Duly Noted

It is an odd time of year for a transition point.  Winter break and New Years have passed, and a change of seasons is still far off.  Yet, Minneapolis schools proclaims today as the end of quarter 2, semester 1, and I would like to honor it as such.  For twenty weeks now, I have been teaching 9th and 10th grades; a new...and, at times, headache inducing...experience!  But, I gotta tell you, these kids are growing on me everyday.  Just last week, as we reflected on Orwell's 1984 , a student proclaimed, "I was completely satisfied with the ending of this novel.  In fact, I'd argue that we don't read enough of these soul crushing books!"  Honestly, I couldn't agree more, kid.  Tenth grade is the year of depressing novels so he is in luck. Why is soul crushing important?   I think there comes a time where we really need to look at our world beyond our ipads and snowboarding trips and endless access to clean water.  For today's teenagers, this requir

This is one of my favorite Rachel The Dog photographs of all time.  My friend Joan took the photo on one of our longer runs this December, but the photo could've been from any river run I've ever shared with my willful beast.  Without hesitation, whenever we pass a wall on a run, she leaps up and runs along it with a huge dog smile on her face.  At these moments, I know that Rachel and I are kindred spirits.

This is one of my favorite Rachel The Dog photographs of all time.  My friend Joan took the photo on one of our longer runs this December, but the photo could've been from any river run I've ever shared with my willful beast.  Without hesitation, whenever we pass a wall on a run, she leaps up and runs along it with a huge dog smile on her face.  At these moments, I know that Rachel and I are kindred spirits.

This list mostly speaks for itself.  I tried to keep this list short and focused on a few small changes and goals that will hopefully make a big impact.  Quality over quantity, folks.  I am going to adopt that as my 2012 motto.  Some of you, dear readers, may be alarmed that I included buying matching underwear on my blog, but everyone wears underwear, right?  So, it might as well be cute.  My thinking is that if one buys a set a month, one would have nearly two weeks worth of matching underwear by the end of the year!  That's just fabulous.  Now, I'll be honest; I was apprehensive about mentioning this resolution on Duly Noted, BUT after sharing this resolution with several female friends and all of whom except ONE immediately decided that they too would make this a resolution, I felt confident that my readership would understand that this goal is not about being seductive...it's about self-love.  (Duly note: the ONE friend who did not immediately jump on board already kno

This list mostly speaks for itself.  I tried to keep this list short and focused on a few small changes and goals that will hopefully make a big impact.  Quality over quantity, folks.  I am going to adopt that as my 2012 motto.  Some of you, dear readers, may be alarmed that I included buying matching underwear on my blog, but everyone wears underwear, right?  So, it might as well be cute.  My thinking is that if one buys a set a month, one would have nearly two weeks worth of matching underwear by the end of the year!  That's just fabulous.  Now, I'll be honest; I was apprehensive about mentioning this resolution on Duly Noted, BUT after sharing this resolution with several female friends and all of whom except ONE immediately decided that they too would make this a resolution, I felt confident that my readership would understand that this goal is not about being seductive...it's about self-love.  (Duly note: the ONE friend who did not immediately jump on board alrea

Joan, Anne and I rendezvoused at Minneapolis's Chain of Lakes on a bright but windy January 2, 2012.  We decided that we were getting soft due to the abnormally mild temperatures.  As is our custom, we discussed every manner of things: dinner parties with dear friends, our loyal pets, weddings we plan on attending, drinking too much wine on New Years, relocating to different neighborhoods, the joys of spin class, how long the ferry takes between Croatia and Italy, the dilemma of unused gym memberships, the plight to finish grad school on time, when we can run together again... So understandably, even when the fierce wind hit our faces as we headed north around Lake Calhoun and our threesome became quiet in determination, we all agreed that running in the wintertime is totally worth it.  The camaraderie required to simply get out of our cozy houses keeps us smiling and warm through the run and, at least for me, invigorated for hours later.

Joan, Anne and I rendezvoused at Minneapolis's Chain of Lakes on a bright but windy January 2, 2012.  We decided that we were getting soft due to the abnormally mild temperatures.  As is our custom, we discussed every manner of things: dinner parties with dear friends, our loyal pets, weddings we plan on attending, drinking too much wine on New Years, relocating to different neighborhoods, the joys of spin class, how long the ferry takes between Croatia and Italy, the dilemma of unused gym memberships, the plight to finish grad school on time, when we can run together again... So understandably, even when the fierce wind hit our faces as we headed north around Lake Calhoun and our threesome became quiet in determination, we all agreed that running in the wintertime is totally worth it.  The camaraderie required to simply get out of our cozy houses keeps us smiling and warm through the run and, at least for me, invigorated for hours later.

 To honor the memories of 2011 (despite a reported 7/10 Americans who claimed that 2011 was a bad year) and welcome in 2012, an old friend and neighbor, Sara, Mike, and I decided to host a Mad Men/Sparkles themed New Year's Party.  The night was complete with dancing (thanks to the unexpected hits on the night's playlist alà Mike Vasich), the festive appetizers and treats prepared by the classy hosts and their friends, and the spirits (booze and otherwise) running aplenty. And not to be forgotten, a post midnight jam session in our basement studio, legible and illegible notes in the guest book as well as some interesting observations recorded on the house typewriter, kisses at midnight, and muffins in the morning. I feel such gratitude to have such a lovely group of friends- new and old to welcome in the new year.