Cop Out, Take 2

This is another post using plinky.com. Don't hate me for it. I have been writing furiously for my NaNoWriMo and just looked at the clock to see that it says 11:48. I have to post in the next 12 minutes and I don't have time to be thinking up something amazing to say.

They asked: How do you celebrate good news or big occasions?

With food. Seriously. Is there another way? We either go have a nice dinner or we go get the best ingredients and make it at home.

As a side note, I'm pretty sure this is the way I handle bad news as well.

That is all.

William says, "I have nothing to say."

That's right. I never thought it would happen. And those who know me best will be shocked to hear that I am at a loss for words. I always have something to say about something. I blame the fatigue. If I ever get caught up on sleep, I will have plenty of rantings and ravings. I just can't seem to make my mind work right now. Hmmm, I guess I can talk about my weight, 205.4 this morning. 10% body fat, according to our certainly less-than-accurate scale. I have never been healthier, neither have I felt so sure that I can maintain it. That didn't stop me from having some homemade cookies and ice cream for dessert tonight. Man, I know how to bake.

Window Shopping

Thank you to Chanda, who directed me to plinky.com for ideas on what to blog about. My mind is pretty blank tonight. I had planned on doing a post about the current political climate in America that included an incrementalist versus progressive discussion, but I'm too tired now. So, instead we're getting this:

I'm not much of a window shopper. I don't generally like being in a store just for the sake of being in that store. The one exception to this rule is Barnes & Noble. Oh, how I love the B&N. HOURS and HOURS of my life have been spent walking up and down the aisles looking at all the different books there are to read in the world. Everything from self help, to cooking, to travel, to hobbies... not to mention yummy fiction. Oh, and lately lots of baby related topics. I like walking through the store and gathering a pile of books and then going and sitting down in the Starbucks area (possibly with a hot chocolate or steamed milk) and taking my time browsing through those books. It is window shopping at its best. Except that sometimes I end up buying the books and that's not so much window shopping as it is, you know, shopping.

That is all.

William says, "I dislike grading papers."

It's not always the case. When the papers are good, it's actually exciting, but too often, I read paper after paper that disappoints. Often it is the simplest thing that vexes me. I cannot believe how often students just do not listen. It doesn't matter how many times I explain how to do something, someone is bound to do it completely wrong, I mean WAAAAY off, but it seems like the more I try to explain about the paper, the more "bases" I cover each semester to make sure mistakes aren't repeated, the worse things get. So far this semester I have read more papers that "got it wrong" than ever. And I still have a whole class of papers to grade. Sad, so sad.

Half Way There!!!!

Tonight my word count for NaNoWriMo is at 25,777. So I'm just over half way to the goal of 50,000!. Ideally I would have been at this point on the 15th, so I'm a few days behind. But, I have a handy spreadsheet (I love me a good spreadsheet) that tells me how many words I need to write every day to finish on time. I've been writing a bit more than that every day, so I'm slowly catching back up to where I should be. My story is... not always awesome. But there are moments of brilliance and at least when this is all over I'll have something to work with.

AND when this is all over I can just say that I did it. That's really the most important thing to me right now and the thing that keeps me going at it. Last time I tried the bottom feel out around 15,000 words, so I'm doing WAY better this time. And feeling pretty good about it!

William says, "I deserve to be recognized!"

Today, People magazine announced that Johnny Depp is the "Sexiest Man Alive." The magazine cover shows Depp with little more than a smirk and slicked back hair and, of course, sporting his trademark face fuzz. Before you read too far into this, you should know that I love Johnny Depp, and I think he is as worthy of the honor as anyone else. What troubles me is something else in this forthcoming issue of People. The words stamped on the lower left of the front cover read "110 OF THE HOTTEST GUYS ON THE PLANET!" Before you rush out to buy your copy, you should know this, I am not in the issue. People neither contacted me for use of a picture nor took pictures of me for the purpose of this issue. It is a travesty, I know. How can they make this claim when they know it is false or that their list is incomplete at best? Do I need a better publicist? Or maybe I should get a publicist? Seriously, though, congrats to those who did make the list. And just in case you're not convinced by my little rant, check out my pic!

Nashville

Several weeks ago, William presented a paper at a Milton conference in MTSU in Mufreesburough, TN. Since it's not that far away, John and I went up with him. The MOST exciting thing is that my dear friend from high school, Ann Marie, drove down from Pittsburgh with her husband. I hadn't seen her in 13 years, and it was SO FUN to get to hang out with her again. We spent the day in Nashville together. We went to the Parthenon, the Pancake Pantry, some random mall, and the Neely's restaurant. It was mostly just the most fun day ever. Here's some pictures:

All of us out side of the Pancake Pantry (only just barely John, who was tired and busy rubbing his face on me):



If you ever go to the Pancake Pantry, order this. I can't remember exactly what it was called, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Chocolate and Sin. Ann Marie ordered it and I had a bite and I haven't stopped thinking about it since:



And here's a shot of John being cute in the hotel room. He loves these wall air units, and whenever we stay in a hotel that has them he beelines for it. Its a shame we don't have one at home: