe'd ride out of that valley down to where the fields were greenWe'd go down to the riverAnd into the river we'd diveOh down to the river we'd rideThen I got Mary pregnantand man that was all she wroteAnd for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coatWe went down to the courthouseand the judge put it all to restNo wedding day smiles no walk down the aisleNo flowers no wedding dressThat night we went down to the riverAnd into the river we'd diveOh down to the river we did rideI got a job working construction for the Johnstown CompanyBut lately there ain't been much work on account of the economyNow all them things that seemed so importantWell mister they vanished right into the airNow I just act like I don't rememberMary acts like she don't careBut I remember us riding in my brother's carHer body tan and wet down at the reservoirAt night on them banks I'd lie awakeAnd pull her close just to feel each breath she'd takeNow those memories come back to haunt methey haunt me like a curseIs a dream a lie if it don't come trueOr is it something worsethat sends me down to the riverthough I know the river is dryThat sends me down to the river tonightDown to the rivermy baby and IOh down to the river we ride

Feels like summer

Even though I was caught in traffic on the way home from work, I didn't mind. The windows were down, the wind was a blowing, and this song was blasting.

Bryan Adams – Summer Of '69

1. Lace detailing on a new blouse

2. Valentine's Day chandelier garland

3. Lake Harriet

4. An afternoon in St. Paul

5. Cozy on a Saturday night with some friends

6. My roommate Allison

Friday

Feeling Free via

A little survey for fun. You should do it too!

A. Age – 23.

B. Bed size – Twin... still not quite a grown up.

C. Chore that you hate – Doing dishes by hand.

D. Dogs – Lenny - the love of my life.

E. Essential start to your day – Coffee. Calling my mom just to say hi.

F. Favorite color – Light blue.

G. Gold or silver – Silver

H. Height – 5’7"

I. Instruments you play – Clarinet for a solid 3 months.

J. Job title – Elementary Special Education teacher

K. Kids –Love em. But don't have any of my own. But I see kids non freaking stop.

L. Live – Minneapolis

M. Mother’s name – Colleen

N. Nicknames – KQ - my initials

O. Overnight hospital stays – Three times in college. Twice for kidney stones. Once for chin stitches...waited in the waiting room for 5 hours.

P. Pet peeves – When people don't use coasters.

Q. Quote from a movie – "Teach me play piano!!!!!" - said by the cutest lil boy from All the Real Girls

R. Right or left handed – Left.

S. Siblings – Two older brothers - my best friends!

T. Time it takes you to get ready – 45 minutes. My hair can be a real beast to dry.

U. Underrated celebrity - Kyle Chandler - Friday Night lights love

V. Vegetable you hate –I think carrots are overrated (but I don't hate them).

W. What makes you run late – Sleeping in for a few extra minutes (...or 20)

X. X-rays you’ve had – Kidney stones. Broken nose.

Y. Yummy food you make – Chocolate covered pretzels.

Z. Zoo animal – Giraffe. Brown Bear.

January and February happened

Feeling fortunate for all the wonderful people in my life. My birthday was in January, but it don't matter what month it is, because every day of my life I'm feeling the love. Cheesy? Well, listen up young'n, I don't care.

Out to dinner for my birthday. Damn it feels good to be pasty. Throw ya hands in the air, if you's ...

My kitchen. Brick floors. Radiator. Orange paint. Gin. Squash. We got the beat!

laundry day

We posed around an ice sculpture. But it ended up looking like we posed around a bunch of huge TP rolls.

Cool menus.

Customized menus for my birthday. What a surprise. Flaming hot. That's me.

Sidetracked Lessons

Teaching has brought so many joys. Some blips along the way. A lot of thinking, "Are you serious, kid?" And, "I swear to god if you make one more paper airplane." But laughs? Oh yes indeed.

{image via}

A 3rd grade student and I always have particularly fruitful conversations. He always manages to get me sidetracked.

Student: Ms. B, what do you do on Friday nights?

Me: Hmm that varies. Tonight I'm seeing a movie.

Students: With your boyfriend?

Me: No. Just friends.

Student: Why aren't you married?

Me: Why aren't YOU married?

