Mary and Max

I'm looking forward to seeing this once I find some free time. Does "free time" exist as a first year teacher? Not so far. (Well I guess technically the three minutes I'm taking to write this is free time... but I'm not counting it.)

Penguin Cafe Orchestra's "Perpetuum Mobile" (which is the first song that plays in this trailer) was something my favorite student and I bonded over this past summer. I quietly played it while all my class was working on a worksheet, and he came up to me after class and asked if I could write the song name down for him so he could play it for his mom when he got home. Man, I miss that kid.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra: making kids happy since 1972.

Gena Rowlands

{image via}

{image via}

{image via}

{image via}

I just watched The Notebook and cried for the millionth time. I never get sick of that movie. I remember I saw it three times in one week when it first came out (freak). Once with my ma, once for a birthday party and once with my grandma and aunts.

I just realized Gena Rowlands is from Madison, Wisconsin and went to The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

I don't know why, but that tidbit makes me really happy. I wonder if we've ever sat at the SAME EXACT spot at Lake Mendota. I bet we have. And I bet she got ice cream too. Birds of a feather flock together.

Superficial goal for the fall: Learn to curl my hair on my own. Specifically, learn to curl my hair like Allie Hamilton's.

{image via}

{image via}

{image via}

Well, well, aren't they just perfect?

Basilica

This morning was quite a refreshing one. I woke up and went to church with my cousin Kate and her fiance Dan. It's so nice to have family around when you are adjusting to a new city. The three of us went to an enormous church, The Basilica of Saint Mary. It was absolutely beautiful - ornate, tons of mosaics and stained glass windows. It was a good start to the day.

{image via}

To make the day even better, we then moseyed our way on over to a quaint diner called "Our Kitchen" for breakfast. I demolished everything. So good. So, so good.

Then I lesson planned for the majority of the remainder of the day. That wasn't nearly as fun or exciting. What is this grown up mumbo jumbo?

In unrelated news:

It is quite annoying when people are condescending about condiments. I've gotten, "You're from Chicago and don't eat your hot dogs Chicago style? FREAK!" a few too many times. Well, listen up, buddy. I don't like mustard, relish or pickles, so why would I put all that on my fine hot dog? You don't see me blabbing about your hot dog. Back off. (People technically never call me a freak, but, exaggeration felt necessary.)

Scab on ankle that really itches. The temptation to scratch it is reaching skyrocket levels.

Eating plain carrots is overrated. Throw spinach artichoke dip into the mix and then we're talking.

Lantern lighting makes all the difference.

Cloud Life

image via

Yesterday I took an airplane back to Minneapolis from Chicago.

While hundreds of thousands miles up in the air...

I wondered if birds were afraid of planes.

I wondered how many people have ever flown in the air.

I wondered if there was a ritual that my pilot did every time before he flew.

I wondered if anyone else on the plane was listening to Coldplay's Fix You on repeat.

I wondered if the dude next to me could hear my music playing.

I wondered how many babies were at ground level in their mother's arms pointing at us way up in the sky.

It was the first time in a long time that I was okay with "not knowing." Let's see how long that lasts.

An escape into oblivion

Right now I'm going to pretend that I'm here (wherever "here" is) instead of feeling overwhelmed in my new bedroom. Right now I have so many daunting things to do. So many things to tackle in such little time. I guess I'll get started with something small and manageable i.e. go to the grocery store so that I have more in my kitchen other than a frozen pizza, water and Ben & Jerry's.

{image via}

This song has nothing to do with my life currently. But, I have been playing it on repeat. Just cause it sounds so sweet.