in the blink of an eye

| June 16, 2010

I feel like this summer is going to be gone in the blink of an eye! Let’s see: over the past few days I’ve gone to a couple of meetings, got into my first car accident (not my fault though!), went on a retreat with BJ for marriage prep (more on that later), quietly celebrated my 25th birthday, sewed lots of flowers and birds, and drove all around Houston running errands. I really wish I were super-organized and had a few extra pair of hands.

* The accident couldn’t have come at a worse time—right on the day of our retreat + with all these wedding plans going on. Plus, B and I are sharing a car. But on the bright side, this rental drives over pot holes so much better than mine. My car is basically too costly to fix, and I need to find a replacement quickly before I turn over the rental. Oi.

Thankfully, B was close by and called the cops for me. If anyone ever offered a Getting Through the Small Things in Life course, I would be the first to sign up. On the syllabus: How to change a tire, How to get info in an accident, How to fix a leaky pipe, How to sign a lease.

Anyways, before I ramble on any more, here are a few pictures I remembered to take:

retreat bag

JuliaBelt_web

WireBasket

CoinBelt61610_web

TexasBelt

  1. Packing for the weekend
  2. Finished Juju’s flower-girl belt + a few brass bells
  3. Huge wire basket from Grace Hart & Co
  4. Gaudy belt from Sand Dollar thrift store around the corner, 45 cents
  5. Another belt from Sand Dollar. Made in Texas. (Clothing1/2 off on Wed. :)

school’s out for the summer!

| June 10, 2010

No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher’s student’s dirty looks*

I’ve been trying to tackle a load of things so it’s been pretty busy here. Since I’m normally surrounded by a lot of people and noise at my job, the silence after everyone leaves in the morning, and being alone, is a little strange. It freaked me out enough that I hid in our closet for a good half hour because I swore I heard people breaking in. I’m a little embarrassed, but happy to be alive :0 ! Blame it on the loud air conditioning, construction, and ice machine … or ghost?

Today was much better. I stopped by Grace Hart and Co. a few blocks away and it’s totally overstimulating but amazing! They have a good selection of costume jewelry and antiques + cookies and coffee in the back. And the saleswomen leave you alone but will gladly listen to you ramble on and on. Every booth had great finds, and I only got a few things this time, but will definitely be back for presents.

mice mouse brooches with movable tails

4686099443_90575a4d06Japanese beaded evening bag

teak + crystal cheese boards

*I’ll miss my kids. really.

summer is coming

| May 19, 2010

Yesterday, I played volleyball for the first time in a while with my high school students at the park. The boys trash-talked a lot, so I was happy to get a spike in now and then …. directed at them. :) Then again, I also let my serve drop on my own head, so it was humbling. It is really getting hot and humid in Houston, but I’m looking forward to summer fruit!

peach

And I finally found another pair of shoes that could withstand the school day, bringing the total to 3! These Cynthia Rowley sandals came from Marshalls, and they’re surprising comfortable. It’s nice to let my toes breathe a little because my other shoes were getting errrr not so pleasant.

sandals

Polenta, mmm

| April 30, 2010

Polenta

Tuesday, I drove downtown to pick BJ up from work and we stopped by the farmer’s market on campus. We ended up buying a couple of macarons, raspberry marshmallows, and one of my favorite meals this week—polenta with some sort of tomato and cheese from Maison Burdisso. BJ bought baby-back ribs and grilled them up. So delicious. The roasted tomatoes on the polenta reminded me of how my mom prepares them with catfish.

We also were gifted with tickets to New York City for our honeymoon! B’s mom made it all possible, and I’m so excited to do all the things we usually make plans for—when we do go there—but never get the chance to do. No more 10-minute run-throughs in the Met. We’re already setting aside one day for that. (With breaks of course.) Eeek!

Happy Friday!

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| April 26, 2010

Mondays

I think this sums it all up!

Quick recap of my/our weekend: looked for places to rent, fell in love with a townhome with rooftop balcony, put in an application, stressed, crossed our fingers, saw Local Natives, listened to LN outside because it was so hot, visited with cute baby cousins, stressed, and dreaded going into work. I’ll be so relieved once things settle down!

