Things I realized this week:
1. Frozen potato soup does not defrost well.
2. Ricola Cough Drops are amazing. Halls tend me make me feel nauseous, so I'm glad I found a better brand. Plus, they help in the over all feeling-better process, not just a sore throat.
3. I think I was born in the wrong music era. I am really loving Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bobby Darin (also contemporary covers by Barbra Streisand and Michael Buble).
4. Water is amazing! Hydration is both healthy and beautiful.
5. For all the snow that fell yesterday, there isn't very much on the ground, and I am ok with that.
6. Some of the stories in the Old Testament are pretty crazy/ God works in mysterious ways.
7. I crave sweets when I have a cold.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
In honor of Valentine's Day: An ode to clean romantic comedies
I went to go see He's Just Not That into You with a friend this weekend. I didn't read any reviews, so it's mostly my fault, or maybe it was just wishful thinking, but I wanted a feel-good movie. While this movie was a "chic flick," it wasn't a romantic comedy. The art of romantic comedy has gone down the tubes. Even recent movies correctly labeled as such are mostly overly sexified eye-candy.
Where are all the good old-fashioned romantic comedies that didn't need to be rated PG-13 for tickets to sell? Like You've Got Mail, While you were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle, One Fine Day, Return to Me . . .
Or even the classics adapted from the likes of Jane Austen, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Louis May Alcott.
I want to see a PG "chic flick" that is not about a teenage girls or Disney princesses. There's gotta be someone out there willing to engage in the making of wholesome entertainment that tugs at our heartstrings.
Where are all the good old-fashioned romantic comedies that didn't need to be rated PG-13 for tickets to sell? Like You've Got Mail, While you were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle, One Fine Day, Return to Me . . .
Or even the classics adapted from the likes of Jane Austen, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Louis May Alcott.
I want to see a PG "chic flick" that is not about a teenage girls or Disney princesses. There's gotta be someone out there willing to engage in the making of wholesome entertainment that tugs at our heartstrings.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Daily Epiphany: February 12
Being a student of history, I am often so focused on the past, and being a human, worried about the near future that I forget about eternity. I forget that I have citizenship in Heaven; that I was not made for here, but to spend eternity with my Savior. When I do remember to be "kingdom" minded, I am reminded that my actions should be first and foremost pleasing to God.
I think that is why I was having such a hard time coming up with a good topic for my Masters Essay. I didn't want to write just any old research paper. I wanted my work to have purpose, to be relevant to who I am and what I am studying. This morning (with the help of my adviser) I finally found a topic! I will be asking the question, "Is family history public history?" However daunting this research endeavor may be, I am excited. May that excitement last!
I think that is why I was having such a hard time coming up with a good topic for my Masters Essay. I didn't want to write just any old research paper. I wanted my work to have purpose, to be relevant to who I am and what I am studying. This morning (with the help of my adviser) I finally found a topic! I will be asking the question, "Is family history public history?" However daunting this research endeavor may be, I am excited. May that excitement last!
Monday, February 9, 2009
My Sweater!
Working on the said sweater . . .
Completion!I decided to go with 3/4 length sleeves because it was already a pretty warm sweater, even though it is holey. I also made it a button-down, instead of closing it with a belt, as the pattern suggest. Final alteration: it was supposed to go down to mid-thigh. I thought that was too long.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Daily Epiphany: January 31
Last Monday I finished crocheting a sweater. I am quite proud of it. I will post pics as soon as my sister uploads them to her computer (hint, hint, hint).
I have not had internet in my apartment since I returned to Chicago from winter break. I would like to say that this has helped me manage my time better (by not spending absorbent amounts of time perusing Facebook, etc.), but it hasn't. I am as swamped and stressed as ever. Partly because I don't have internet access to look up books and articles for class. And partly because when I get lonely, I tend to get lazy and procrastinatory (yes, I just made up that word).
Winter is getting to me. And I don't like it.
On a totally different note: on more than one occasion, friends have commented on how observant/practical I am. I used to take pride in this trait, but now I am beginning to wonder if it just annoys people. . .
I do take notice of my surroundings in a very logical way. I'm not sure when this started, but I think it has something to do with why I love history, and connections that can be seen throughout time and place. Maybe that's why I love Madeleine L'Engle and C.S. Lewis so much, too.
Along those same lines . . . I often become deeply acquainted with certain places, to the extent that when I visit them, I almost feel "loved" by my surroundings. The summer camp I attended for fifteen years is one of these places, as is the Art Institute of Chicago.
