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I love TED Talks.  I have for years.  TED is one of those things that I come back to year after year... watching a handful of talks for a week or so only to forget about it for a year or so.  However, this past academic year has been different.  I recently discovered collections of TED Talks on my Netflix! (Go Netflix, go!) After watching a few (these 5 to 20 minute talks are just about perfect for my attention span these days!) I decided I was going to try to watch 4 to 5 talks a week and keep a notebook detailing a nugget of knowledge important to my life!  I have to admit I am not doing such a fabulous job on that!  But I am still watching! 

This afternoon at lunch I wanted to email my department chair the link to a particularly brilliant presentation about how our body language not only shapes how others perceive us it shapes the way we PERCEIVE ourselves! Click here to view Amy Cuddy's TED Talk. While I was tracking down the URL, I found a talk on happiness. 

I would like you to take about six minutes to meet Graham Hill of Tree Hugger and Life Edited.  He eloquently describes having a smaller footprint and fewer things to clutter our lives can lead to greater happiness. 

Less is more!  (< = >) 

https://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_less_stuff_more_happiness/transcript?language=en  

Are you ready for the irony?  I have just reserved a U-Haul to carry some precious furniture (things my brother has made or stuff that has been the family for years) from Fayetteville, AR to Middle Tennessee!

Day 28

Will this crap ever end? Probably not. At least not any time soon! Today I had a follow up visit with my wonderful doctor. I had both good news and bad news. But I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's really closer to good news and could be worse news, than truly bad news.

The good news is that my lungs are clearing. And I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. I can tell.

The could be worse news is that I am still green. And I still have a slight wheeze or whistle by the end of the day, especially if I push myself. Therefore the doctor has extended my antibiotics- another five days of Levaquin! Hooray! And the Prednisone- (psychotic music hits a crescendo). Yippee! I will also continue playing with the nebulizer as needed.

Overall, I am feeling much better. Last night was the first time I attempted to sleep lying nearly flat. I didn't get much sleep, but it had little to do with my position and more to do with the drugs I am using. I have also been slowly cleaning the house. Each day I pick a room to attack. Two days ago it was the dining room. Yesterday it was the library. Today I think I bit off too much. The Dirty Romance Room was not a terrible mess, but I think the combination of very little sleep last night, waiting two hours to see my doctor, the quick but necessary trip to Wal-Mart, the run by the pharmacy, and making a simple pot of rice to go with Manisha's tandoori chicken did me in. Even with Orion's help I gave up just short of vacuuming the room. I could tell by the slight wheeze and the pain in my chest that if I had reached for the vacuum, I'd be paying double for it tomorrow. So the Dirty Romance Room has been dusted and neated, but vacuuming will have to wait for another day.

Tomorrow's room will most likely include vacuuming of the entire house and cleaning of the hallway closet. The boys will be in charge of neating the kitchen and cleaning their bathroom with the mandatory bleach and fire.

The Past Week or So...

The past two weeks have been crazy! I am teaching three courses this summer. And with Orion at his grandparents' house in Arkansas one would think that I have had plenty of time to catch up on whatever it is I need to catch up on, but alas, I feel as if I have run from one fire to another. I feel like a cat chasing my tail. Will I ever catch it?

Roughly two weeks ago we began packing to head to Conway. Orion's birthday was the 25th and we wanted to celebrate his special day with him. The day before we left, Nola became ill and vomited in the area between the library and the dining room. Six or seven times. Seriously. I took pictures; I have proof. We had no time to seriously clean, so we disposed of the chunks and set off to Arkansas. Well, whatever was ailing Nola passed quickly as she did very well to and from Arkansas.

We stayed as long as possible, returning right before the both of us had to return to work. The week before the holiday was crammed with teaching, meetings, grading, and the usual. I had to write a proposal for a conference in Sacramento, CA in January of 2010. (After submitting it, only moments before the deadline, they ended up extending the deadline another week!). I planned and prepared for my last week of classes. Graded some more. Carved out four hours to celebrate the 4th of July. Attended a multiple day Program Revision Retreat (My head still hurts!). Squeezed in some sleep, but not nearly enough. Graded even more papers. Started the process of packing and moving my office. And started (mentally) counting down the hours till the Summer Semester ends for me! Thursday night can't come soon enough.

And somewhere, amidst all of this I made time to rent the Rug Doctor (again!) and scrub all of the carpets and the dog vomit stains. I am very pleased with my clean carpets. I believe Spot is impressed too. (See the picture below.)

Did I mention that it looks like we're going to have to "pull and snake" the toilet in the main bath? Sounds like a fun weekend!

The Dining Room

Just about 18 months ago we were lucky enough to find an abode large enough to house all of our 'stuff' and even luckier to have several great friends help us move.

Over the past year and a half, my mother has asked me on several occasions to share pictures of my house. And honestly, I would love to. My only problem seems to stem from the fact that the entire house is never clean enough for pictures at any one time. Even when we have company, there's a room or three that is piled high with a disturbing amount of crud. In fact, much of the dissertation is in a box behind a large chair in the library at this very moment.

It came to me one day, after putting up my new china cabinet actually, that I could take pictures of each room, shortly after it is cleaned, and not worry about the rest of the house. Eventually I will photograph the entire house and family and friends far away will know what my house looks like.

Now, on to the dining room. The dining room is one of my favorite rooms in the house, yet it is rarely used. As far as dining rooms go, it is rather small. The oak table that I inherited from my mother (First it was my mothers, then my brother's, then it was my sister's, until she gave it back to him and he later gave it to me with the instructions that I could only have it if I promised not to bring it back!) is about four feet in diameter. The dining room is just big enough to fit this table with four chairs. The room shrinks a bit when folks are sitting at the table.

But what the dining room lacks in size it makes up for in storage. In fact, the amazing number of closets in this house just blows my mind! The dining room has two, built-in, dish or china cabinets. They are located on the outside wall and frame the dining room window. The cabinet to the left of the window is picture here on the left. You can see my aluminum canister set as well as my aluminum cake plate. The cabinet to the right is an exact replica.

The one on the left contains my Visita Alegre china that I purchased at an outlet mall in Lebanon, MO several years ago to the tune of 90 cents a piece. Fortunately I found a setting of eight pasta bowls, salad plates, cups, and saucers. I even found some nifty serving pieces. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate a full size dinner plate. So I use these brightly colored, make me happy plates, as my pasta ware. The top shelf contains a couple of my teapots, my Japanese dish set from Pier 1 that I found at the Salvation Army for $7 (W00T!) and a couple of very nice, treasured Korean pieces that Tree and PD brought to me several years ago. The bottom of this cabinet contains odds and ends: pickle and relish trays, Jewel Tea pieces, and a set of 12 Corelle dishes Crazy Daisy.

The open part of the second cabinet, located to the right of the window serves as my liquor cabinet (too dusty to be pictured!). On the shelves below you would find a collection of glass pitchers as well as an impressive collection of Corelle baking dishes of all sizes. Above, you will find assorted glassware. Left you will see a picture of my Grandma Josephine's Candlewick glasses with some Boopie pieces tossed in. What a treat. Not pictured are some gorgeous, heavy glass, orange goblets that my friend Shannon found and bought for me one day when we were adventuring south of town.

In one corner of the dining room there is a seven foot bookcase crammed with some of our cookbooks. This bookcase is just right of the pocket door that leads to the kitchen. To the left of that door is the new china cabinet. Due center along the back wall you will find my highchair from my childhood currently being used as a plant stand.

The walls of the dining room are decorated in primitive art from well known artists like Grandma Fran and Katherine Mangione. Funky plates and pottery also decorate the walls. Perhaps this is one of my favorite rooms because so many of my favorite goodies and memories are stored here.

25 Bucks!

Shortly after Mother's Day we headed up the road a few miles to one of my favorite stores in the area, Highway 13 Antiques. I have found all sorts of goodies at Highway 13 Antiques: Candlewick glasses, embroidered pillowcases, cast iron, Corelle dishes, and so much more. On this particular day the boys found goodies for their blacksmithing endeavors and I found a CHINA CABINET!
I wasn't looking for furniture in particular. But I did need to find something for my teacups, they were stacked up on the roll top desk! I had looked at a wall mounted curio-type-shelf for $25 on previous visits, but didn't want to commit. On this particular day I found a lovely hutch of sorts, for $225. A rich maple with a honeyed finish tempted me; the "no-lay-away" sign depressed me. But one booth over I found another hutch. This one looked like some sort of office piece with blood or barbeque sauce all over the front of it. Honestly, it was beat to hell. (I wish I had taken a before picture...) The price was marked down to $25! Could that be right? I took the ticket to the cashier to ask if it was correct and to inquire if the seller of the maple cabinet would do a lay-away.

