tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91304183675444957212012-01-26T23:13:41.994-06:00Anne is a biglaw lawyer and mother of a toddler in Chicago. She blogs about work-family balance/work-life balance, books, culture, parenthood, growing up, growing old, marriage, feminism, religion, rats, writing, blogging, and anything else she feels like.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.comBlogger2171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-57889176067703830372012-01-26T15:28:00.000-06:002012-01-26T15:28:43.676-06:00

Pretty much everything in my life, including this blog, has been on hold for the last 7 weeks while I coped--poorly--with the nausea and exhaustion of early pregnancy. I'm on the cusp of the second trimester now and (knock on wood) my symptoms seems to be easing up. It's been at least ten times worse than my first pregnancy. Which I take as evidence that my determination to have a girl is working

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-27991202289194338482012-01-26T14:42:00.000-06:002012-01-26T14:42:12.781-06:00

From a blog post by Dr. Laura Markham (not that Dr. Laura) on Aha! Parenting.com:  The secret work of adulthood is that we are all still growing up, and parenting forces us to learn to parent ourselves as well as our child.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-54155516555047501872011-12-06T13:23:00.003-06:002011-12-06T13:26:04.051-06:00

We just moved from a new-construction tract home on a cul de sac to a charmingly rustic and rather remote log cabin in the woods. It's a bit different. Before the subdivision we were in a condo overlooking a major street in the heart of Chicago, so we're on quite the journey here. My sisters wanted to know whether I chose this house because it looks like the Little House on the Prairie. I was

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-27967229222055987182011-11-13T12:55:00.000-06:002011-11-13T12:55:44.340-06:00

From Jane Austen's Mansfield Park: "I am a very matter-of-fact, plain spoken being, and may blunder on the borders of a repartee for half an hour together without striking it out." From Lionel Trilling's essay, Mansfield Park: The city bears the brunt of our modern uneasiness about our life. We think of it as being the scene and the cause of the loss of the simple integrity of the spirit--in our

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-5971693735162239962011-11-03T16:12:00.002-05:002011-11-03T16:18:45.137-05:00

Taken with Instagram using the Hudson filter (I think), plus a yellow filter in PhotoShop. This is Port Angeles taken from Ediz Hook, a natural arm of sand and rocks that curves around the harbor. I am in love with the autumn sunshine.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-40584231994154326332011-11-03T10:57:00.000-05:002011-11-03T10:57:29.818-05:00

The view from the driveway of Nugget's school.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-2531258045843790032011-11-01T01:49:00.000-05:002011-11-01T01:49:28.583-05:00

 Another scene from my commute to Nugget's school. Also taken with Instagram, using the Hudson filter here.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-2758051577859337682011-10-31T14:04:00.000-05:002011-10-31T14:04:53.096-05:00

As if I were not already a public menace on the roads, I've taken to playing with my phone's camera while driving. This was taken with the Instagram app using the Kelvin filter. Plus some adjustments in Photoshop at home.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-88908272220635502762011-10-27T12:07:00.001-05:002011-10-31T14:06:05.319-05:00

This is what I see as I approach my house on my way back from dropping Nugget at school in the morning. I love my life. Another thing I love about where I live? My name was in the paper the other day because I passed the Washington bar exam. I was the only person from my town on the pass list. I'm friggin' famous now.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-22486259535466063322011-10-24T17:16:00.000-05:002011-10-24T17:16:28.483-05:00

Conversation while driving this afternoon: Moremadder: Hey, see the construction site over there?  Nugget: They're building a house? M: It looks like they're adding onto a church. N: Not a house? M: No, I'm pretty sure it's a church. N: What's a church? M: (shit) Um ... it's a place where people go to ... be together and ... sing songs and ... um, pray (shit shit don't ask what that is don't

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-56947472865989604892011-10-20T15:16:00.001-05:002011-10-20T16:18:04.814-05:00

When I launched this journey toward a better balance between career and family in my life (i.e., quit my job), I wrote: I am firmly opposed to helicopter parenting. And I think when an individual is focusing all of his or her energies on parenting, the helicopter is inevitable. So I hope to find some balance. If you see me writing here about the charts I've created to track my son's

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-55938367314853469762011-10-17T13:06:00.002-05:002011-10-17T13:08:07.244-05:00

From Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride: She's happy he's still alive: women live longer than men and men have weak hearts, sometimes they just keel over, and although she and West aren't old--they're hardly old at all--still, women her age have awakened in the morning to find dead men beside them. Tony does not consider this a morbid thought. * Zenia's ashes were in a sealed metal canister,

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-69361148121331426402011-10-17T12:44:00.002-05:002011-10-17T12:44:50.870-05:00

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson My rating: 3 of 5 stars I read this book very quickly, and talked about it to anyone who would listen. I was quite wild-eyed in my fascination with it. But my ardor waned as the book went on; ultimately, I'm not sure what I would say if someone asked me what it was all about. It really wandered. And while I enjoyed the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-73951776547190493232011-10-17T12:34:00.001-05:002011-10-17T12:34:56.833-05:00

This Life Is in Your Hands: One Family, Sixty Acres, and a Family Undone by Melissa Coleman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was telling my father-in-law's girlfriend about my current fascination with growing/gathering/raising one's own food (an idle fascination, since I am lazy and have no real desire to labor in a garden or chicken coop), and she told me I should read this book she'd just finished. So

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-47047259831500741792011-10-17T12:16:00.000-05:002011-10-17T12:16:29.110-05:00

Hundreds of jellyfish have been populating the waters by our city pier for the last few weeks. Seeing them made me realize that the membership I bought for the Seattle Aquarium was probably unnecessary. Why drive two or three hours to look at sea life in an aquarium when we are surrounded by it out here? Of course, the aquarium does have much to offer. I took Nugget there last week when my

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-44535133135868456802011-10-11T14:48:00.000-05:002011-10-11T14:48:00.797-05:00

A patch of rainbow

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-16852562502900680872011-10-06T12:13:00.001-05:002011-10-06T12:14:58.708-05:00

The original Borders, in Ann Arbor, Michigan: closed for good. It is truly terrifying to see this once-loathed behemoth close its doors. I cannot deny that I buy many if not most of my books online -- these days, usually used, from Alibris or Amazon. When I don't just borrow from the library. But there are few things I love more than browsing a bookstore. And while I love the quirky charm and

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-27669843288719771012011-09-30T16:18:00.000-05:002011-09-30T16:18:10.556-05:00

From Lian Hearn's Across the Nightingale Floor: ... and the dogs were mourned by me, at least. I wondered what pact they had made, what fealty they had sworn, to be caught up in the feuds of men, and to pay with their lives. 

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-2521785802394178162011-09-28T14:44:00.000-05:002011-09-28T14:44:51.504-05:00

From Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test: "I love the way you talk," one prisoner tells another. There is real tenderness in his voice. "You just let it flow from you as if you own all the words in the world. They're your personal property and you make them dance for you."* There is no evidence that we've been placed on this planet to be especially happy or especially normal.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-17710174189557542392011-09-19T12:46:00.000-05:002011-09-19T12:46:09.834-05:00

Nugget and I are in the midst of a crazy month of travel to see various family. We got back from San Francisco yesterday and are heading to Chicago on Thursday. Apparently it's a good thing we are traveling so much; I discovered yesterday that my Nugget, now a small-town boy, is in need of a little broadening. We were on a crowded parking shuttle, going from the Seattle airport to the lot where

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-19140689852788970262011-09-01T22:44:00.000-05:002011-09-01T22:44:17.305-05:00

Trent and I both read bedtime books to Nugget every night, but we trade off responsibility for the ordeal that follows. Getting Nugget to fall asleep generally requires an hour or two of sustained attention. Last night one of us jumped the gun on concluding that the battle had been won for the night, closed Nugget's door and headed downstairs, while the other one was surprised to see Nugget's

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-1664713666978051932011-08-26T12:20:00.001-05:002011-08-26T12:23:28.585-05:00

Since we traded my sweet BigLaw income for a sweet SmallTown lifestyle, I've been dabbling a bit with couponing. Yes, couponing. It never made much sense to me--such a hassle to save 50 cents--and even now with my altered economic landscape that seems like a paltry payoff. But what I had not realized is that there are various strategies that have to be followed that will multiply those 50 cent

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-6332914453112247782011-08-04T14:40:00.001-05:002011-08-04T14:42:20.686-05:00

My dog is driving me crazy at the moment. She will not stop whining and scratching at the glass patio door no matter how many times I tell her that she cannot come in until she is dry. It makes me glad that Nugget is old enough to understand explanations. It hasn't been that long, but I'd already forgotten the daily frustration that goes hand in hand with the cuddly sweetness of babyhood. The

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-79660273575014401832011-08-01T12:32:00.000-05:002011-08-01T12:32:34.580-05:00

Sign outside the local hardware store: "Closed today for Jimmie Bob's funeral." That's a close second for "most obvious sign I'm not in Chicago anymore," right after this front-page headline in our local paper: "Duckling Shot with Blow Gun Recovering" (and the update a few days later, also on the front page: "Injured Duckling Returns Home to Mama"). I love living in a small town. It's especially

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-54517922552281275922011-07-21T01:47:00.000-05:002011-07-21T01:47:40.514-05:00

From "Clever Girl" by Tessa Hadley, in the June 6, 2011 New Yorker (I detest this magazine but my husband subscribes, and clips the short stories for me. And I read them, as consolation for the fact that there are stacks of these f---ing magazines creating clutter all over my house. The New Yorker owes me a good f---ing story. Occasionally they deliver. Very occasionally. Pretentious motherf---

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-47366101172751189042011-07-14T17:35:00.000-05:002011-07-14T17:35:57.692-05:00

Ah, 33. A very bulbous number, full of lumpy curves. Like a 33-year-old mom who doesn't get enough exercise. I've been thinking about mortality lately, for reasons other than my birthday, though I suppose it contributed, and it really is most unpleasant. The abstract idea of an "age of innocence" takes on a sharper edge when you get old enough to realize how very innocent you were in the days

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-8078001810460411032011-06-30T14:08:00.000-05:002011-06-30T14:08:38.111-05:00

Lori Gottlieb's article "How to Land Your Kid in Therapy," in The Atlantic Monthly (which had nothing new to say but got lots of press because it's on a subject people love to flog on an on (I wonder if Gottlieb is any relation to a reporter named Gottlieb who writes "stories" for my hometown rag that combine a remarkable lack of content with blatant small-town sensationalism, like "Sequim

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-36893582345064454652011-06-28T18:32:00.002-05:002011-06-28T18:32:21.598-05:00

Lovejoy: A Year in the Life of an Abortion Clinic by Peter Korn My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fascinating and compelling. I don't read nonfiction unless it's got enough of a narrative to keep me turning the pages, and this one more than fits the bill. More importantly, it's an unblinkingly honest look at what abortion really means, to the women who face that most difficult of choices, and the medical

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-15130679483085916552011-06-28T18:20:00.001-05:002011-06-28T18:21:41.376-05:00

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood My rating: 4 of 5 stars That rare gem: a page-turning plot that makes you think deeply about universal issues, peopled with compellingly flawed characters and rendered in lip-smackingly delicious prose. Highly recommended for anyone. And it would be a great movie. Imdb says it's in development--I hope it gets made. View all my reviews

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-3835180752806391022011-06-14T13:18:00.000-05:002011-06-14T13:18:59.148-05:00

Last night I watched the three Law & Order: LAs on my DVR and felt like I'd accomplished something. Had I watched three Law & Orders in a row on a TNT marathon I would have felt like a lazy goodfornothing slob, but because they were waiting for me on DVR and I cleared out the queue it felt virtuous. Yet another reason DVR is awesome. * I got Nugget a new Spiderman shirt over the weekend, which

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-77431922324554046302011-06-07T11:50:00.000-05:002011-06-07T11:50:36.642-05:00

From the toddler development newsletter produced by Northwestern Memorial Hospital: "Research suggests that a child's vocabulary at 4.5 years of age is the single strongest predictor of overall first-grade achievement." And as we all know, "first grade achievement" is a significant predictor of ... uh ... what? SAT scores? Income level? Risk factors for alzheimer's? Holy shit, I'd better get out

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-21135872968677262522011-06-03T15:51:00.000-05:002011-06-03T15:51:13.155-05:00

I haven't posted in quite a while, although I have a half-dozen abandoned draft posts in the queue. I'm not sure what or why but I've been avoiding something here. When I start to write I feel that reluctance you feel when you're getting vulnerable and you're not quite ready. For some reason I just don't want to live the examined life right now. MY GOD, what is it I'm hiding in there? What is it

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-65015731176463712122011-05-23T12:18:00.000-05:002011-05-23T12:18:34.007-05:00

We went back to the Olympic Game Farm yesterday, this time with Trent. Who insisted on getting bread and feeding the animals. It proved slightly less terrifying than I predicted, but--I am ashamed to admit--I did squeal in fear when a bison stuck his whole enormous head in my window. But that was because he was dripping muddy drool all over me. Ick. Unfortunately, I think Nugget-

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-10485449344312272772011-05-20T15:29:00.000-05:002011-05-20T15:29:31.316-05:00

One of my sisters had a roommate in law school who was unabashed about her intention to marry one of her classmates and stay home with the dozen children she planned to have. She had no apparent intention to actually practice law, and devoted her energies to the social aspects of law school--to the near exclusion of the academic side. People joke about girls getting their "MRS degree," but it was

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-16523238926448008582011-05-20T12:25:00.000-05:002011-05-20T12:25:40.995-05:00

From Virginia Woolf's Night and Day: ... the old conclusion to which Ralph had come when he left college still held sway in his mind, and tinged his views with the melancholy belief that life for most people compels the exercise of the lower gifts and wastes the precious ones, until it forces us to agree that there is little virtue, as well as little profit, in what once seemed to us the noblest

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-10404090868072526802011-05-16T13:51:00.000-05:002011-05-16T13:51:32.306-05:00

Now that the weather is nice, we've started walking down the street after dinner to see the sunset. This is what happens at the end of the street we live on: It falls into the ocean.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-54578198137727377142011-05-16T13:21:00.000-05:002011-05-16T13:21:42.359-05:00

I can't remember the last time I had an impassioned debate about the definition of happiness and the impossible nature of justice. Sometimes I miss being young. Are young people more or less interesting than old people? I've generally assumed, even when I was young, that more experience equals more interesting. That seems logical. But lately I've been wondering. There is the Hamlet effect. More

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-69256562262275859522011-04-26T15:40:00.000-05:002011-04-26T15:40:11.355-05:00

From Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room:      Had he, then, been nothing? An unanswerable question, since even if it weren’t the habit of the undertaker to close the eyes, the light so soon goes out of them. At first, part of herself; now one of a company, he had merged in the grass, the sloping hillside, the thousand white stones, some slanting, others upright, the decayed wreaths, the crosses

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-68495593631303919762011-04-26T15:34:00.001-05:002011-05-16T13:42:16.614-05:00

This is a text I received from my husband yesterday: "They're looking for a mountain lion near here so be vigilant if you guys get out of the car when you pick me up." That never happened in Chicago. Speaking of which, this is where I walked my dog this morning: And this is where I walked my dog in Chicago: I was trying to get a picture of our friendly neighborhood rats when I took that

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-38027129441642059082011-04-22T18:42:00.003-05:002011-04-22T22:51:29.814-05:00

Ivanhoe by Walter Scott My rating: 4 of 5 stars Hard to get past the anti-semitism. Scott is incapable of mentioning Isaac "the Jew" without also commenting on his avarice. Literally. Every time. And Isaac is not a minor character--he's in virtually every chapter. On the other hand, Isaac's daughter Rebecca is a great female character. Her Saxon counterpart, Rowena, is quite flat in contrast.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-83790573763149077852011-04-22T15:54:00.000-05:002011-04-22T15:54:37.705-05:00

The book that I am working on involves a lot of traditional religious imagery, and one of the thematic concerns I'd been considering was relevance. Practically speaking, I am an atheist, as are many if not most of the people in my life. In my little sphere of over-educated liberals, religion seems irrelevant, and encountering people for whom religion is a very central concern can be a little

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-43434856535087886282011-04-21T13:02:00.000-05:002011-04-21T13:02:02.516-05:00

Here is the problem with a home office. No matter how comfortable, organized, or otherwise suited to concentration, it is connected to the rest of the house. I think ideally a home office should have its own separate entrance. I could come back from dropping Nugget off at school and go in the separate entrance, and imagine that the rest of the house does not exist. No opportunities for a "quick

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-40511004158010144442011-04-17T15:50:00.000-05:002011-05-16T13:38:14.110-05:00

Check out Trent's really excellent obituary for his time living in Chicago. I'm trying to think of something to add, as a native, but he was pretty thorough. 

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-20779969311129142842011-04-13T14:23:00.001-05:002011-05-16T13:44:21.396-05:00

Nugget has become very opinionated about what he wears. I try to let him make his own decisions whenever possible, so I stifle my desire to put him in the preppy little polos I adore. He favors his cousins' old t-shirts featuring characters from Pixar movies. At least he's saving me money. Of course, there have to be some rules. Appropriateness for the weather is the obvious one. But how much do

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-65766786427297508262011-04-07T17:21:00.001-05:002011-04-07T17:38:22.065-05:00

I recently read Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson, which is set on an island in the Pacific Northwest in the 1950s. It contains a lot of descriptions of people gathering or growing their own food; fishing, digging clams, growing strawberries, raising chickens, etc.--which, I imagine, was so mmuch more common back then than it is now. For some reason I was really captivated by this, and

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-89831418312525214022011-04-05T00:38:00.000-05:002011-04-05T00:38:47.764-05:00

Nugget continues to be pitiful about going to school, whimpering to break your heart all the way there about why he can't stay home with me. My certainty that this is what is best for him and for me is unflagging, but that does not make it easy. And while I maintain I do not feel guilty, it should perhaps be noted that when I picked Nugget up today (early), we went straight to Wal-Mart (sigh,

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-6296148834939601392011-03-31T12:37:00.000-05:002011-03-31T12:37:00.331-05:00

Nugget's first day of school today. I stayed an hour trying to leave without crying (him--not me), eventually gave up and left to the sound of him screaming bloody murder. They called me 20 minutes later and I feared the worst but they were only calling to say he was fine. They seem to really stress independence at his new school, either it's a Montessori thing or the teachers are lazy. I like

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-52931822606862222592011-03-31T00:13:00.000-05:002011-03-31T00:13:27.288-05:00

Nugget has had two very bad and very public meltdowns in the last two days. Yesterday, in the airport on our way home from a visit to my mom, Nugget started to head into the men's room. "Be right back," he told me, holding up one finger. I reacted quickly, shouting no and grabbing him. Which caused him to shout "no!" back and start hitting me. He had a metal toy airplane in his hand, which he

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-6750709605932443182011-03-28T10:33:00.000-05:002011-03-28T10:33:25.630-05:00

From Jill McCorkle's PS, in The Best American Short Stories 2011: If I had your job [as a couples therapist] I might ask a person: If a nuclear disaster occurred, and you had to live out those final painful days just stretched out somewhere thinking about your life--This is who I am. This is what I love. This is what I believe--who would you want hearing your whispers? From Kevin Moffett's

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-1776688208873383062011-03-26T10:15:00.003-05:002011-03-28T10:33:45.308-05:00

From Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities: A WONDERFUL FACT to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-34225121448644792542011-03-23T09:29:00.001-05:002011-03-23T09:43:24.373-05:00

Nugget and I are spending a few weeks at my mom's beach house to get some quality time with "G-Ma." I've been taking advantage of the extra caregivers in the house to work on a brief that's due tomorrow. Last night I was up late working on it when I heard "Mommy!" wailed pitifully from upstairs. I ran up and gave Nugget the glass of water he wanted, got him back to sleep, and returned to my brief

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-91083600086692987932011-03-21T08:56:00.000-05:002011-05-16T13:39:28.923-05:00

Check out my essay on babble.com today!

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-54991938396761074742011-03-20T14:33:00.001-05:002011-03-20T14:58:58.963-05:00

I have awesome dreams with some frequency. No, not that kind. These dreams are like a really good thriller/action movie, full of suspense and amazement. I'm not kidding, they are really good. Upon closer examination they might not make much sense, but there is more linear narrative than a David Lynch movie. If only, it has occurred to me, there were some way to record a dream. I could become a

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-45046105927177237292011-03-13T16:49:00.000-05:002011-03-13T16:49:51.910-05:00

I don't know why they call it the terrible twos. The magic of this moment between babyhood and big kid takes my breath away every single day. I can still scoop him up and rest my lips on a fat baby-soft cheek, but when I say "I love you honey!" he can say "I love you honey!" right back and make me laugh. It's the best of all worlds.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-28761867860115701662011-03-10T00:36:00.000-06:002011-03-10T00:36:24.489-06:00

We put down a deposit on a daycare slot for Nugget today, and I have mixed feelings about it. The timing is exactly what I had originally projected: about 3 months of hanging out full-time before finding childcare here. I definitely feel the need for it. I have several projects in motion or on back burners right now and it has been really difficult to find time to work. I'm not the sort of

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-37841700049414743432011-03-01T01:49:00.000-06:002011-03-01T01:49:09.804-06:00

All through the years that everyone asks you what you're going to be when you grow up, I thought I was going to be an English professor. My last year of college, I took the GREs and read up on PhD programs. Then I realized that I like books too much to study them for a living. I didn't want to read from a critical distance. (I don't regret that I didn't pursue that path, but in writing that last

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-65195961343421665962011-02-24T12:38:00.000-06:002011-02-24T12:38:56.890-06:00

From an article about Billy Ray Cyrus by some idiot at GQ: One of the freedoms you can find away from the nation's coasts is freedom from the curse of trying to be cool ...

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-37301416278356656992011-02-18T18:50:00.000-06:002011-02-18T18:50:13.045-06:00

From Bert Holldobler's & Edward O. Wilson's Journey to the Ants: In our view, the competitive edge that led to the rise of the ants as a world-dominant group is their highly developed, self-sacrificial colonial existence. It would appear that socialism really works under some circumstances. Karl Marx just had the wrong species. (What is dogeared?)

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-55965816729551407882011-02-17T01:23:00.000-06:002011-05-16T13:44:21.399-05:00

Warning: Readers without children may want to skip this post. So I really didn't want to start potty-training, as I've mentioned, but Nugget has seemed very ready for a while so I felt like I should. I guess I have to reevaluate what constitutes readiness. We went all out on potty training starting this morning, and in the less than four hours it took me to give up, Nugget went through six

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-48631506820939048892011-02-14T15:25:00.001-06:002011-02-14T15:37:28.767-06:00

During my last year of college I volunteered in a after-school arts program at a local elementary school. I and a partner planned and implemented arts-related activities for about a half-dozen fourth graders once a week. I had to apply to get into this program, and I was initially rejected. But then someone dropped out so they called me. Possibly after calling a half-dozen other people. I am

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-64277149848218988982011-02-13T16:05:00.001-06:002011-05-16T13:44:21.400-05:00

My dog, Kiara, often pees in the house to get back at me when I leave her home alone. She's been doing this pretty much since I got her six years ago, although it is worse now, probably because of our recent move. She was abandoned twice before she was a year old, so she's got some issues. Notwithstanding the last six years of not being abandoned. Since it doesn't get that cold here, I've taken

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-78538240219443332892011-02-11T19:54:00.000-06:002011-02-11T19:54:01.300-06:00

In the category of questions I never had to ask when I lived in Chicago: what does one do at a four-way intersection with no stop or yield signs when another car arrives at the intersection from another direction at the same time? Who has to stop? Obviously, my response will always be "not me"--I'm always up for a game of chicken. One of many reasons Trent drives whenever we are both in the car.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-13901835271152158762011-02-10T15:01:00.000-06:002011-02-10T15:01:27.859-06:00

I started work on a novel yesterday, and it was really hard. Were you expecting it to be easy? My husband laughed when I told him. No, but I was taken aback by how crappy my writing seemed to me as I wrote. It really shook my confidence. And that really scared me: if I can't write a novel, then what am I doing? I left a great career to be a stay-at-home mom. I realized that my whole life plan

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-45149326713552996232011-02-07T01:31:00.000-06:002011-02-07T01:31:35.988-06:00

So I don't expect to be posting a lot of recipes here because I don't consider myself much of a cook, but I do have to say that I've been doing a totally awesome job at getting tasty, nutritious, homemade meals on the table every night since I quit my job. because I totally rock. And so does the ingredient search at allrecipes.com. (Not a sponsored plug.) Nugget and I were at Costco the other

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-54812708732844089712011-02-05T16:17:00.000-06:002011-02-05T16:17:32.297-06:00