Student: {giggles} Have you been to Vegas?

Me: Yes.

Student: Casinos are haraam.

Me: To each their own.

Student: What does that mean?

Me: Okay, we actually have to do math.

Student: I have two rabbits.

Me: {laughing uncontrollably for the next 20 seconds}

Needless to say, it was a productive lesson.

Around my house on Sunday Afternoon

: Baby's breath flowers and an old fashioned doorknob :

: Keep the coffee flowing and I'm sure there are china patterns like this in the White House :

: A walk around Lake Harriet :

: Chairs from my grandma's house in the 50's :

Little Joy

Fab Moretti and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy back in the day via

Now he's with Kristen Wiig. I approve.

It's amazing how an unexpected text can brighten one's day. A mere sentence can have me smiling all the freaking live long day.

Here are some of my favorite texts that are still in my inbox:

From my brother Kevin:

If you don't download Hall and Oats' "Rich Girl" and blast it while you're in the shower, well, then, your life is missing something.

From my brother Matt:

I turn 10,000 days old tomorrow. You don't have to get me anything.

From my cousin Sean:

Step the eff aside when that bouquet is thrown unless you wanna get hurt.

From my cousin Sean:

Rihanna's "Live Your Life" played at the wedding I was at last night and I almost took my shirt off.

From my friend Rich:

I'm at the scene of the chincident. Happy Wednesday!

From my friend Mallory:

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day bring happiness and no kidney stones.

From my brother Kevin:

Clark Duke is hilarious. And he was raised like a gentleman.

From my brother Kevin:

Veterans of Foreign War? Yeah, that's pretty legit. Keep the tunes flowing.

From my friend Kyle:

Merry belated Christmas. Hope you got all the cast iron skillets you hoped for. And if you didn't, just lemme know because I got 2.

Stretch

Autumn Island, Brienzersee, Switzerland via

When was the last time you treated yourself to a good ole fashion stretch?

It's been a while for me. Growing up it was a morning ritual. I took three minutes before I got out of bed just to stretch.

I'm going to incorporate it into my semi-adult life. Hopefully it will make my mornings before work a wee bit better.

Thoughts right NOW:

1) Adele is so bad ass. I can't even handle it. I just can't.

2) I've been thinking about cheeseburgers a lot lately. Random.

3) I don't enjoy that feeling I get when I knowingly am procrastinating and still refuse to do anything about it. Kind of like what I'm doing right now.... that paper for my grad class will just have to write itself...

4) Turn on Spice Girls "Wannabe" at a party and just wait for the magic that ensues.

5) I feel like Minnesotans see my Illinois license plate and just automatically assume I'm a bad driver. I mean, they are absolutely correct, but I wish they'd at least let me prove it before they go judging me.

6) Never been good at: wrapping presents or folding clothes.

7) I was having a good day and then I dropped my Blockbuster card in between my driver's seat and the middle part of the car. I knew my hand was too big to get into the small crevice. But that didn't stop me. Then my hand got stuck. Then I said some choice words. Then I started getting really frustrated. Then I was getting frustrated that I was allowing myself to get frustrated. Then I stopped being such a baby and took a breather. Then after contorting my hand in very painful ways, I finally got that darn Blockbuster card.

That is all.

Listening to:

When Sunday feels like Saturday

On calm, quiet days like this, what I wish to do with my life seems so crystal clear... make movies. Documentaries, trailers, short films, montages, etc. All of it.

Inspired by this movie:

Thoughts:

Jumbled thoughts as I slowly devour (contradiction?) this beautiful Sunday breakfast consisting of toast, 2 poached eggs and coffee. The house is quiet and I have work off tomorrow. MLK, every year, I'm so proud to say we share the same birthday week. It's like we're friend soul mates.

1) Staplers might actually be the death of me.

2) J. Crew makes me mad. Stop being so expensive. My thoughts as I peruse the store... "Oh, what a darling nautical striped shirt. Hmm I wonder how much it -- $125.00???? Forgetaboutit!" Then I leave the store.

3) I want to hang out with Yo-Yo Ma. He's so smiley.

Missing:

My kitchen on summer mornings, when the outdoor lighting is so inviting.

Listening to: