Resolutions

Okay, took a hiatus from blogging! I saw that I posted resolutions last year and most of them came true, so decided to do that again this year. I'm not carrying any over purposefully from last year, but just coming up with original ones, if some are repeats, I guess I'll really bust my ass for them this year!

1. Improve my spelling in Hebrew and ability to have intellectual conversations fluidly.

2. Run a half marathon.

3. Do as much of my pre-reqs for masters as I can (don't want to say finish because it might take longer).

4. Be even better about lesson plans and assignments: always be at least 3 lessons ahead for every class, and never wait more than two days to start grading assignments unless it's a weekend.

5. Visit three new places (US or international)

6. Start flossing again. I know this was a resolution last year, and I did it very well for a while, and then stopped.

7. Be better about making appointments for donating blood. I could donate more often if I did this because half the time I call and they are totally booked. While we're on this, motivate 3 non-regular donors to come with me at least once each.

8. Drink less soda and even more water. Coffee still okay, but tea after 4 pm.

9. Maintain not being addicted to my phone.

10. Find a restaurant in Vegas to recreationally cook at (need to find chefs that will humor me). Can't fly to Raleigh every time I have an itching for some restaurant prep!

11. Make my parents proud.

12. Make my sister proud.

13. Stay up to date with my autism knowledge and volunteer w/FEAT or like organization at least 2 times this year, even though I am no longer doing therapy/consulting.

14. Laugh HARD every day.

15. Maintain behavioral principles in classroom management - don't be hypocritical and stand by my values, even though at times punishment/yelling seems so tasty.

16. Maintain behavioral principles in personal relationships - especially giving positive reinforcement/feedback sporadically!

17. Get more involved in Delta Gamma alumni community service - help this local chapter find visually impaired people for us to help run errands, or the like.

18. Play piano again. Haven't decided if I want to tackle learning a new piece (it would probably be 3rd movement of Beethoven's moonlight sonata), or just to re-perfect all my old pieces. Okay - start w/re-perfecting all old pieces, then decide :-P

19. Change my jewelry move often. Rings are okay, but I have so many cute earrings, and many non-heart necklaces I should show off! Okay, I'm still allowed to wear heart necklaces, but not every day!

20. My OCD is making me have 20 and not 19....AH! Oh, I know! Split my time between listening to country/npr more equally and randomly, so I don't always hear the same NPR shows but have variety.

My ridiculous last 24 hours with Jo

Any time I'm in a sad mood I have to remember the following occurences of the last 24 hours 1. blind taste testing with sriracha and raw garlic/ 2. Maids being less paperwork than monkeys

3. The lunch jo and I just had at PF Changs. silly silly us. Told the waiter he toyed with our fate, got a basket of fortune cookies and free chocolate dome cake.

More details soon - going to run!

Clarice Starling

YAY no more boredom! I started w/my new kiddo (20 hours/week) and I'm in love. Of course that means that I'm driving all over the place to see my different clients so I picked up some books on tape, including Silence of the Lambs. It's good so far. I never saw the movie. It's weird because I strongly dislike scary movies but I love them as novels, and I strongly dislike chic-lit but I enjoy chic-flicks. I just finished Firefly Lane, which was really stupid at first, and then the last few chapters got suddenly sad and serious and good, and I am sitting in a nail salon in Boston with my mom, balling my eyes out!

Let's see, what else is going on. I started running again and am in a Women's Running group. I did 4 miles total today, but not at the same time - 2 w/Joanna, and 2 w/Pam and Ryann. I LOVE it. I am doing a 5k on August 30th for Leukemia and Lymphoma, a Mud Run for the Marine Corps September 19th, and a 5k for autism speaks on October 10th. So excited! My goal is to do a 10k by March, and a half marathon by next fall.