On Thursday, some Public History students took a field trip to the museum for the free evening hours. It was just what I needed on a cold, dreary day. Being surrounded by familiar walls and works of art was immensely comforting. It was also dark outside, which made the museum seem oddly surreal. My favorite exhibit was in the children's education wing. I was a tiny display of illustrations by Bill Peet. They were so simple, just the drawings that went into his children's books, but it made me so happy. Story-book drawings standing alongside the great masterpieces of the ages!
Enough spewing my heart. Back to reading I must go.
I have not had internet in my apartment since I returned to Chicago from winter break. I would like to say that this has helped me manage my time better (by not spending absorbent amounts of time perusing Facebook, etc.), but it hasn't. I am as swamped and stressed as ever. Partly because I don't have internet access to look up books and articles for class. And partly because when I get lonely, I tend to get lazy and procrastinatory (yes, I just made up that word).
Winter is getting to me. And I don't like it.
On a totally different note: on more than one occasion, friends have commented on how observant/practical I am. I used to take pride in this trait, but now I am beginning to wonder if it just annoys people. . .
I do take notice of my surroundings in a very logical way. I'm not sure when this started, but I think it has something to do with why I love history, and connections that can be seen throughout time and place. Maybe that's why I love Madeleine L'Engle and C.S. Lewis so much, too.
Along those same lines . . . I often become deeply acquainted with certain places, to the extent that when I visit them, I almost feel "loved" by my surroundings. The summer camp I attended for fifteen years is one of these places, as is the Art Institute of Chicago.
On Thursday, some Public History students took a field trip to the museum for the free evening hours. It was just what I needed on a cold, dreary day. Being surrounded by familiar walls and works of art was immensely comforting. It was also dark outside, which made the museum seem oddly surreal. My favorite exhibit was in the children's education wing. I was a tiny display of illustrations by Bill Peet. They were so simple, just the drawings that went into his children's books, but it made me so happy. Story-book drawings standing alongside the great masterpieces of the ages!
Enough spewing my heart. Back to reading I must go.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Obama, FDR and MLK Jr.
As Barack Obama's inauguration fast approaches, here are some thoughts. I am sure they are not very intellectual or radical, but my thoughts nonetheless.
1) 2008 marked the 75th anniversary of FDR's New Deal(1933). Obama was elected President in 2008 and quickly paralleled to FDR [although one must be very careful with these comparisons. Most of them are ungrounded, yet throught provoking].
2) Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President on January 20, 2009, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Very interesting. Wouldn't it have been an honor to see MLK Jr. celebrate this historic day?
1) 2008 marked the 75th anniversary of FDR's New Deal(1933). Obama was elected President in 2008 and quickly paralleled to FDR [although one must be very careful with these comparisons. Most of them are ungrounded, yet throught provoking].
2) Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President on January 20, 2009, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Very interesting. Wouldn't it have been an honor to see MLK Jr. celebrate this historic day?
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Textbooks and Snow
Winter break was good and restful. The family did our annual trek across the barren midwest to Colorado. We hiked a lot, hung out with my Dad's side of the family, and I started crocheting a sweater. I am about half finished. I also re-read all of Madeleine L'Engle's Austin series! She is such a genius. If anyone asked me who I would like to meet from the past, she might be the person.
But all good things must end. I'm back in Chicago and have been working non-stop at the Loyola Bookstore. I am super grateful to have a job (one, to keep me busy and not lonely before classes start, and two, because nothing is certain with this silly economy), but I am soooo sore from standing on my feet all day and lifting heavy textbooks.
That, on top of all the shoveling today, is giving me some nice upper-body strength. Speaking of shoveling . . . my friend lent me her car while she is in Florida for a week. But with all this working, and all this snowy weather I haven't had time to drive anywhere. Nevertheless, I was obligated to shovel off the foot of snow that has fallen in the last couple days. I really was quite a feat, no pun intended.
My classes start on Tuesday. This is my last semester of grad school. What!?! Where did all that time go? Anyway, I have two classes and my masters essay to write, plus the Public History oral exam. It's going to be an adventure.
But all good things must end. I'm back in Chicago and have been working non-stop at the Loyola Bookstore. I am super grateful to have a job (one, to keep me busy and not lonely before classes start, and two, because nothing is certain with this silly economy), but I am soooo sore from standing on my feet all day and lifting heavy textbooks.
That, on top of all the shoveling today, is giving me some nice upper-body strength. Speaking of shoveling . . . my friend lent me her car while she is in Florida for a week. But with all this working, and all this snowy weather I haven't had time to drive anywhere. Nevertheless, I was obligated to shovel off the foot of snow that has fallen in the last couple days. I really was quite a feat, no pun intended.
My classes start on Tuesday. This is my last semester of grad school. What!?! Where did all that time go? Anyway, I have two classes and my masters essay to write, plus the Public History oral exam. It's going to be an adventure.
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