I Can't Believe I'm Doing This...

In Other News...

It is 8:16 a.m.  I am waiting for the electrician.  The electrician who was supposed to be here at 7:30 a.m.  The electrician who was supposed to be here to revive the washing machine that has been dead for a week due to a blown outlet.  This death was particularly unfortunate considering that at the time of death I had not done laundry in a week.  We are drowning here, Mister!  Drowning in dirty, smelly laundry.  My husband has started wearing some of those dirty clothes again out of necessity.  Don't keep me waiting!

Weber discovered a hole in the fence yesterday.  I had let her out and was working in the kitchen when I realized that I hadn't heard her little bark at the door to be let back in.  I went out onto the porch; didn't see her.  Walked out onto the stoop; still no Weber.  That's when I heard the rustling on the other side of the fence.  When I walked out our gate to the front, Weber came running out of the neighbor's fenceless yard, bolted across the street, and proceeded to run around the neighbor's front yard, deliberately looking at me and ignoring my commands to stop and come.  Did I mention that I was wearning a flimsy spagetti strap sundress that I wear as pjs/around-the-house wear?  Oh yeah...I was looking mighty indecent and I'm sure the neighbors are now talking about the hoochie lady who can't control her dog.  And did I mention that she ran through that hole two more times that afternoon while I was trying to secure the fence?  Yep.  My sweet little puppy turned into an independent little brat for a short span of time.  Good thing we're starting obedience school this Saturday!

I think I found "the" bread recipe yesterday.  I have been baking bread for awhile now but had never found a recipe that was just a good everyday wheat loaf that was easy enough to make quickly and frequently.  But Nigella came through for me yesterday.  If anyone is interested in baking their own bread (which is far easier than you could ever imagine, particularly if you have a Kitchenaid mixer), let me know and I'll email you the recipe!

Started BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) last night.  I did BSF when we lived in Waco and absolutely loved that way of studying God's Word with other women from other backgrounds.  In OKC, the nearest class was very far northwest, which would have taken me an hour from Shawnee, so I'm excited to have an opportunity to do it again. This year the study is Moses: an entire year of studying the Pentatuech (minus Genesis, which is its own study in BSF).  Sadly, I can't tell you that I've ever actually read books like Leviticus and Numbers, so I'm excited to see what they have to offer.  If you are looking for an in-depth, Bible-only study (not by some author telling you about the Bible) that allows you to meet and learn from other believers from other denominations and backgrounds, let me know!  There are classes all over the country and world, so there is bound to be one that fits your schedule.  And they have a children's program in the day class if that is a need of yours.  The kids program is AWESOME!

Anywhoo...it is now 8:32 and I am still waiting for Mr. Electricity.  Come on, dude!  I need some clean underwear! 

Reading Rainbow Update

So I mentioned that I was starting Wild Swans in my last post, and I felt the need to update you.  GO GET IT NOW!  It is such a fascinating book.  I have found myself humbled and embarassed at how little I knew about life in China over the past 100 years; if you think about it, it is largely ignored in all but the most specialized history courses.  We like America and Europe, thank you very much. 

Anywho...I had no clue about the civil war, the Japanese occupation during WWII, and the rise of Communism.  I almost feel as though I went 25 years (26 in 14 days...woop woop!) without ever learning about the Holocaust.  How did such massive events get omitted from my education?  The book reads like a novel, even though it is nonfiction, and I just can't put it down.  It's intriguing, informative, funny at times, heartwrenching at others.  Just an all around good book.  Don't be intimidated by its thickness...it's a page turner!  (Or maybe that's just because I have lots of time to read these days, but nevertheless, it goes fast!).  That's all...I just know that I see many of you asking for book recommendations every once in awhile, so I thought I'd add to your list!

On a different scale, I was recently enlightened to another missing piece in my pop-culture education: "Can't Buy Me Love."  In college, my roomies in the Georgia House could not believe that I hadn't seen this movie, but when we went to rent it they did not have it, so I never got around to it.  Last night, Jonathan and I rented it, and I could not believe what I had been missing all of these years!  Awesome 80s clothes, cheesy Paula Abdul-choreographed dance moves, great one-liners, and a teenage McDreamy.  Doesn't get much better than that. 

