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Archive for the ‘Work’ Category

Friday Five – Happy Almost-Holiday!

Posted in Books, Food, Friday Five, Home, Roots, Work on December 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s the last workday of the year (well, at one job – probably going to do some writing for the other one next week. Probably. Maybe. We’ll see.). I am in the process of interviewing everyone who passed through the application portion of selection (for the department’s new live-in student staff next year) and indicated they were specifically interested in the Housing Ambassador side of things, but I am done with today’s round! I desperately need to organize my office, so that’s on the to-do list this afternoon.

Then tomorrow, it’s off to the family farm with my sister and brother-in-law! 

But first, I have some things to share with you today:

  • My favorite news this week – Martha Wells’s Murderbot is going to become a show! I love Murderbot. Very excited to see what they do with it.
  • I Am From Here by Vishwesh Bhatt – This cookbook is written like a love story to food and family and all the influences that brought Bhatt to where he is today. Beautiful pictures and a horde of new recipes to try.
  • In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren – I enjoyed this book, but I was stressed out for most of it because there was a going-back-in-time/Groundhog-Day-esque element, and I didn’t feel like the conclusion to that was thoroughly flushed out. Are they OK? Did everyone make it out alright? I needed answers sooner and also more completely.
  • Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – I LOVED THIS BOOK. The characters are endearing and one of them is an octopus. It’s not as weird as it sounds. It’s charming and wonderful and if you liked A Man Called Ove or Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine or books like that, you will like this one, too.
  • And finally, while I’m definitely going to pick up dinner tonight on my way home, I am looking forward to my upcoming slower week. Gonna make some big-batch meals in the crock pot and roast a whole lot of vegetables for warm salads. Maybe make some soup. I’ve pretty much depleted my stash of frozen leftovers in the last couple of weeks, so I’m excited to replenish them.

I also look forward to posting some year-in-review thoughts as well as my theme and goals for next year in the upcoming week. I wish you contentment and love as you finish out the year!

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Friday Five – Books and Festivities

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Fun, Seasons, Work on December 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

This month is out of control already, but I am reading up a storm. Carving out the necessary time to do so is even more crucial in busy months. 

  • I’m also participating in Susannah Conway’s December Reflections challenge as part of my reflecting-on-the-year process. Today’s prompt is ‘Best Decision of 2023,’ and hands down, the best decision I made was applying for and accepting the Coordinator for Housing Services job. I love working more closely with the Housing Ambassadors in a position where I get to both witness and aid in their professional growth. It’s such a privilege. (Having my own office is nice, too.)
  • Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey – I gave this book 4 stars for two reasons. First, one of my favorite audiobook narrators, Julia Whelan, reads it. Superb. Highly recommend. Second, the main character, while a mess, is embarrassingly relatable to me. She leaned full in to that downward spiral after her divorce, and that is exactly my irrational bad attitude after a breakup or fizzling of any kind. Everything is terrible, love is a sham, wallow and refuse to heal for a good minute because if you don’t, the cults of productivity and respectability politics win. This is exactly what that feels like and (spoiler alert) what it feels like to emerge.
  • Foreverland: On the Divine Tedium of Marriage by Heather Havrilesky – I mean, the title alone was enough to hook me. An unflinchingly honest memoir about the joys and trials of marriage. I think anyone who is planning to get married (ever) should absolutely read this book so they can go ahead and set reasonable expectations for it. I would also recommend it to those who are married as a cathartic “Oh, good – it’s not just us” or “Oh, good – at least we don’t do that” or “Oh, wow – maybe we should get some therapy” tool. I would expect nothing less of Ask Polly.
  • Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan – FANTASTIC. I zoomed through the audio this past weekend because it’s been on my TBR for a minute and one of our work book clubs was scheduled to discuss it this week. I’m going to recommend it to at least two other book clubs for next year. I appreciate it when popular authors are humble enough to bring in other writers to collaborate on books that center on things outside their own experience. It makes the story so much richer.
  • The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun – Dark eco-tourism tale. My favorite parts of the writing were the bits of humor sprinkled throughout, which gave it a moderately unhinged, uncertain mood. I’d be feeling a certain way about the horrible things it was describing and then one of the characters would do something quirky or slightly charming, and the effect was jarring. Really well-written and unsettling.

Soon, we are off to our over-the-top departmental holiday party. It’s my favorite Christmas party at work of the year. Then I am getting my hair done…and going to Chelby’s I-beat-cancer party…and Molten Plains Fest is tonight. It’s just going to be a good day.

