Spring Reading?

The semester is coming to a close soon (yeah!) and in a conversation with a friend, I realized how little I've been reading for pleasure lately. I'm thinking that I should be reading something I really love as I gear up to read lots and lots of what may be very questionable student writing. Books have been such an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember; it feels weird to realize that this has been so reduced. It makes me kind of sad. I think that one of the reasons I'm bad with directions is that I was always reading in the car. Other children were watching the scenery go by or looking for punch buggies (it was the 80s and pre-Kindle/gaming systems). In the last year or so, I've started books that I didn't finish--that never used to happen. For sure, I don't have time to waste on books that I don't actually want to follow to the end. Still, I used to get lost. I miss that.

So, I want a book that will excite me. I've read two or three that I liked enough to teach. I guess it hasn't been that long since I've fallen in love with words on a page. Come to think of it, there's been a couple of non-fiction ones, too.  I'm hoping that another book will make me want to stay up nights. Tell me: What should I read?

A Few Random Things

• In my quest to have my children watch quality television, I have successfully hooked them into "Little House on the Prairie." We stumbled on the movie that began the series, and it is freaking fascinating. It's filled with danger (wolves and snow and fire!) and joy (a peppermint stick for Christmas!) and mystery (will Jack the dog find them after crossing the river?). We watched half last night and the children asked to watch the rest as soon as they woke this morning. And the bonus is that they see the thousands of chores that the Laura and her sisters have to do and it makes their chores pale in comparison. Yay!
• I'm also surprised at how unlikeable both Charles and Caroline are. They are much more gruff than in the series and Caroline's disdain for Native Americans is not nice, to say the least.
• It only now occurs to me that this story happens at the same historical moment as the play Flyin' West about black female homesteaders. Both are about the government's "opening" of Kansas to anyone who could survive settling it.
• I've also roped the children into falling in entertainment love with "The Cosby Show" and they can't get enough. And my son is in love with Clair; she "looks pretty" he says.
• During one single commercial break during the "Little House" movie there were three ads about weight loss. What in the world?

Top Ten--2011

Top Ten Awesome Things about 2011:

1. The Crisis has made some progress in the right direction. And it's not nearly as bad as it could be.
2. Huge strides in my quest to get more publications under my belt.
3. My job is going really well, mostly, and I have opportunities that would probably not otherwise be available to me.
4. The Hubby and I have figured out a date-nigh/babysitting exchange with another family that has been really valuable.
5. The Babydoll and The Baby Boy are doing quite well in school and in extra-curricular activities.
6. Friends who had been wanting a baby for nearly five years, and who had a stillborn in the process, welcomed their beautiful, healthy son. A number of other friends also welcomed healthy babies into their families.
7. Finally had my bridal portrait framed, three years after I actually posed for it, and 10 years after I actually got married. (Of course, The Hubby cracked the glass in the process of giving it to me for Christmas, but, oh well.)
8. My hair is doing great. I'm learning to handle it in its unrelaxed state and I've had a very useful shift in my definitions of beauty. I feel sassy and I learned to swim (kind of)!
9. Regarding another crisis with family friends, one unrelated to the major crisis in my life, another year has passed that moves them closer to a resolution of a very bad thing.
10. The little world in my house is pretty good; my children are mostly unaffected by the horrible things that I know are going on and they are, I think, really and truly happy children who express their love for us and each other; my husband still loves me and I still love him. And I like him a lot of the time, too.

*And here's a bonus: I finished the awesome list much more quickly than the suck list.

Top Ten Sucktastic Things about 2011:

1. The Crisis will not freaking go away. It gets better, then randomly and unpredictably gets worse. And there's so little I can do about it.
2. The Crisis insists on sprouting branches, most of which I can barely do anything about.
3. We lost an elder in our family.
4. Still have friends who haven't yet been able to realize their dream of becoming parents.
5. Still not on anybody's tenure track.
6. Still having migraines, despite efforts to change my diet (although that's helped some) and I might need to switch medications again.
7. Something that I wanted to happen for a long time fell into my lap and then was snatched away. It still has not materialized in a successful way.
8. My faith is . . . challenged. And confused. But that might just be this week.
9. I missed a perfectly free Stevie Wonder appearance because I was at a conference.
10. Failed goals.