This week was all about gratitude. Gratitude that I don't live in Chicago anymore. Haha, suckas! I asked Trent last night whether he was disappointed not to be in Chicago experiencing history and was very surprised when he said yes, a little. I'm more than content to miss out on that one, thank you very much.  [Nugget just asked me to help him with something and when I hovered a second too long

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-46565250209270758242011-01-31T17:27:00.003-06:002011-01-31T21:26:59.497-06:00

Nugget and I went on a safari this morning at the Olympic Game Farm. It's called a game farm because it is privately funded and not because you can shoot the animals. You can't. But I did bring the bright orange vest my mom bought Nugget when we moved here, just in case. Visitors are permitted to feed the animals bread, and the animals have come to expect it. They were unbelievably pushy about

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-82206291019360945092011-01-28T16:03:00.000-06:002011-01-28T16:03:45.684-06:00

From Lynda V. Mapes's Breaking Ground, quoting Lower Elwha Klallam tribal elder Beatrice Charles: "Because the Creator gave us Indians the salmon. So we respected it. This was our way of life. And so that was taken away from us. And then besides, when they built the dam, all the spiritual places where our people used to go up.... The sacred grounds, that was all taken away from us. And this

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-43968225549932559042011-01-27T02:07:00.000-06:002011-05-16T13:37:29.057-05:00

Hamlet has resonated with me more and more as I grow older because I think of him as paralyzed by thinking too much. It seems to me that is something that becomes more of an obstacle as one grows older and acquires more knowledge. Harold Bloom argued that it's not that Hamlet thinks too much, it's that he thinks too well. He may be right--I haven't done any careful reading to assess his viewpoint

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-31598522941099272382011-01-25T15:28:00.000-06:002011-01-25T15:28:02.246-06:00

I just received an email from Babycenter with the subject line "Your 2-year-old: Normal? Or Gifted?" Hilarious. Inside, the email sagely advises, "As you watch your child this year, you might notice clear strengths. Maybe he's a whiz on a tricycle and can pitch a ball like a 5-year-old. Or maybe he seems to take in and use every new word he hears. At this age, it's hard to say whether this is

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-32384865328410743592011-01-25T03:00:00.000-06:002011-01-25T03:00:51.627-06:00

I'm reading Breaking Ground, an account of events in Port Angeles (our new hometown) in 2003, when a Washington Dept. of Transportation project on the PA waterfront unearthed a cemetery of the Lower Elwah Klallam tribe (my husband's new employer). WSDOT hired a consultant before starting the project to determine whether they would be running into any such issues, but the consultant neglected to

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-48754270851227373392011-01-22T13:08:00.000-06:002011-01-22T13:08:40.321-06:00

The billable hour is not something I expected to miss. (For non-lawyers: imagine having to write down everything you did in a day, keeping track of every 6- or 15-minute interval, and--most detestably--having to scrape together at least 8 hours of actual productivity every day.) But I realized, while picking up the massive amounts of dog poo in our yard (note to self: picking up after the dog is

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-59982462332381141122011-01-21T01:04:00.001-06:002011-01-22T13:09:52.882-06:00

A little over a week ago I wrote that "I am increasingly convinced that women should not devote themselves wholly to their children," and that having a kid in quality daycare is better for the kid than a stay-at-home mom. I may have to eat my words. I am starting to think Nugget is noticeably happier now than he was when he was in daycare. Of course, Nugget was unusually emotional during the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-45211448571333061462011-01-13T15:45:00.000-06:002011-01-13T15:45:27.406-06:00

From Mary Karr's Lit: If you lie to your husband--even about something as banal as how much you drink--each lie is a brick in the wall going up between you, and when he tells you he loves you, it's deflected away. * The head can travel a far piece while the body sits in one spot. It can traverse many decades, and many conversations can be had, even with the dead.(What is dogeared?)

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-72786649903168808352011-01-13T02:55:00.000-06:002011-01-13T02:55:13.266-06:00

In a reply to the "stay at home mom guilt" email I discussed the other day, someone said "Thank you [redacted], for posting that it is ok to be a stay-at-home mom in the face of sometime guilty feelings brought about by moms who do work outside the home." Huh? Amazing how direct that was-- the guilty feelings those working moms purposefully inflict on us! Oh, how I would love to esplain to this

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-55856593868604891782011-01-11T02:03:00.004-06:002011-01-22T13:56:11.428-06:00

We had internet installed in our new house today. It's been frustrating to be stuck in the house because of Nugget and unable to take advantage of free time when he was napping or playing independently. I can understand the proliferation of "mommy blogs." It makes such a huge difference to be able to get online. Especially when there isn't even that much I can do around the house because the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-3871785799355995422010-12-27T12:22:00.001-06:002011-01-22T13:56:43.270-06:00

As I made the rounds telling people at my firm that I was leaving, a number of the partners told me to get in touch if/when I wanted to come back. This surprised me. I have assumed that this decision I've made is pretty irreversible; that once I leave my large law firm, I won't be able to come back. Large law firms tend to focus pretty exclusively on the fresh blood coming out of law school each

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-47412936384194214272010-12-24T13:49:00.002-06:002011-02-01T00:32:44.824-06:00