Long story short, the ugly, blood/barbeque stained cabinet was indeed $25. The owner of the maple cabinet couldn't be raised to answer my question so I left my number and bought the $25 cabinet. To my pleasure I discovered that the glass doors were intact and safely stored between cardboard. We were in Grace, the Kia, so we headed back home. Orion and I returned with Maggie, the truck, loaded the cabinet, headed home, and just about the time I finished the second cleaning (about an hour after I got home), the shop called and said "yes" to the lay-away. I was so tickled with my cabinet that I passed! Besides, the storage capacity of the blood/barbeque stained cabinet was twice that of the $225 maple piece.

So I cleaned and I scrubbed and I gave it the once over, twice over, and thrice over with Murphy's Oil Soap. The previous owners left a few wedding or anniversary napkins. While the hutch dried, I scrubbed the glass doors. A few passes of Old English Lemon Oil and I was looking at a nice piece of furniture.

It was so nice I decided to display my china, originally my mom's china from the early '60s, Midnight Rose! Take a look below. It's gorgeous!

P.T.S.D.

Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder that is! It's the scary realization that Christmas, Hanukkah, and other winter festivities are around the corner and you've done nothing to prepare! I hope your holidays are P.T.S.D. free this year!

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving! A friend and colleague invited me to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. There I spent the afternoon with other friends, colleagues, and a group of Latino guys and gals (friends of my friend's youngest son). We partook of some seriously tasty victuals. There was shrimp cocktail, bread, crackers, cheese ball, deviled ham spread, to start us off.

From there we found ourselves at the table consuming turkey with Panchetta hidden under the skin (yum!), duck, mashed taters, candied yams, various steamed veggies, and so much more.

The most difficult decision was deciding whether I wanted seconds (more turkey and dressing) or whether I wanted to try the deserts. You may be surprised to discover that the deserts won. I had a small slice of tasty pumpkin pie and a healthy slice of some impressive cream cheese pound cake! There were really too many wonderful choices! I split a German cookie that took me back about 30 years or so. The cookie was moist, almost cake-like. But it was not sweet. It seemed to be heavy on the ginger, orange, and possibly molasses. It reminded me of a Christmas cookie my mom and grandma used to make. This one was covered in a tiny layer of chocolate, but the ones I remember as a child were covered in powdered sugar.

Mom, if you have any idea what I am talking about send me the recipe! Amber, with your baking expertise you might know what I am talking about. Readers, can you help?

By not having to shop or make Thanksgiving dinner this year I not only saved a tremendous amount of money, I had an extra day and a half that I used to clean my house. It's still not as clean I would like it, but at least now I have an idea of where things are. All it all it was a good holiday. The best part was spent with family and friends. I hope your Thanksgivings were just a wonderful! Feel free to share in the comments, especially any tasty recipes!

Dear Santa,

Pretty please? I've been so good this year! I promise I'll use it every day. I'll be waiting for you on Christmas Eve!

Love, Kat

Mrs. Wishy-Washy

Good ole Mrs. Wishy-Washy. She's one of my all time favorite book characters. One day she takes to cleaning all the animals on the farm. Shortly after getting them all clean, they find a nifty puddle and shout, "Oh, lovely mud!" If you have a preschooler or toddler, you must have this book. It's great for read aloud. The story pattern is easily picked up by kids and in no time they're reading on their own. "In when the duck, wishy-washy, wishy-washy." Of course, I totally identify with Mrs. Wishy-Washy on so many levels. She and I share the same buxom physique, however she has an ability to pull off fuzzy slippers where I cannot! We both find a great deal of pleasure (and perhaps self-medication) in the act of cleaning. And we are both find satisfaction in a job well done! Mrs. Wishy-Washy, I salute you!

Unfortunately, I've not been able to channel my Mrs. Wishy-Washy. My washing machine is on the fritz. It makes quite a horrid noise when one sets it to washing. I paid $60 for a wonderful man to tell me it would be cheaper to buy a new one! Oh no! Washing machines have transmissions? Well hooey! We're looking at nearly $300 to fix a $328 washing machine. The laundry mat is looking better and better. But at $1.50 to wash and $.25 for ten minutes of drying time the new machine would pay for itself in three months. But I would be right back where I am now in four to five years' time. Mr. Repairman assured me that today's washing machines have a 5-6 year life span. And I think he's right. My friend, Shannon, just replaced a switch on her 5-6 year old machine. I need a transmission on my 5 1/2 year old machine. His suggestion: Whirlpool or Maytag, and a front loading one at that.

Well, I've perused the Lowe's website and looked at several machines. And I am still uncertain. Fix the old one at $225 to $300 (depending on parts)? Purchase the least expensive Maytag or Whirlpool ($400). Or sell my first born (any takers?) and go for something a bit more expensive that is "supposed" to last 10 - 20 years ($650-$750). What happened to appliances lasting for decades?