Currently Reading Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China By Jung Chang see related

Library = Shopping for Free

 Have you been to your public library lately?  If not, I highly recommend that you scurry on over at your earliest convenience and check it out (pun intended).  I can't get enough of ours lately!  Perhaps it is because I am on a very limited budget at the moment, or maybe because I am unemployed and have time to kill, but I have found that visiting my library is like going shopping for free.  If something looks remotely interesting to me, I can just get it!  No guilt, no calculating sale prices in my head, no wondering if I really need it or if it will go with something that I already own.  Just add it to the stack, baby, and ring me up!  Not only do they have books galore, but these days you can check out many popular music albums and DVDs as well.  Some only have classic movies, but most libraries are starting to buy new releases as well.  Oh, and did I mention that they subscribe to just about every magazine imaginable?  That means that you can sit and read them all without the "I'm not actually going to buy this" guilt that you feel when you're flipping through in the check out line or at Barnes and Noble.  And did I mention the people watching?  Adorable kids, cute old folks, intriguing intellectual types, heart-wrenching job-searchers, dorky high school kids researching for a report.  Good stuff. 

So what have I been reading lately?  Let's see...I've been checking out a lot of cookbooks, which I have discovered is a convenient way to test drive editions I've seen in stores but not wanted to drop 30 buckaroos on.  Notable ones over the past few weeks have included Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and Barefoot Contessa Family Style, both of which brought me several winners for last weekend's visit from my parents (cheddar dill scones, curry chicken salad, potato salad provencal).  I've also enjoyed flipping through Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess.  Her style of writing is humorous and enticing.  I have also finished Julia Child's memoir, My Life in France, which was a inspiring, funny, and drool-worthy account of her life overseas and her discovery of her life's passion.

I've also been reading bits and pieces of several dog training books.  Of course, Cesar Milan's Be the Pack Leader, was a helpful addition to the mix, but my hands-down favorite of these was How to be your Dog's Best Friend by the Monk's of New Skete, a monastic order in upstate New York that makes its living off of breeding and training german shepherds. 

Now I'm on to a new theme: China.  I realized while watching the Beijing Olympics that I knew remarkably little about China (no offense to Dr. Duncan of OBU Comparative Civilizations fame).  At the recommendation of my resident China expert, Kenan Bradford, I just started Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, a non-fiction chronicle of three generations of women in a Chinese family.  It should be an engaging way to learn a little more about Chinese culture and history.  And, just for fun, I also checked out The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, a book that was featured on the Today Show during the Olympics that explores the origins of Chinese food and it's assimilation into Western culture. 

So there you have it: my grown-up version of Reading Rainbow, minus Mr. Burton.  But don't take my word for it...

Currently Reading My Life in France By Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme see related

Still loving Memphis.  Still unemployed.  I have had a few appointments with good contacts at various universities, but none of them are hiring right now, so even though it is encouraging to meet with good folks, it still doesn't pay the bills.  I'll be honest, it has been a rough week.  When you go this long without doing what you really love to do, you start to question if you really love doing it.  This limbo makes it that much harder to pursue a new job.  It's a strange thing. 

My other dilemma is that I am the type who thrives when my plate is full.  Throw a million things in the mix that demand my time and you can bet that I will exercise more, read more, have a cleaner house, always have the laundry done, and be really good at whatever job I'm doing.  Remove all of that, and I turn into a lazy couch potato who cannot manage to put her dog's bed in the dryer in time for her to sleep on it at night.  It's this weird paradox, because you would think that with all of this time on my hands I would bound out of bed, walk the dog, do some chores, run some errands, do some reading, go check out something fun in my new town.  But for some reason I can just hardly get myself out of this sleepy, "I'll do it tomorrow," haze.  Not quite sure what to do about it, but I'm hoping it will pass. 

Weber has made this transition a lot more fun than some of those in the past.  Jonathan and I are a couple who really enjoys having our friendships, both other couples and our girl/guy friends, and feel that our time spent with those friends makes our relationship stronger.  I need my girl time.  He needs his guy time.  We love having friends over.  All of those things make us like each other even more.  So when you move to a new town and don't have any friends yet, no matter how much you adore being together, it can sometimes get to be a bit grating on your relationship.  Waco was especially difficult for us in that area, particularly because I made friends quickly through my graduate program while Jonathan just had a finance job with women twice his age.  This time around, having Weber gives us something else to focus on, another thing to have fun with and to take up our time, someone to make me laugh when I'm feeling a bit bummed out.  We're glad we got her.  She is getting so tall and has so much personality; she loves eating ice cubes and watermelon, chasing birds at the park, taking walks on the greenbelt through our neighborhood, and tromping through grass as tall as she is at the dog park.  She's a cool girl.

Anywhoo...that's the latest from the Poes!   Keep praying for a good job, please, and if any of you have any tips on getting yourself motivated to get your rear in gear and get stuff done, let me know!