So yesterday was my last day at work. I had a last-minute filing, and a lot of other work left to do, plus an office to pack up/clean out. (Four boxes of personal effects plus a painting and four lamps, not to mention the rug and refrigerator I gave away; 14 boxes of files to be delivered to the poor souls who inherited my work; and two very large and very full trash cans of papers to be shredded

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-81740413153102497322010-12-19T13:12:00.000-06:002010-12-19T13:12:22.662-06:00

This guest post on Motherlode is amazing. Perfect illustration of the level of insanity parenting has reached in today's upper classes. This obsessive mom is complaining that she is no longer allowed to participate in her three-year-olds' "extra-curricular" activities. She says she put her life on the back burner for them, so she should get to go to "preballet" and rugby class. She does say that

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-5734743991555734932010-12-14T12:32:00.001-06:002011-01-22T13:57:52.676-06:00

I'm at home with the Nugget this morning -- he was banished from daycare for having a fever yesterday. I'm sitting here enjoying his running commentary as he plays (Oh! Bow! See it? Present! Open it? Cake! Me eat it? Yes!). I had lunch with a friend yesterday who has a 16-month-old and is in that impatiently-awaiting-the-talking phase. She asked me when Nugget started talking, and I was totally

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-51825451849033123572010-12-11T18:25:00.000-06:002010-12-11T18:25:07.114-06:00

The Announcement I've been quitting my job for the last three days. When you're an associate at a large law firm, every partner is your boss. So when you quit, you have to tell every partner you work for or with whom you have a relationship. I've had to have the "It's been lovely but I'm leaving" (the non-burning your bridges version of the I quit speech) conversation more than a dozen times

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-69099637836233535552010-12-03T22:34:00.001-06:002011-05-16T13:37:29.059-05:00

If I needed reinforcement that I need to follow my instincts with parenting and ignore the constant hum of advice from all directions, this is it: a NY Times Style piece on parents applying The Dog Whisperer to their kids.Oh yes, because "discipline, order, and devotion" are exactly what I want to instill in the person I'm raising. I think that's Kim Jong Il's motto, too. * I read on the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-72047899150596318882010-11-23T23:14:00.000-06:002011-05-16T13:34:59.035-05:00

1. Exercise 2. Budgeting 3. Charitable giving 4. Cooking nutritious meals 5. Sewing the missing buttons back on my clothes 6. Moving my books out of my parents' house 7. Unpacking my house 8. Walking my dog 9. Reading the newspaper 10. Watching the 84 hours of tv on my dvr 11. Giving myself a pedicure 12. Doing something with the 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month, and 18 month clothing

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-39858784418921034482010-11-16T18:11:00.000-06:002010-11-16T18:11:33.683-06:00

I don’t usually write much about my work because I’m hyper-aware of the confidentiality issues that would arise (not to mention that I think most people would find it quite boring) but I think it is safe for me to say that I am currently working on a case for a company that manufactures a chemical used to treat water. In other words, they perform a necessary role in the process that provides all

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-13129867268258146962010-11-10T10:02:00.000-06:002011-05-16T13:44:21.403-05:00

Nugget (my two-year-old) put a garbage can on his head and said "I'm a woman." I am pretty sure I didn't find it as funny as my husband did, although I did laugh. And then I contemplated explaining to him that it was offensive and decided to get over it and let it go ... he is two, after all. A luttle early to be explaining the politics of sex and gender.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-107995216895101872010-11-02T23:44:00.000-05:002011-05-16T13:44:21.405-05:00

* The "Your toddler" e-newsletter I get from the hospital where Nuggest was born says I "should not be alarmed" that my toddler is developing an imagination. "He is not confusing a sofa cushion for a fluffy cloud--he is allowing his imagination to stretch itself out and find new ways to play!" What a relief. * One of the windows on the front of the new public library in my neighborhood looks

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-26284599027026673282010-10-31T15:31:00.002-05:002010-11-01T13:29:06.569-05:00

As my eighth grade graduation approached, my parents decided, for reasons that are a whole 'nother story, to let me choose where I wanted to go to high school. (A decision they later regretted, but that's yet another whole 'nother story.) I chose a school at which I did not know anyone and no one knew me. I don't think that's why I chose it -- as I recall it had a lot to do with hearing that you

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-85600209592500678962010-10-30T22:04:00.001-05:002010-10-30T22:07:24.252-05:00

Once upon a time there was this idea that dropping out of the "rat race" and retreating to some simpler, typically rural, life, was a virtuous and worthy path. It's a concept that dates back to the early days of literature (see, e.g., As You Like It, Virgil's Eclogues), and it seems to me that it was a theme that was popular in the late 80s/early 90s (see, e.g., Funny Farm, Baby Boom), presumably

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-13762369760424757782010-10-26T00:34:00.000-05:002010-10-26T00:34:55.166-05:00

Gmail thinks I'm interested in (1) law school; (2) funding for my short sale; and (3) cruises. Is it just me, or are those three things contradictory? Well, I guess law school and short sales are pretty compatible. Also there are recent conversations about law school and refinancing a mortgage in my email, so two of those are at least reasonable guesses. But the cruise has me mystified. Of