So readers, I have to ask, "What are you washing with?" What kind of washing machine do you have? How long have you had it? Are you happy with it? What kind of detergent are you using? Does it smell good? Do you use dryer sheets, fabric softener in the rinse, or both?" Air your dirty laundry hear! I need help making a decision!

Ten Days

I cannot believe it has been ten days since I have posted! It just might be a record! I apologize; it is simply an indicator of how busy the past few weeks have been. My absence from the blogosphere, the pile of laundry, the unmade bed, the sticky kitchen floor, and the unpaid bills all point to the same, wicked truth. School has resumed!

I have been spending roughly 14 hours every day on campus. This has been my attempt to get caught up so that I can devote more time to research. You may ask how I could be so far behind during the first week of school. I didn't even have papers to grade until Thursday! After all I went to work a week early to get things ready. Alas, I had a student that consumed a particularly great deal of my time (over thirty hours in a week an a half). This student was not prepared to enter their internship and waited until the last minute to begin making corrections to the document that would enable them to participate in the internship. Said student had nearly three months to make corrections. And while the quote "Failure to plan on your part does not constitute and emergency on mine," continually played in my head over the course of dealing with said student, I was still the one who ended up being the most affected. Who pays for a students inability to follow directions, to plan, to organize, or to write coherently? Not the student. The teacher.


That aside, a great deal has happened in the last few days.

• School started for all three of us! Orion is navigating the often choppy waters of middle school. John is taking two courses (Anthropology & Ecology) in the mornings. And I am attempting Meteorology. I say attempting because I am conducting research with the professor of the course (Sally) and hanging out. I fear that I may not have the time to dedicate to studying.
• John has returned to the late night shift of 3:15 to 12:15.
• I am teaching another full load this semester, however I have taught all of these classes before so at least I have a vague idea of what I am doing this time around!
• An old friend died last week.
• Helen, the grey kitten, was adopted by three young ladies, students at UCM.
• I've been pretty sick and I have a mild case of pink eye! Allergy related? Perhaps.
  

And this is only a sampling of what has been happening! I have decided to use my blog as an incentive or reward! When I complete a certain amount of tasks, I will allow myself to post to the blog. Unfortunately, I doubt that there will be much to report. All work and no play makes Kat a very dull blogger!

Let's hope not!

Running on Empty

Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind
Running on - running into the sun
But I'm running behind

I had forgotten how much I like Jackson Browne until this week when I couldn't get his song, Running On Empty, out of my head! It was a litany that kept me going for the past several weeks as I put in 12+ hour days on campus, 6+ hour stretches of grading, all while averaging about 4 or 5 hours of sleep! It's just a reminder that I am not as young or as resilient as I used to be.

4:30 yesterday I said good-bye to my last group of summer students. I've enjoyed getting to know all of my students this summer. I only wish I had had more time to devote to them individually.
7:02 last night I completed grading my 'last' paper, test, reflection, website, whatever! (I'm waiting on two items from two students.)
7:05 I began grading a portfolio that had been turned in late and needed immediate grading for admission to student teaching.
8:50 I finished grading said portfolio and headed home.

I spent several hours with the boys straightening up the house and doing a load of laundry in preparation for our very quick trip to Arkansas. We'll essentially be driving down, visiting with Tree on her way to Mexico City, and driving back! I'm not looking forward to the driving, but I am looking forward to visiting with nephews and niece.

Now for all of you Jackson Browne fans, a little clip of Running on Empty from 1979.

Free Furniture

This weekend keeps getting better! Yesterday I received a call from a friend and colleague letting me know that a friend and former colleague was in town and had some Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals for me but did not have my phone number with her (She moved to TN about two months ago!). So I called up my TN friend and met her at her old house in Knob Noster where she gave me a giant garbage back filled with pristine stuffed animals from the Hundred Acre Wood. Sweet. While there and catching up (read: gossiping) she offered me a dresser, a computer desk, a book case, and an awesome entertainment center. How could I say no? But I was in the Kia. So Shan and I headed back to the 'Burg and grabbed John and the truck and loaded a HEAP of furniture in the bed. The afternoon and evening was spent putting together our new furniture, cleaning, feasting on tacos (Thank you Shannon!), moving furniture, and more cleaning. John finally has something more than a futon on the floor and a box with a lamp on it! His room looks pretty darn sweet. Orion's room has been slightly reorganized (I swapped the chest from Orion's room with the dresser from John's (same suite).). I've got a bit more work to do and I hope to get curtains hung before school resumes on Tuesday. I cannot wait to put the dresser in the basement spare room and switch out desks for Orion's computer in the basement! Sweet! Thank you Tracy and Brian for you generosity. You saved us a boat load!