I hope you have a good day and a great weekend, too!

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Day 20 – Free Friday Five

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Food, Friday Five, Fun, Home, Joy, Mental Health, Roots, Work on October 21, 2023| 2 Comments »

I love having a free day. I was off work today, and my car is fixed, and I had cookbook club tonight, and it was just a great day.

Here are some foodie things I enjoyed reading this week.

  • And we’re right out of the gate with some controversy, but I really need to get something off my chest. Sweet potato pie is superior to pumpkin pie. Discuss if you must, but I said what I said.
  • We had a whole discussion about favorite holiday foods and favorite sides at staff. There were divisions, alliances were formed, shots almost fired. It was glorious. Best staff meeting ever. In related news, I need cranberry salsa in my life. 
  • When I find a foodie book I really love, I often re-read it. In fact, of all the genres, foodie memoir or fiction is what I’m most likely to re-read. We are discussing Lessons in Chemistry in a book club at work on Monday, so I’m listening to it again this weekend. It may be my favorite book I’ve read this year. It’s so good. I’m also re-reading Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi, and I love it just as much as I did the first time. The stories people tell about food, its place in their lives, and its impact on culture are meaningful to me. It’s one of my favorite ways to get to know someone.
  • The Modern Proper: Simple Dinners for Every Day by Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer – I adored this cookbook from the beginning when one of the authors was talking about her grandma teaching her the “proper” way to dice. What little culinary education I gleaned during childhood was learning the proper way (i.e., Mom’s way) to do something. My mom and I once had an argument because I was adding water to the pie crust recipe wrong (my point was that I had seen several bakers doing it a different way and their pies turned out ok…to which she responded “But they weren’t baking in my kitchen.” Welp, they sure weren’t. She had me there.). Conversations like this one were why, while most of my formative memories of food stem from the place I grew up, most of my actual cooking skills were developed when I had a kitchen of my own. Like the authors of this cookbook, I have great memories of observing Mom, Aunt Gale, MeMaw, and (later in adulthood) Dad in the kitchen, but my workable knowledge is the result of experimenting and creating my own sense of the proper ways to do things. It’s how I learned that the way I add water to a pie crust is just fine and also that if you replace half the water with vodka (or gin), you get a flakier crust (the dough puffs as the alcohol evaporates). Sometimes learning new ways to do things is good.
  • And this has absolutely nothing to do with food, but it has everything to do with home, and also I love Jenny Lawson, and maybe someone here might benefit from reading it, and plus…I do what I want. Actually, looking at the drawing, I can picture myself curled up in a blanket, drinking something warm and eating something comforting in that little house. So it IS sort of food-related after all (if you really want it to be). Read all the way to my favorite line at the end – “Sometimes the mistakes are beautiful. Just like you.”

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I hope you’re enjoying this series on the food that reminds me of home this month!

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Friday Five – September Home Edition

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Home, Mental Health, Music, Nostalgia, Work on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Today is National Coffee Day, so I am celebrating appropriately (i.e., I am WIRED). Coffee is the scent that greets me any time I walk into my home, so it just makes good sense that today is also the day that I share other things I’ve found that help me ponder what home means to me. Enjoy!

