2-3 pm birdies

There's this song by Band of Horses called "Infinite Arms." It's good for a lot of reasons, one of which is the lines:

I love the morning/ I like to listen/ to 4 am birdies/ begging to feed... 

I don't know why I love that so much. Maybe because it's this neck-tattoed scraggly-haired rocker dude singing about "birdies" in such an unembarrassed and earnest way.

Anyway, I really like birdies too, and so, of course, does this guy:

But 4 am is just plain crazytalk. Early afternoon sounds more like it to me.

So, yesterday I caught the Carolina Wren at the feeder and decided I was determined to get a picture of her. I ended up sitting the window for about 45 minutes watching birds and taking pictures of them, being very still and quiet and feeling a little like I was doing yoga. I didn't realize I'd be birdwatching for so long. It just happened, and fortunately, I'd already finished my lesson plans.

I'm working (slowly) on improving my photography skills. For the moment, here's where I am:

Titmouse

Chickadee (Carolina?)

And finally, the lovely Carolina Wren. What a cute face--totally worth waiting for.

Happy things: lately

Here're some recent things I'm glad about: 

Those delicious little Cuties clementines. I eat like 3 a day. 

That when the yoga teacher didn't show for my class on Sunday, I was the only one, in a class chock-full of students, to actually get up and go to the front desk and ask about it. And then, instead of leaving, I converted my irritation into a great ride on the bike. 

Special K cereal on BOGO at the Bruno's. I love a sale, and the new oatmeal honey is really good. 

That Gabrielle Giffords is going to be ok.  

The very kind stranger on Ravelry who responded to my question about a pattern within 3 minutes, and had the time and patience to explain it to me. 

 

This kitty.

A long, gorgeous, and glad-sounding letter from a dear friend who recently moved away.  

That my husband and I ask each other for advice.  

That Big Love is back.   

This cartoon.

 

Tomorrow's the first real day of my American Lit class and that means a date with good ole' Walt Whitman.

Assorted football-shaped chocolates

I don't really know much about football, but I used to dislike it... and now, apparently, I kind of like it ok.

Don't get me wrong--Baseball will always be my boyfriend of sports, but while he's away I might check out Football's cute butt from time to time. 

So, on the heels of last week's big BCS championship, here are some assorted, partially-formed football thoughts from someone who doesn't know very much about football: 

1/ While I have never condoned violence, I've realized over the years that I really kind of like to watch it. Whenever those warnings come on before TV shows and they say "contains graphic violence" I'm like "Ooh this is gonna be good!" So I guess that applies to football. And maybe boxing, too. (The Fighter was really good!)

2/ I like to watch men in tights fall all over each other, and WHO DOESN'T LOVE IT WHEN THEY SMACK EACH OTHER'S BUTTS?!

3/ I do not understand why, at the BCS championship game, SEC fans insist on rooting for a team they HATE and have literally gotten in bar fights over simply because that team is in the SEC. Why would Bama fans root for UA? That makes no sense to me. Red Sox fans would never root for the Yankees simply because they're in the same division. There's a really good article on Deadspin that says pretty much that.

I mean, really. Let's pretend I'm competing for some award against a variety of people, including my neighbors. Let me tell you something about my neighbors: they are the devil. They are 19 year old spoiled swoop-haired fratboys who who drive huge loud trucks their daddies bought them, wake us up regularly at 4am, and throw Nattie Light cans in our yard. Seriously. If I'm out of the competition, but they're still in, there's no way in Hell I'm rooting for those jerkwads just because they're from the same area I'm from. I mean, see how dumb that would be? It makes no sense.

4/  I like it when people talk about "sacks" and "blitzes." Whenever there's "turnovers," I get hungry.

5/ Friday Night Lights is surprisingly really, really good. The first few episodes are heavy-handed and cheesy, so just ignore those. You can watch it instantly on Netflix.

6/ It's a pleasure to be able to say "Go Cocks!" or "That's My Cocks!" enthusiastically in public. 

7/ See how this one dude is dancing on this other dude's face like he's in The Matrix? That is nothing but awesome--

My very favorite website right now

While I've been busy prepping for the start of Spring semester, my whole world has changed. And not just because I'm now a Scorpio.

My husband has opened my eyes to Let Me Google That For You. I know it's probably one of those things that hip intertubes geeksters have known about forever, but nothing is going to take away my joy over this. I'm in love!

If you're not one of those "oh I know everything there is to know about the internets and have since I was a toddler" people--here's how to use LMGTFY:

Enter the term or question in the box, then you'll see a link. 

Copy the link.

Paste the link.

Include the link in your response to the many overwhelming inane student emails you will receive throughout the semester.  Like this.

The good news is that LMGTFY's quite sturdy--there's no question dumb enough to break it. Let the semester begin!

Fun with tats

One of my favorite ways to waste time on the internets is by looking at bad tattoos. 

I mean, dude.

DUDE. 

See what I mean? 

Not a poetry blog: Chaps

In the poetry world, there's these things called chapbooks. Chaps. The idea is that they're like the chapter of a book--about 20 pages of poetry.