Did I forget to mention that I started my morning with homemade chocolate cake doughnuts (Thank you John and Orion!) and that Shannon found some $3.24 curtains at Lowe's (I am not kidding!) for the "Dirty Romance Room"? What a day!

We're expecting some wicked weather tonight (Tornado Watch and Severe T-Storm Watch). Currently KC is getting hammered. I think I am going to call it a day!

Garage

Up early! Oatmeal to nourish the body and soul. This is war. Off to attack the garage. Friend or foe? The garage is a mixed blessing. The garage can be a nifty place to store a lawnmower, snow shovels, paint, assorted tools and even (gasp) a car or two. Or the garage can be a dark place. A place filled with dirty secrets- boxes and crap that you cannot bear to sort through. Worse, this crap seems to multiply and migrate until there is no garage. There is nothing but garbage... boxes... un-recycled recyclables: a somber miasma reminding you that you have no time, no life.

But no more! I tamed the garage and she is now a friend. It took roughly 8 hours and there are still a few piles. We took two truck loads of crap to the Johnson County Sheltered Workshop. The first load was nothing but flattened boxes that had lost their boxiness. They will be recycled into some nifty toilet paper or a steno pad. The Sheltered Workshop has a Thrift Store. Now we can recycle more than paper and plastic! So I loaded up the truck and took off with one of Orion's bicycles, the dog crate (Nola's too big!), and several boxes of stuff- mostly paperbacks and tchotchky. I am two truck loads lighter and happier for it! I've got camping goods in one corner. Used lumber from a huge desk we built years ago in another corner. Some nice boxes for a friend who is moving soon in the place somebody might park if there was a garage door opener for that door! Shovels and brooms along one side. And Grace (the Kia) all snug in her new bedroom.

My goal- to keep it clean. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm celebrating with grilled meat and veggies. Yum! What did you do today?

Two Sheets To the Wind

Last month I commented on the simple pleasure of clean sheets, yet lamented that I don't change my sheets nearly often enough. Curious to know how often my readers change their sheets, I posted a poll. I had an impressive 12 votes submitted: 41% of you change your sheets weekly (my mother is quite proud of you!), 33% of you change your sheets every two weeks, 16% of you change your sheets once a month, and 8% of you (one of you!) aren't even aware that there are sheets on your bed.

Like any good thought or question, it leads to yet another thought or question and now I want to know what kind of sheets do you prefer to sleep on? Do you like those slinky satin sheets? Or would you rather slide between a thick pair of flannel sheets? Do you prefer the ease of wrinkle-free percale? Or does your soul crave the crisp feel of 100% super-soft, combed cotton sheets?

Personally, I prefer flannel for the cooler times, especially when my window is open and I can smell the snow on the air. However, when the temperatures rise and the A/C kicks in, give me those luxurious cotton sheets with the impressive thread count! Regardless, there's nothing I love more than clean sheets fresh from the clothes line, kissed by the sun and smelling ultra-fresh. Mmmm, two sheets to the wind.

Clean Sheets

Happiness is sliding into a bed made with crisp, clean sheets. Growing up in my mother's house we changed our sheets weekly! However, in my house I push the sheet issue... Changing them every two to three weeks (Yes, I can hear my mother gasp all the way from Florida!). I rationalize by reminding myself that I sleep alone, that I shower before bedtime (My friend Shannon agrees that if you go to bed clean, your bed sheets stay cleaner longer.), and that I am saving water by not washing three sets of sheets every week (I am earth conscious!).

This weekend was John's turn for clean sheets. Essentially we all got clean sheets when we moved in, but several of his blankets and such missed the big cleaning- I made that my Friday and Saturday goal! Little did I know that the pets, both Nola and Alison, would conspire against me... Nola, muddy from the yard, slept in a nice little circle on Orion's white, flannel sheets! (Of course Orion is partly to blame as he didn't wipe her feet clean or make his bed...) and Alison decided to vomit (again) all over my bed. I think she was trying to get off the bed, but she moves so slowly these days, she only succeeded in spreading it out aways. Ewww! So this weekend everyone ended up with clean sheets and clean blankets and comforters.

If clean sheets are such a pleasure and such a joy to me, perhaps I need to change mine more often. I could make up for it by not changing the boys' sheets for three or four weeks (Another gasp from Florida!).

And I am left wondering. How often do you change your sheets? Please vote in the poll to your right and/or leave a comment below! I am eager to hear.