tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-339543402024-03-13T07:05:09.186-05:00That Girl . . .That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.comBlogger680125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-54756540833257245582012-12-01T19:50:00.004-05:002012-12-01T19:50:41.625-05:00Sign OffWell dear readers. I have been contemplating this for a while, but the time has come. I am closing down "That Girl." I've really enjoyed having the opportunity to air my thoughts, give unsolicited advice, be a little bitchy, and brag about the Js. I originally started the blog while I was in graduate school as a way to clear my head during the writing process. But That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-38152141563737168292012-11-06T14:35:00.000-05:002012-11-06T14:35:45.103-05:00It's Election Day!I know, I had a cynical post a few weeks ago about politics. But here's the thing -- I love voting! It is the one time I feel people in America actually come together to do something, even though we may be voting for different candidates. We're in this election together! And it feels good.
What doesn't feel good is any report of voting irregularities and the fact that I That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-41444932994585069652012-10-30T21:20:00.002-05:002012-10-30T21:20:48.411-05:0010 Days of No SchoolPoor little j, the evening of her 10th birthday she came down with a fever. And it wouldn't quit. She was a 100+ for nearly 6 days. We could tell she was really sick because she didn't want to leave the couch. Usually after a day or so, she's climbing the walls, but not this time. She emphatically declared that it was the worst week of her life, and then cried on That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-26340144080775546532012-10-23T16:53:00.001-05:002012-10-23T16:53:38.068-05:00Vote!I'm a sucker for 60s music -- and this says it all!
That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-35599558177856969732012-10-05T14:30:00.001-05:002012-10-05T14:30:22.245-05:00How I Feel TodayThat Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-49648558523878980602012-10-01T20:53:00.001-05:002012-10-01T20:53:48.528-05:00What I MissLife has been increasingly busy this semester. I have no doubt much of it is due to the new puppy. Big J suggested that we get a dog walker a couple times a week. It seemed silly, but in retrospect it was a very good idea. It was taking me far too long to come home in the middle of the day when most days I have to be home by 3 to meet little j.
Today I was walking out of That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-44464888313574825632012-09-30T17:17:00.000-05:002012-09-30T17:17:38.816-05:00Something Oddlittle j and I were on our way home from a movie this afternoon when we saw an airplane with one of those signs trailing. While at a stoplight we both twisted and turned trying to see what it said. little j suggested it might say, "Vote for Obama." I laughed and said I didn't think that was the best way to promote a candidate. Well, what do you know -- it actually said "That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-59352637481886884802012-09-18T07:55:00.001-05:002012-09-18T07:55:16.095-05:00It's All PoliticsFour years ago I was pretty pumped up about the presidential election. I think part of it was just the elation that GW would be out of office. But also, I was truly excited about Obama and his vision. Four years later, the shine has warn off. Yes, I still support Obama. But his vision was a little too big. I recognize that change takes time. And I can That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-50895502268724109302012-08-30T08:35:00.001-05:002012-08-30T08:35:32.666-05:00And it begins . . .The semester started this week and I began feeling a bit out of sorts and sick. My office was an crazy mess and I really didn't get my syllabi done until the day before classes began. To top it all off Hurricane Issac decided to come into our lives in the form of Big J working on Sunday.
But even with all that there are a few bright glimmers of happiness. Big J is coming That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-51585629034278260212012-08-21T16:04:00.004-05:002012-08-21T16:04:54.955-05:00little j's last day of summerlittle j starts school tomorrow. I'm amazed at how quickly summer has gone. I think she is too. It's been a full season with a trip to Oregon, six weeks of riding camp, a couple trips to Kings Dominion, the first fall off a horse, swimming, friends, sleepovers. And, of course, a new puppy.
There are days that I can hardly believe little j is going to be in the fourth That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-65630169416004848002012-08-05T06:46:00.000-05:002012-08-05T06:46:23.947-05:00Thoughts For AugustIt's hard to believe how quickly this summer has gone. I began the summer a bit giddy with the fact that I wasn't teaching until mid-July. Now that class is over (I finished up last Friday), I am wishing for some of the time back! little j begins school in just 18 days and then I start a week later.
They say that late July and August are the "dog days of summer." For us That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-84470108061511340002012-07-11T10:30:00.002-05:002012-07-11T10:31:28.199-05:00Random Inappropriate ThoughtsIt's been a while since I've written "random thoughts," so I thought I would spice things up a bit with inappropriate thoughts.
What not to say to a colleague: "Ugh, you really smell like an undergrad during finals week!"
No matter how often James Deen is mentioned on a feminist website you read, you should not let curiosity get the best of you and google his name at work.
When students ask meThat Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-29612001422694711052012-07-07T11:03:00.002-05:002012-07-07T11:03:44.831-05:00Garden WoesEarlier this season our garden was flourishing. Tomatoes were on in June, beans were plentiful, cucumber and zucchini looked better than ever. And then the heat wave came. Peas wilted, tomatoes stalled, radishes didn't do anything except seed out.