  • I adore the whole vibe of Apartment Therapy’s guide to staying in (although I do ruffle at the idea of staying in or taking care of yourself as being “lazy.” I mean, I get that the guide is basically a long commercial for LazyBoy recliners, so they’re using the term in that context, but still). My favorite title within it is the one about the Instagram captions for your “homebody era.” I feel like homebody is more of a solid personality trait for me than an era, but it made me happy nonetheless.
  • I want to read all the books about mothers and daughters on this list. This year, I’ve been reflecting in my private journal on the family I grew up in and how that shaped me as a person. My relationship with my mother has been particularly on my mind lately. She has been having some accelerated memory loss in the last few years, and that’s been hard. The last time I was home, however, I played some hymns on our old piano, and she sat next to me the whole time, singing the alto parts she still remembers from all her years in choir. I enjoyed it so much. 
  • How badly do I want Stanley Tucci’s GreenPan line? So, so badly. Look how beautiful (and the cookware isn’t bad either).
  • One of the ways that I’m working on being at home with myself this year is learning to accept my neurospiciness as a whole, both the great and challenging parts. I’ve taken on the role of co-president of UNT’s Neurodiversity Professional Network, and we just finished reading The Neurodiverse Workplace by Victoria Honeybourne. It was so refreshing and informative. If I were the highlighter sort (I am typically not), I would have a lot of highlights in this book. The best thing I got out of it was a lot of tips on how to reframe conversations about better ways to do things in the context of customer service and universal design/practice. Also, the format of the book is visually pleasing and thus easy to read – lots of bulleted lists and checklists and a summary of the main points at the end of each chapter. I recommend it for any managers of people in general but ND folks especially.
  • I am trying to branch out with my media choices, so I started listening to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s podcast Wiser Than Me, recommended to me by my friend Sarah. It usually takes me about 14 years to make it through a whole episode of most podcasts (audio conversation/monologue…especially when they skip around, talk over each other, or there is music or other random sounds…which happens a lot in most podcasts…challenging for me to focus), but this one seems easier to follow. The first episode is an interview with Jane Fonda, whom I love. I am inspired by the idea of consistently waking up each day and thinking about what we’re doing to make a positive mark on the world, which she talks about a bit. As podcasts go, I like this one, as I enjoy gleaning wisdom from those who are older and wiser. I think I’ll listen to more!

I hope you get a discount (or freebie) on your favorite coffee today. Have a good weekend!

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Friday Five – August Home Edition

Posted in 31 Days, Beauty, Books, Food, Friday Five, Home, Joy, Resolutions, Work on August 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I love that the last Friday in August is here. I know that there’s no magical off switch for all the busyness and the horrible heat and the general ARGH of my most stressful month of the year when the date changes to September, but it feels like there is. Y’all – I take my relief and my peace any way I can get it, even if it’s just through the story I’m making up in my head.

Here are some of the ways I’ve been reflecting on my theme of home this month.

  • I love the meandering path of this piece on minimalism. Minimalism is a nice concept but also can be judgy and steeped in privilege and is often a thinly veiled excuse for even more shopping (and thus the inevitable accrual of more things, which one might argue is the exact opposite of the true spirit of minimalism). As someone who appreciates minimalism as an idea (and omg I love Marie Kondo) but leans more toward cozy and whimsical in decorating a home/office/patio that actually feels like a home to me, I have had every single one of the feelings the writer describes.
  • Speaking of accruing things, Bed, Bath, and Beyond is all online now that they have closed/are closing all their stores, and I am riveted. I look at this website at least once a day. I have yet to buy anything because these days I get stressed about the prospect of actually spending money on anything, even if I need it (a positive swing in my spendy attitude but also I could stand to dial back the trepidation a little – I’m sure in time it will balance). But I’m making plans. So. Many. Plans. I need a new mattress, and I want to upgrade some of my chairs in the apartment over the course of the next couple of years. And this table is so cute and functional. I love it when things are both.
  • “What if we understood our lists as menus instead?” But seriously. WHAT IF WE UNDERSTOOD OUR LISTS AS MENUS INSTEAD!?! I resonated with this piece so much that my eyes welled up with tears. My life, my home, my writing, my reading (etc.) are all governed by a series of lists. Reading this essay took a weight off my shoulders that I didn’t know I was carrying. If you have a love-hate relationship with the to-do lists (or the TBR list) in your life, consider the perspective of Oliver Burkeman (The Imperfectionist – also love that blog title and I’m a little mad that I didn’t think of it first). I also love the tagline on the main page “…building a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment.” You know what, let’s just sign up for the newsletter. I feel like I need more bold imperfection in my inbox.
  • I love these reflections on home compiled by Amy Studarus as featured on Shondaland, especially the ones that talk about helping others make their home dreams a reality. I like the way we are all connected by our own concepts of home and what that means, even when we mean very different things. One of my favorite things about having a theme word for each year is gathering the wisdom of others who have given it more thought than I have and thus have had time to put that thought into action. I like seeing how their reflections are playing out.
  • Even though my current kitchen is the least favorite kitchen I’ve ever had, it’s still an important part of my home and one I spend a lot of my waking hours in. In my 31 days series coming up in October, I am going to talk about the foods and recipes that remind me of home, whether that means the farm where I grew up or one of the places I’ve lived since then. I strongly connect food to the places and people I love, and I am looking forward to hashing that out a bit in writing. In the meantime, I am reading cookbooks and kitchen memoirs and foodie fiction, gleaning inspiration on how I want to present my thoughts on the meals that hold special meaning for me. Joy the Baker is one of my favorite people who write about food, and her post about this summer’s peach crisp is a good example of why. She starts off with a short personal reflection (i.e., she actually blogs on her food blog, which is inexplicably a source of contention for many people, which I will address in my anchor post on October 1). Then she explains what makes this recipe stand out among others of its kind and goes through the role that each ingredient plays. This is my favorite part of her posts, because as long as I’ve been cooking and baking, I still usually learn something. She’s not just handing us a recipe – she’s teaching us why it works, which ultimately helps us, her readers, become more confident and more adventurous in our own kitchens at home. I love that.