Several years ago, I kind of thought of chaps as half-assed (Get it? Chaps? Assed?!), but over the years, I've gained respect for and realized I really like reading them. There are SO MANY poets right now that it's nice to be able to pick up a handful of chaps as sort of an introduction to new poets and to help decide who you'd like to buy full length books from. 


Contemporary poetry books are rarely available at libraries, so if you want to read them, you have to buy them. Supporting poets and poetry presses is super awesome, but spending a small fortune because every single person you know has at least one book is something else... So chaps are a good way to get around that and still get  your good reads on. 

Read me, cowboy! 

Anyway, the good news is that I've just learned that Dancing Girl Press  has accepted my chapbook manuscript for publication! (Along with my dear poet friend Kirsten Jorgenson's manuscript.) This will be my first chap so I'm especially thrilled. Hooray and thank you to DGP! 


So, look for our chaps in the future. They'll give you an idea about what our whole package is like.*  (Mine's called "Circumstances of the House & Moon." It'll be the one with fringes.) 




*1/ Package! You know, cause of the cut outs and the crotch and the whole butt window and stuff... Eh?     2/ Hint: rhymes with "the shit." 

My eggs are gorgeouser than yours

Almost every day I eat eggs from Rena, the local Egg Lady. She emails all her customers every week to remind us she'll be outside the church on Thursday afternoon selling eggs. She signs all her emails "LOL," "LOVE," and "GOD BLESS" and with this little chicken face:  .

She gives everyone hugs and crochet dish rags for bringing back egg crates. She is one of my favorite people in this town, and her all-natural, home-laid eggs are my favorite eggs in this town.

Not only are they delicious, but they are so much more gorgeous than anything that comes out of a chicken's butt has a right to be.

I love the way the light from the browns bounces off the pale blue/greens.

Life list

I think New Years resolutions are a little silly. I mean, you don't need an occasion to change something in your life. If there's something you want to change, you should just go ahead and change it. Just do it. (Ok, now I'm done being a Nike commercial.)


Anyway, on that note, over the past four months or so I've been working on a life list--a list of things I want to accomplish in life. This seems like a good time to share it with you. I first heard about the life list from my good friend Christina's fabulous blog The Me Show. Her awesome list was inspired by Mighty Girl's list. 


Both their lists are inspirational, but mine's a little different. I couldn't come up with 100 things. It's a work in progress and I might get to 100, but I take this as a pretty good sign, actually. Maybe it means I'm already pretty content with my life and experiences so far. 


Also, I did not include any thing that seems unrealistic or out my control. I would love to publish more, but, while I can write and send out all day every day, I can't make anyone publish me. I can apply for dream jobs but I can't make anyone hire me. I also can't make myself be 5 inches taller, super gregarious, or better at geography and driving directions. 


So, I thought about things that I could control. I also thought about some of the things I've already done, and realized that many of those things would be on my list had I made it several years ago, so I've already got some cross-offs, which is pretty cool.  

Sweater! Made by ME!
Just a couple months ago!
And not too embarrassing! 

In no particular order, here's what I want to do: 

      1/ to knit a non-embarrassing, wearable sweater.

      2/ eat a meal made entirely from my garden.

      3/ ride a rollercoaster w/ my husband.

      4/ own a big dog like this one or this one, and be a good pack leader.

      5/ get a sewing machine and learn to sew.

      6/ learn to whistle.

      7/ go on a cruise.

      8/ ski.

Good ole' bourb. 

 9/ get a road bike and use it regularly.

10/ camp more.

11/ read more international writers.

12/ scale a climbing wall.

13/ karaoke.

14/ Kentucky bourbon trail.

15/ go to Spain.

16/ see the aurora borealis.

17/ grow a monarch butterfly. 

18/ have a hammock.

19/ make homemade ice cream.

20/ go on a safari.

21/ live without cable.

22/ go to Dollywood unironically (bonus points for going with 

      my friend Christina, from whose life list I took this!)

23/ become someone’s mother and be good at it.

24/ eat lobster rolls in Maine.

25/ celebrate every wedding anniversary with my husband and make it to the big ones: 10, 25,…50 yrs?

26/ yarnbomb something.

27/ have chickens and eat their unborn babies.

28/ have a beautiful little back yard with gladiolas, hydrangeas, avocado tree and a goldfish pond. (Or at     

      least some of those things.) 

29/ find the perfect red lipstick.

30/ join a bowling league.

31/ eat a truffle. The mushroom kind.

Tandeming! 

32/ crochet a granny square afghan.

33/ ride on a motorcycle.

34/ travel to Europe.

35/ go spelunking.

36/ ride a tandem bicycle.

37/ get on the jumbotron at a baseball game.

38/ restore an old piece of furniture into

something awesome, like those fancy design*sponge people do.

39/ help animals.

40/ eat a red velvet donut.

41/ pose for a pin up shot. 

42/ do a headstand.

43/ be less critical of myself.

44/ visit the Mutter Museum. 

45/ not let crazies and meanies get to me so much.

According to this, if everything goes as planned, I'll be a well-traveled, plump, and mellow old-timer. 

What would you put on your list?