The past couple of years we've been out of town when everything is ready to pick, but not this year. And now this. That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-30499669079507778702012-07-01T14:53:00.001-05:002012-07-01T14:53:17.794-05:00A Lttle Thing Called "Derecho" Plus Super Hot WeatherA derecho, or land hurricane, caused a power outage in our neighborhood from Friday evening at about 10:00 to Saturday sometime between 3:30 -7:00 (we weren't home when the power came back on). Couple that with the extremely hot weather we've been having (heat index near 110° three days in a row), and you get some pretty cranky people.
Granted, it's been just little j and I for the That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-39052166487382145202012-06-20T16:04:00.005-05:002012-06-20T16:04:49.153-05:00SummerIt's officially summertime. We took our annual trip to Oregon (note: not vacation!) and little j began camp this week. Big J leaves for India on Friday. I teach summer class in about 3 weeks. It's hot and humid.
I have a feeling that summer will go by too fast. I long for days that we relax in the hammocks reading books, or leisurely weed the garden, or go to moviesThat Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-57140850580584414822012-06-07T08:01:00.000-05:002012-06-07T08:01:04.043-05:00We share the same universeSome days it is easy to dwell on how different people are around the world. With this weeks astronomical phenomenon, the transit of Venus, it is easy to remember that no matter where we are in the world we share the same universe. The photos from the Boston Globe's The Big Picture, help remind us that the awe we feel as we look to the skies and contemplate the stars and sheer That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-59637746592885173632012-05-07T18:58:00.000-05:002012-05-07T18:58:07.810-05:00Horse Show
little j competed in her second horse show -- once again she earned 3 blue ribbons and was champion in her division. Woohoo! Clearly it is time for her to move up a division, which she will in a couple weeks -- she'll be jumping!
That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-74501726410290713852012-05-04T19:43:00.000-05:002012-05-04T19:43:09.173-05:00RIP Adam YauchThe Beastie Boys provided the soundtrack for my dissertation writing. Adam "MCA" Yaust will be missed.
That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-42744630821021885512012-04-21T14:37:00.003-05:002012-05-08T21:10:52.539-05:00Books!I have been reading voraciously the last couple of weeks. I seem to pick up a book and not be able to put it down until it's done. It's so nice to just be immersed in books for a while. Of course it doesn't help get other things done, but it's given my brain a break from work reading!That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-38013038896334178212012-04-09T18:22:00.000-05:002012-04-09T18:22:30.837-05:00Spring Break
I know, I already posted about spring break but this was little j's
spring break week so we actually did something fun! Big J was home for
the week, which, even though I had to work, was like a vacation to me.
And he and little j stayed busy. On Thursday we went to First Landing
State Park near Virginia Beach. It was such a nice campgroundThat Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-51280182044384074432012-03-29T12:52:00.000-05:002012-03-29T12:52:03.446-05:00Book Spine Poem
Inspired by my friend's blog post,
I decided to do a book spine poem from books in my office. In some
ways it was easier than I expected -- it's not that difficult to begin
pulling books off the shelves and ordering them. In other ways it was
tough -- I really wanted to convey my beliefs about higher education.
Here's the result:
That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-53046118268449129452012-03-22T20:22:00.001-05:002012-03-22T20:23:18.896-05:00Hope For the Unorganized Among Us
Einstein's desk, taken mere hours after he died.
That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-76088894681014391242012-03-21T21:06:00.003-05:002012-03-21T21:06:43.425-05:00Mid-SemesterThere are some days that I teach and I feel awesome, like I was meant to do it. There are some days that I feel like I've crashed and burned and I'm pretty much the worse teacher ever. I notice that I have more of the latter days toward the middle of the semester. Today was one of those days. And it really sucked because I was teaching about class status and identity and, That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-38043412943633633292012-03-15T18:56:00.002-05:002012-03-15T18:56:52.725-05:00MindfulnessI'm a skeptic. I don't like self-help crap. I prefer to figure things out on my own. I don't like it when people tell me to relax.
Why I signed up for an all day mindfulness workshop is as much as a mystery to me as to anyone else. But sign up I did.
I was so anxious about it that I thought about cancelling several times, even as late as this morning as I wasThat Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33954340.post-13515641809889830852012-03-11T18:44:00.001-05:002012-03-11T18:44:38.768-05:00Room Painting Success
It is amazing what a coat of paint can do to a room. little j's room
went from little girl to big girl (dare I say tween) with just a bit of
paint and a new bed.
little j picked out the colors. I did the painting. Stripes are hard!
Big J made a sawhorse for little j's saddle and I put her ribbons up -- plenty of room for more!
That Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134716960263092742noreply@blogger.com1