Friends, I hope you are having a good day, and I wish you a relaxing weekend!

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Friday Five – Good Mornings, Good Advice, Good Books. Good Times.

Posted in Alive, Andilit, Books, Friday Five, Work, Writing on August 18, 2023| 2 Comments »

I think I might be starting to find my rhythm in the new job. This week was always going to feel a little lighter, as the halls are officially open for the semester, so there are so many more people across campus to help put out fires with fall residents as they come up. But it also feels lighter in terms of I may…actually know what I’m…doing…now? For the most part? I say with some minor hesitation and a continual knocking on the nearest wooden object?

Here are some things I read this week that I thought you might enjoy. 

  • The low dopamine morning debunked. After a quick googling on what constitutes a “low dopamine” morning, I didn’t even really care about the details of the science that debunked it; I’m just glad it did. Because it sounds dreadful. Like…just the very worst way to greet a new day. I have 0/10 interest in giving up whatever small pleasure I can scrounge out of waking up, even if it did have some marginal benefit. I also enjoyed the reminder that habits are meant to be flexible, not rigid. This article was very soothing overall.
  • The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa – I had to read this one fast because someone else put it on hold at the library, but I’m so glad I had time to do so. Anyone who’s ever loved a cat should read this. Very sweet story about family and friendship from the perspective of a persnickety and adorable cat named Nana. 
  • Andi’s piece on how to write a book in a month (and also maybe…don’t) is just what I needed to read right now. I mean, I don’t write full books in that short a time even in easy months, but August is often a time when my creative writing gets put on hold because the full-time job is so busy (and has been especially so this year). Although that all makes logical sense and I know I’ll be back to it with a fervor in September, I always manage to feel bad about it on some level. Grateful to Andi for these words.
  • I don’t follow basketball at all, but I’m so glad some of my friends do. This is such a wonderful moment, and I’m glad I didn’t miss the end of Dwyane Wade’s Basketball Hall of Fame speech. 
  • Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – Our book club discussed this one on Tuesday. This is the second time I read this book, and I loved it even more than I did the first time I read it. It’s quite charming and witty. I think what I like most about Fredrik Backman’s books is that I usually like every single character in them (or almost every character). He is very good at showing their vulnerabilities and humanity. And I’m always a little sad that they’ve ended when I finish reading them.

Friends, I hope you’ve had a good week and have a great weekend!

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August 2023 TBR

Posted in Books, Reading Challenges, Resolutions, Work on August 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Oh, August. It’s offensively hot outside and super busy at work (I looove it, though) (the new job and training the staff, not the heat, to be clear). Sounds like a great time to stay indoors and read in what little downtime I have this month. 

[Per the usual disclosure, most of the links are affiliate links.]

Book Clubs

So we had a division retreat at work recently, and the focus was our personal wellness. The first session I attended was “Who wants to be in a book club?” One might ask, “Suzanne, do you really want to join more book clubs?” but I think we all know the answer to that already, so let’s just move on. 

Anyway, the book club list is longer now. No regrets.

TBR

The combination of August-in-Texas heat and August-in-Housing scheduling has me giving off serious I-do-what-I-want vibes in my personal life (I mean, even more than usual). All the reading this month outside of book clubs (and really, for the most part, in book clubs as well) is pure enjoyment. Here are some books I’ve gleaned from my own shelves or the library and added to the on-deck TBR pile.

What is the best thing (book or otherwise) you’ve read lately?

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Friday Five – Home (and Office) Update

Posted in Alive, Beauty, Books, Food, Friday Five, Fun, Home, Mental Health, Resolutions, Work on July 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

From The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle – “The older you get, the more home becomes about people rather than place, I think. The older you get, the more roots are about where you want to be rather than where you come from.”