My Confessions

I'm pretty sure I dozed off in class today while students were reading aloud.

Since we are now doing karate, scouting, Tball, gymnastics, and sometimes dance, I think I may have become one of those parents who spends all her time being personal assistant to her children. This was not my plan and I don't know how this happened.

My big plan for a healthier, migraine-eliminating diet is falling victim to a string of birthday parties (i.e. cake) and Hubby's cookie/ice cream/candy runs. Also not my plan. But much more delicious.

If my children don't stop fighting each other, I'm pretty sure I'm going to join in. And I will not lose.

Isn't that interesting?

After teaching for a while, a few things have become commonplace. I will have a student named Brittney (or Brittany or Brittanee). And one named Ashley. And one with strange colored hair. And one from Chicago.

Except this semester I had a class in which not one student was from Chicago. Or any state in the Midwest. I know because we did an icebreaker.

But you know who was in that class? Two students born with six fingers on each hand.

TWO of them!

Isn't that interesting?

Random

Is it just me, or are basic cable television shows suddenly using the "s" word left and right? I've heard it repeatedly on Lifetime's new show, "Against the Wall" and on TNT's "Rizzoli & Isles". Love the shows, but I'm not ready for the potty mouth. Cheese and crackers!

What I'm Watching

I'm sitting here watching Bill Maher's show from last week and wondering how in the world it is that TWO women are named Melissa Harris + hyphen. This woman looks a lot like her, I'm thinking. I was really astonished. (It's like the time when I was working the drive through at McDonald's and collected a customer's money. The person at the second window was busy, so I ran over to fill the order and handed it out to the guy. He looked at me with his eyes stretched wide, asking, "Do you know that the girl at the first window looks JUST like you? Are you twins????") Obviously, I lost track of her for a moment. Clearly, she's gotten married, changed her name, and moved to Tulane. I should pay better attention.

Also been watching "Sister Wives" and what the heck, state of Utah? Hearing them talk about police splitting of the family seems totally nuts to me. I still don't really get it. I understand that the father can be arrested, but how can they force them to move apart and not see each other? Do they enact some kind of restraining order preventing them from calling each other? How can they tell them who can live together? Or who can have contact? That's sooo wrong. I'm horrified for them.

Finally, I'm totally addicted to "Cold Case" which isn't even on the air anymore. Thank goodness for the DVR! This is a brilliant premise for a show and I love it. I also have a hair crush on Tracie Thoms.

Fifteen Random Things Meme

So, here's my response to Inktopia's meme. I'm supposed to tell fifteen random things about me. Here goes:

1. I want television to be my scholarly niche.

2. I've never kept a plant alive for more than six months or so.

3. It would make me really happy if my house were organized like a kindergarten class room.

4. I don't like to have the food on my plate touching.

5. I also generally don't eat the last bite or two of a dish. It's usually mushy and undesireable by the end of the meal.

6. I really, really wish I were a native speaker of another language.

7. When I was a little girl, I tried Pepsi and milk, just like Laverne from "Laverne and Shirley"; it actually wasn't bad.

8. I don't like wine all that much, but I think wine glasses are so pretty.

9. I think biscuits and molasses are divine.

10. Flowy skirts are one of my favorite things to wear.

11. I thought Pinky Tuskadaro (which I have probably misspelled) was the coolest name ever.

12. One day, I want to pack a bag, go to the airport, and pick a destination.

13. Should I have a third baby?! (I know that's not a fact, but it's on my mind)

14. I'm in the process of trying to change my diet to see if I can control these dadblasted migraines. Last month I eliminated pork and beef completely. This month I'm reducing sugar. It's the hardest. Haven't yet decided what I'll change next month.