I was in Boston this weekend w/mom and the Sharon/Perrin family. It was amazing. It is crazy how comfortable I instantly feel w/Jackie and the rest of the family. Andre took us on his boat with Brit, Judit, and Jackie. It was such a fun day. Brit and I went tubing, which was weirdly more of a workout than it seems. The water was freezing! We also went to a really nice dinner at one point w/Jeremy and his family (from mom's school, he moved back to Boston). Mom and I shared parsnips as a side dish and they are officially my new favorite thing. We saw a store on Newberry street called LiLo or something like that, and it's an Israeli Jewelry/knick knack designer. Mom bought me a chamsa and a cute little elephant keychain, and a bracelet for herself, and I bought myself a huge open heart necklace (to add to my ridiculous heart necklace collection), and a little fish charm for Jo cuz she watched Odgey over the weekend. Speaking of Odgey he got shaved and they cut his top knot off w/o my permission and I am legitimately pissed. I told them to keep it long!

The weekend before Boston we went to Atlanta to move Adva into med school. I love Atlanta. It's so southern but diverse and metropolitan, as oxymoronic as that sounds. Emory is great and a perfect fit for her. Mom and I went to Craft, which is owned by Tom Collicchio (he has a chain of them). Adva lives in a house that is owned by a professor and rents out rooms. It's a really unique situation but actually is pretty awesome. Her roommates are one girl in her class who is my age, and one boy who is a year older than her who is starting Law School. They don't have Harris Teeter there but they have Publix which I went into and is fabulous. We also went to the International Farmers market and it was like a candy store.

I had a GREAT birthday. I was house-sitting for the Kramers in their palace. So many of my friends came, it was so nice, I don't think I've had such a lovely birthday since I was young and my mom would plan amazing games and make the best cakes ever. Now I don't remember how they tasted, but she had this book about creative cake designs, and she would make Barbie dress cakes, cakes shaped like farms with animals, pools, beaches, and my fav (besides Barbie) is a carousel one. Anyway, so many friends came, and we grilled awesome food, had a bit to drink, and just had a blast. Nobody was too wild, people just enjoyed the food etc. I actually have friends this year that brought me presents and cards. Not that I enjoy getting presents because I always feel a bit uncomfortable, but the fact that friends came with cards and balloons, cakes, and actual gifts, and not just alcohol, meant to me that I have friends that have the same values as me. Don't get me wrong, many brought wine and we enjoyed plenty of it, (and the Kramers enjoyed what I left for them!).

Okay I'm exhausted and have to be in Durham at 8 am tomorrow and traffic is NOT fun. Laila Tov.

Page Turners

Summer's here, and I don't have school! I am trying to keep myself busy with private clients as well as clients from Let's Talk Speech and Language Services' clinic, but I still have a lot of mornings free. Trying to be productive, work on my online courses, exercise, etc, but thanks to my dear friend Ryann Warlick, I have instead been spending most of my time reading the Twilight series. I am SO sad for when i finish it (in a couple days). These books are like 500-600 pages long, and I read them in a couple days because I get so caught up! I'm such a nerd. I should go hang out at high schools to talk to people about them. Well middle schools. I do need some page turner suggestions for when they're all done.

Mom and Dad just flew to Israel - so jealous! I am very content not really traveling this summer (Atlanta to take sis to med school, and boston w/mom for a weekend, but that doesn't really count). I won't go home until fall, but then I'll go twice, and then for winter again.

Moved into the new place w/Erica in N.Raleigh - we both love it! Our pool is so much fun and we just love this neighborhood. Also, I have a crush :-) We'll see what happens w/that. Haven't had a real crush in a while, and I'm not being cynical at all, which is when I know I actually like a guy, because that's how it was w/Grant. Usually guys sort of annoy me and I'm just cynical and want more independence than they give me, but this is exciting, so yay!

HG since you and my mom are prob the only ones reading this, call me woman, I miss you!

Diana

One of my best friends, Diana Good Smith, passed away, and she is no longer in pain and suffering. If you are reading this and you feel at all compelled, I would love it if you can have a thought or prayer or cheers or whatever at her wonderful life, even if you did not know her. She was a survivor, above all else, and I will always love her and remember her as one of my very best friends Deenie. I love you.