Happy Birthday to my older sista Trang!

off the wall

| April 19, 2010

This Sunday, we drove to Austin to see my cousin finish the ms150 (150 miles in 2 days). I’m so proud of her and of all the old men with huge beer bellies victoriously crossing the line—I don’t know how they do it. We had a really relaxing afternoon with her two kids, saw a lot of cute dogs, and made some awesome purchases on Congress Street. And ate some of the best bar-b-q from Salt Lick. Here’s one of the purchases we came back with:

PrintersTray2

an old printer’s tray from Off the Wall. There was another one with a more unique handle, but this was a lot sturdier. It has so much potential, and I can’t help but think about this shelf below from Elisabeth Dunker’s blog. I can’t wait to start filling it up!

_MG_3873B

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| March 31, 2010

thuy

from my sister Thuy’s sketchbook

It’s starting to get hot! I hope we find time to go tubing or swim at the beach this summer. Last night, we had friends over for Lost, ridiculous reality tv, and my failed attempt at Dark ‘n Stormies. By the time the season finale arrives, we’ll probably be watching it in our new place. eek, where has the time gone?! I have no idea where we’ll be- somewhere closer to town for sure.*Did you know Houston is the number one city for traffic fatalities?

*Sidenote, why do so many realtors have the crappiest photos or only outside shots? And please don’t begin your listing with “OKAY PICKY TENANTS”

Yee Haw

| March 24, 2010

Flags

Lent Fish

RidersSky

FriedStand

FriedOreo

After a long drive in the car, multiple redirections from stadium cops, and a quick trip to use the bathroom (guilty) we finally made it to the rodeo on closing day. It didn’t help that most of Houston had the same thing in mind and that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were slotted to perform later on. We took a scenic ride on a gondola/ski lift Total food count inhaled: four fried oreos, sausage on a stick, super baked potato, brisket sandwich, sausage in a bun and corn. whew.

+ Still recovering from a stomach virus. Finally broke my 14 year no vomiting streak (tear. tmi?) Can’t be rodeo food right?

on teaching

| March 21, 2010

Fires in the Bathroom

While BJ was organizing his books, he handed me a copy of Fires in the Bathroom by Kathleen Cushman. The first line in the preface read like this:

It’s a safe bet that in random high schools all over the United States, some kid has just set the bathroom wastebasket on fire. And deep down, all of us know why.

I was hooked. Someone is always setting the trash on fire down the hall! This happened at other schools too?!I’m only through the first two chapters, but I am certain this will be an invaluable resource for teaching. During my graduate studies, we were assigned more than enough books about pedagogy and what-have-you, but this gathers advice and insight from students themselves who tackle sensitive topics with honesty and directness that is hard to get from “experts.” In a way it makes me want to travel back to the first day of school and do some things a little differently.

I didn’t realize how consuming a teacher’s job can be until I became one. Students, lessons, and endless lists of tasks linger in my mind well past the end of the school day. Lucky for me, BJ has always been understanding about all the work I have to do during the weekends and all the things we have to pass over. Heck, he even pitches in and helps me with the workload. And I’ve got to be thankful for my cohorts (hehe, do you guys remember hearing that word all the time?) and teacher friends like Andrew (whose calisthenic detentions we’ll cover in their own post) who continue to challenge me to reflect upon my own teaching practices and who allow me to vent about extremely short class times, overcrowded classrooms, and all the crazy things that go on in a school.

Mmkay, That’s all. If you are an educator, I highly recommend picking up this book if you haven’t already. I’m off to the rodeo to enjoy the last few hours of break before I start grading again.

mondays, eh

| March 8, 2010

Monday4

Ah. Monday. I’ve got too much on my mind. But I’m counting down the days until Friday so I can finally tackle my to-do list. I kind of wish we were going to NYC for Spring break , but it’ll be nice to eat lunch with BJ and check out some of the exhibits downtown.

BJ made a fancy pants dinner last night while we watched the Oscars- steak, salad, potatoes, and berries. Oh, and I can’t forget the wine. That definitely helped me destress! (Yay. So happy the Hurt Locker won)

Check out B’s recent Phosphorescent track review for Pitchfork  here.