15. I want a house with a porch.

Random This and that

I'm going to try to make this about more than TV shows, but I can't make promises . . . .

• I'm watching "16 and Pregnant" and really, really having a problem sticking to our "We're done having babies" resolution.
• Between crochet and computer use, it feels like I'm rubbing my fingerprints right off.
• If one more person asks me if I've seen "For Colored Girls" I might launch into some rant about how I'm not excited about seeing it and how I really just wish everyone would see a stage production and the many issues many people have with this film--oh wait! I did that in class the other day with students. Oh well.
• I wonder if people on reality shows feel bad about themselves when they see that their "English" needs subtitles.
• I really don't like Christmas shopping.
• The baby is crying on "16 and Pregnant". Now I remember why we're finished having babies.

My life is again becoming a bit unbloggable. Though I'm sure that many people have already seen this, it was a bright spot in my day. Hey?! Maybe it's God forcing me into another Thankful Thursday . . . .

http://xtranormal.com/watch/7451115/

Getting some things off my chest

So, old people at the gym: Congratulations on still being able to get around and everything. But could you not annoy me with your annoying, narrow political rhetoric while I'm on the treadmill? It's already pretty unpleasant that I'm still gaining half a pound on the regular despite my time on said treadmill. Your self-involved and greedy ideology isn't helping. Move to the machine on the other side of the room, please. Or just shut up.

The Diva: If you need a wife, I guess I need a nanny. The Babydoll just wrote a note to me that read, "To Mommy. I don't like you. From The Babydoll." I told her that it hurt my feelings, so she sighed, then returned with a note that read, "I like you." I'm thinking this is going to show up in her Freshman Composition literacy narrative assignment.

Abusive parents and other jackholes: What the yuck is wrong with you???!! I watched Tyler Perry on Oprah and seriously wanted to cut off some folks' hands . . . and other parts. Human beings were not created for this kind of evil. Someone should have protected the little boy that Perry was. His stories are so raw (which makes me wonder why his writing isn't better). I keep wondering if there's some child who I see regularly who's wishing that I would be the one to protect him.

Students who either didn't read or just didn't come to class today: I realize that there is a big game tomorrow. Yes--Tomorrow. Today is class. And we covered Douglass today. Douglass! You should be ashamed.

DVR: I hear you calling me. I'm coming soon. I miss you, too. Smooches!

A Few Things

• In the spirit of lament, I just realized that I'm losing another dream. When I turned 30, I made a list of things I wanted to do in my life. One of them was appear on Oprah. Now that her last season is starting to air (and I assume that they have all been taped already) I seem to have missed the boat. This, despite the fact that I lived in Chicago for a year. I really suck for letting this pass me by.
• I changed my narrative assignment for my classes, partly because I've found it difficult to receive heart-wrenching story after sad, difficult story. I made the assignment much more broad and a little less personal. Still, students want to write about their pain. Maybe the next batch will be a bunch of happy tales about how Pollyanna their lives have been. I won't count on that, though.
• Had a productive day alone, researching and revising. I'm really trying to make publication a priority this year. Let's hope something pans out. Pretty please.
• Autumn is finally rearing its head in the south. The oppressive heat of the summer is being overtaken by the crisp, cool air of the fall. Now we can actually go outside in our new yard. And I can stop sweating out my newly unrelaxed hair. :)

Is that true?

Remember that scene in "The Cosby Show" when Cliff is fussing at Theo about his grades? When Theo says that he just wants to be "a regular guy, drive a bus or something"? Cliff tells Theo that he needs to work hard to afford the lifestyle he wants when he's older. He says, "An apartment in Manhattan is going to cost you at least $400 a month."

Ummm. Really? Is that true? $400? a month? I thought that show was set in the 1980s, not the 1880s. Interesting.

Friday Random Bits

The children have been asking for binoculars and we saw a pair of cute ones by Melissa & Doug yesterday. Now they are skulking around behind sofas and around corners, spying us out like wildlife.

Hot in Cleveland is so freaking funny! I thought it was going to be lame and watered down, since it's on TV Land. But since I like all the actresses so much, I thought I'd give it a try. Hilarious!

We finally had one--exactly one--ripe tomato pop up on our tomato plant. We ate it yesterday. It was sweet and tasty with a little salt. I'm glad that we completed an entire summer project. But it would have been nice to have more than one tomato grow--goodness gracious!

I know that elections are important. But seriously, the political ads are getting on my nerves. Do you really need to say that you aren't even trying to pretend that you care about my vote? Why don't you just call me an idiot because I don't agree with you? Of course, how do you know that I don't agree with anything you propose? Since you say, "Screw you!" to me and my vote, I say, "Screw you!" to you!

Finally finished Wuthering Heights. I hardly had time to read and it took forever. I liked it. Liked Jane Eyre much more. I have to say that I don't get why anyone is love with Heathcliff and Catherine. I found him to be creepy and sad. It was a weird, crazy, needy connection, not a great romance. But maybe it's just me.

What kind of crack-ish sugar cravings am I having? I couldn't stop making s'mores every day, and now I'm pulling out recipes left and right. I want a lemon meringue pie like you can't believe!

This and That

*Look! The children and I planted a tomato plant and there's an actual TOMATO on it! Yippee!! Right behind it, to the left, is the basil plant that is also doing quite well. Of course, we just returned from my grandmother's house, where the tomato plants were much more prolific and as tall as me, and they had already cooked up a batch of fried green tomatoes. But that doesn't dampen my extreme excitement over my little tiny tomato.

*The Baby Boy has announced that he wants to be a pumpkin when he grows up. I have no where to go with that. I guess I'll just be proud.

*I really thought that summer at home with the children would be fun, with lots of activities and outings. But I'm spending a lot of time thinking about articles I want and need to write and the fact that it doesn't really look like all of those plans are going to happen. It's almost July already. That makes me sad. Then I think of how the children may very well have memories of a distracted and annoyed mother instead of a carefree, creative summer playmate. Also sad. It's really hard to do both, even in the summer. I have only a few weeks to get myself together before a whole new semester starts.

*The hair transition is very sketchy. I'm at a point when it's hard to comb it, but the curls from the set have basically fallen. I'm trying products and hair ornaments, but it's all very sketchy.

Just watched Aaron McGruder's latest animated "The Boondocks" episode. He's totally loony and awesome. This was a kicking-butt-and-taking-names kind of episode. Fabulous!

Random

• Picked up an animated version of the Henry "Box" Brown story. I thought it would be an interesting, exciting adventurous story for the children. I really should have considered the fact that I would have to answer, "What's a slave?" I was totally unprepared, but I hope that my wide-eyed answer sufficed.
• The Babydoll is enthralled with the whole idea of mail; I wonder if I should be worried about her trying to mail herself in a box.
• I've been a crocheting fool. My fingers ache. But I can't seem to stop!
• We've had a couple of pretty good potty days with The Baby Boy. Yay!
• The more I watch "Intervention" the more it seems that alcohol--not marijuana--is the gateway drug. Hmmmm.
• I've decided to read at least one classic text this summer. I chose *Wuthering Heights* I'm enjoying it, but it's been a while since I've journeyed through British Literature. I want to fall in love with it the way I hear other people talk about it. We'll see how that goes.