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-79539169921937201502010-10-18T14:06:00.000-05:002010-10-18T14:06:53.575-05:00

From Nick Reding's Methland: Visible in the semidarkness were fine bones and bright, shining blue eyes around which Jarvis's skin had liquefied and reset in swirls. He rubbed at where his nose had been and coughed violently. Jarvis had just smoked a hit of meth by holding the glass pipe with his rotted teeth. Using what was left of his right hand, he jostled the lighter until it wedged between

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-54470936857517877962010-10-09T00:57:00.017-05:002011-05-16T13:42:16.615-05:00

(This doesn't show up very well on some monitors, but if you'll take my word for it, this is further evidence that the Chicago Bureau of Rodent Control is losing the battle. As Trent points out, it is also evidence that I broke the leash-your-dog law. No need to prosecute though, I'll get my comeuppance when the dog gets bitten by one of the giant alley rats she likes to chase.)

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-87517423636201221522010-10-07T14:14:00.001-05:002010-10-21T14:57:12.521-05:00

From Naomi Wolf's The Silent Treatment, New York Magazine, March 1, 2004 There is something terribly wrong with the way the current sexual-harassment discussion is framed. Since damages for sexual misconduct are decided under tort law—tort means harm or wrong—those bringing complaints have had to prove that they have been harmed emotionally. Their lawyers must bring out any distress they may have

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-76028852111474334722010-10-07T13:45:00.001-05:002010-10-07T14:18:17.237-05:00

Forbes' list of the 100 most powerful women is out, and I really enjoyed clicking through the gallery. It's heartening to see so many women leading corporations and nations around the world. Of course, there are a number of irritating inclusions, like Lady Gaga (#7!!), Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and Gisele Bundchen. I thought maybe I was being unfair to Gisele--maybe she founded a think tank I don't

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-39612698551891369942010-10-05T00:16:00.000-05:002011-05-16T13:37:29.061-05:00

The other night I went out in my pajamas at about 10 o’clock at night to get wine, ice cream, and jellybeans. There is a very reasonable back story there, but it's not the point of my story. I was wearing Trent’s polartech over my pajamas, my hair was in a messy bun, and I think I even had my glasses on, although I rarely wear my glasses in public. In short, I was not exactly looking my best. (I

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-80238368045767821002010-09-29T17:12:00.001-05:002011-05-16T13:44:21.407-05:00

Best Books for a two-year-old (aka the books my son is making me read over and over ad infinitum right now): 1. Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton We've read this so many times Nugget can "read" it to me. He screams with laughter when we get to the "oops." "Silly turkey!" I say, and explain why it's silly: "His pants are on his head! His shirt is upside-down! You can't go swimming in your

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-75537236355125119572010-09-28T00:26:00.000-05:002011-05-16T13:42:16.617-05:00

Finally! Everyone is happy but Kiara. Now on to Foe #2. Sigh. ******* While I was in the alley doing my rat paparazzi thing I hit on a pithy comment about gender to write about here and now it is totally gone. Which means I can continue to believe it was extraordinarily witty and insightful, so that's just fine with me. But it also means I am back to feeling I have

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-21470151021934327122010-09-25T14:20:00.003-05:002010-09-25T14:26:54.815-05:00

From Margaret Atwood's Lady Oracle:For a while I wanted to be an opera singer. Even though they were fat they could wear extravagant costumes, nobody laughed at them, they were loved and praised. Unfortunately I couldn't sing. But it always appealed to me: to be able to stand up there in front of everyone and shriek as loud as you could, about hatred and love and rage and despair, scream at the

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-11017124024718377332010-09-22T16:16:00.004-05:002010-09-22T16:25:53.804-05:00

This is terrifying.It may seem incredible to suggest that the anticolonial ideology of Barack Obama Sr. is espoused by his son, the President of the United States. That is what I am saying. From a very young age and through his formative years, Obama learned to see America as a force for global domination and destruction. He came to view America's military as an instrument of neocolonial

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-2089576072460788742010-09-15T02:02:00.005-05:002011-05-16T13:42:16.619-05:00

I am considering renaming this blog "Ratquest: The Resistance" or "The Bureau of Rodent Control: A Case Study in Ghost Payrolls of the Chicago Political Machine" and using it to chronicle my vain attempts to get the city to bait the rats that have colonized my alley. My alley is like Eden before the fall, if Adam and Eve had hairless tails: vacant lots full of weeds and restaurant garbage that

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-52967560983478033472010-09-14T00:18:00.003-05:002011-05-16T13:42:16.621-05:00

My nemesis. One of many. Gross.

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9130418367544495721.post-39599154300493028502010-09-08T14:42:00.003-05:002010-09-08T14:52:07.824-05:00

I don't understand why the deus ex machina gets such a bad rap. I could totally go for some contrived, unconvincing, and gimmicky resolution right now.***Please combat the recidivism of youth offenders in Illinois by voting at http://www.refresheverything.com/TabulaRasa for my nonprofit to win $250K from Pepsi to build a transitional living center for teens leaving jail!***

Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703667863919280199noreply@blogger.com1