Random

• I talked with another parent at my children's school and confirmed that my discomfort at the unquestioned promotion of the pilgrim-Indian version of Thanksgiving (i.e. feathered hats, etc.) I didn't say anything to the teacher because I figured she'd just think I was a crazy liberal. This parent, a sociologist, was more bold that I and actually told the teacher that she thought it was historically inaccurate, insensitive, and so forth. The teacher just looked at her. I guess I was right about the reaction to expect. I think the parent's story was pretty funny.
• Witnessed a wonderfully beautiful ceremony on campus this week with women who attended and younger female relatives who also attended. It was set to "In My Daughter's Eyes" and so moving I almost cried into my academic regalia. The whole thing really underscored what it means to educate a woman--you educate the world.
• Another neighbor stopped by today to introduce herself and offer brownies for a welcome gift. Yay!
• Speaking of my new neighbors: This neighborhood seems to have the best grapevine I've ever heard of! Nearly every person who introduces him or herself notes that they've "heard we have a new neighbors" or that they wondered who moved into the house for sale. In some ways it's cool that there is such intimacy in this community, but it's also a tiny bit creepy that we are the subject of community chatter.
• Another round of research papers and another two handfuls of topics related to sex education. I still don't quite know what they think they are missing, but I keep getting students who are just begging for more information. Are schools just naming the body parts and moving on?

Random

• Had parent observation day at The Babydoll's dance class and confirmed that, among other things, I will never be a dance instructor. Ten noisy, noisy pairs of tiny tap shoes, ten tiny jumping beans disguised as little girls, and ten pairs of tiny fingers on the floor ready to be stepped on with aforementioned tap shoes--I barely made it through an hour of sitting there and watching my own child.
• Saw The Princess and the Frog with The Babydoll and her friend. Friend repeatedly asked, "Where's the princess? I want to see the princess!" I actually thought this was a decent princess movie since I try to avoid the whole princess thing in general. Okay, we did wear a tiara and take pictures with the poster, but that was just so she wouldn't be left out if the other girls at the theater wore theirs. Anyway, Tiana is bold and adventurous, caring and smart. She wasn't thinking about any stinking ole prince because she had her own dreams; plus, she and the prince go through some things together and develop a relationship instead of the "he looks at her beauty and falls in love" plot. Anika Noni Rose commented about the film and its merits, considering the history of black people in animation, which I think helps to smooth out some of the problematic elements. I wonder if I could hurry up and write a paper before everyone else does.
• The Babydoll and Baby Boy both seemed to like the movie. They were literally on the edge of their seats for most of the movie. That pleases me.
• What the heck is happening to my break?! Who are these annoying students who keep trying to pull me back in, mob-like, to campus matters? Leave me alone! Do you know that I have an entire class to plan and papers to write that have barely been conceived? Do you know that Christmas is a week away? Do you know that I have more than half of my list to buy? Do you know that everyone's getting a gift card because I hate to shop?
  

Thoughts inspired by Chris Rock's Good Hair

1) Nia Long should sooo play me in the movie of my life.

2) I had the culture of hair on my short list of dissertation topics in the beginning stages. If I had stayed with that, maybe I'd have been in Chris Rock's film.

3) What was Barbara Walter's issue on "The View" this morning? She asked a question about black women's hair that Whoopie answered about 5 times. Then she immediately asked Chris Rock, who gave her the same answer.

An addendum: Thoughts about my crappy day that should shock teenage girls into using birth control every single time:

1) I've actually had poop in my hands today. Twice.

2) Yesterday my son sat on the toilet and peed a straight line. Onto me.


*And happy, happy birthday to The Diva!

In the margins

Mostly, my mind won't go anywhere except the crisis confronting me and my family, but on the margins are these meaningless thoughts. Since I'm not ready to share (or speak even) that info, here are the meaningless thoughts:


*Tyra Banks should find another way to announce the people "still in the running to be America's Next Top Model." Saying, "The next name I'm going to call is __________ " seriously annoys me; Logically, she should follow that sentence by calling the actual name of the girl. Of course, that would sound weird: "The next name I'm going to call is Teyona. Teyona."



*I really wish someone would tell Sherri Shepard that the words "also" and "too" don't go together. Saying, "I think also too . . ." doesn't make sense.



* I keep trying to figure out what fruit the housewives oh New Jersey could hold. Aren't they the Garden State? It's driving me crazy!