Our cookbook club meets tonight, and the theme is pickles. Up until this week, I was going to make cheddar and dill biscuits but it’s so very hot, so I’ve made pickled carrots and bought a nice cheese to go with them instead. I love sharing food with these folks. It’s one of the things I look forward to the most each month.

  • This piece – “The Poetics of Family Life” – outlined some interesting insights into the home being its own harmonious entity, not just a reflection of public life and its guidelines. It’s more zoned toward families, but there are some nuggets of wisdom that I’m chewing on for myself, too. 
  • It will depend on how much the paycheck actually changes in the next few months, of course, but I am already breathing easier about finances. The thought of being able to not only make my overall budget and beef up my savings but also have enough left over to go out for dinner/drinks with friends a few times a month without sticking to a diet of pb&j and ramen the week before payday, or replace worn-out clothing and shoes as needed without having to dip into an emergency fund, or just buy cute little upgrades for my home like these pillows on a consistent basis is so incredibly freeing. I might even be able to start a fun fund within the next year for extravagances such as vacations or a car.
  • On being the person you are on vacation…this is a good reminder to make time not only for the practical work that I need to do to make my home run well but also for rest and rejuvenation. I’m working through The Artist’s Way again, and while I remembered writing morning pages from the time I worked through it before (over a decade ago), I forgot the instruction to schedule a weekly artist date with yourself – something to feed your creativity. While I would argue that once a week is not enough (acknowledging, of course, that the time to be able to work in more than one a week is a privilege some don’t have), this was another gentle reminder to not let weeks slip by without being intentional about protecting my calm and creativity.
  • I am at the overwhelmed stage of the new job. That’s fine. Everything’s fine. But these tips on how to stay grounded and feel at home with yourself really came in handy this week. I only hyperventilated once. Good job, me!
  • The title of that last article also reminded me that I need to get some plants for my office because I can BECAUSE I HAVE A WINDOW NOW (those caps are excited-shouty, not angry-shouty). We’re doing two weeks of training for the student staff that I supervise, and then we open all the buildings for fall, but after that chaos has passed, I think my treat to myself after that is going to be some greenery for the office. Because I enjoy having indoor plants but not necessarily planting them, I’ll probably be scouting for new little windowsill friends at True Leaf Studio.

I hope you have a great and restful weekend!

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Friday Five – Weird Week

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Revolution, Spiderweb, Work on July 7, 2023| 3 Comments »

What day even is it? Is this a real Friday? Am I real?

Between starting to talk about how we are going to make the switch between my now-job and my new-job and having two days off in the middle of the week to focus on writing, this week has been an exercise in transition and exception. But it’s been a good one (I think? I’m pretty sure it’s been OK overall. I’m gonna need people to stop shooting into crowds, though, and I’m gonna need changes to the system that would make these rampant shootings less likely. You know, per usual.). We did get free food at work yesterday, and I have had a lot of cherries (cherries are really good right now), so there’s that.

Also, I’ve been reading some things I really enjoyed. Here are some things you might enjoy, too.

  • Breath by James Nestor – This was a fascinating subject. It was a little lighter on the science than I expected, but it was a good read anyway. The author outlined how the way we breathe (as a species) has altered our skeletal structure and may be a big part of the reason so many have respiratory issues. There are also some excellent breathing exercises at the end of the book and even if I’d hated the rest of it, it would have been worth the read for those. 
  • The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie – As expected, a solid introduction to the Poirot character. I forgot how much I like her writing. The ending was predictable, so there was room to grow from her first book in this series, and I’m excited to see how it progresses as I read through the series.
  • “Don’t ask me if I’m free” – I feel this in my bones. I mean, I wouldn’t leave Mom to fend for herself after surgery just so I could brunch with Beyoncé (or any celebrity, to be clear). But otherwise, yes. 
  • Rivermouth by Alejandra Oliva – A memoir from an immigration activist about helping people at the border and a masterpiece on sitting in the various tensions of this issue. My favorite parts of the book were the parts in Spanish that she didn’t translate, the effect of which was to illustrate the frustration of navigating in a language in which I understand the overall gist but am not anywhere close to fluent. Highly recommend – 4.5 stars.
  • This essay on book club fails is a wild ride (well, a book-nerdy wild ride, which admittedly is probably closer to a somewhat spirited saunter for most people). I feel like the writer makes some valid points but also has some expectations that exemplify the rigidity that is often responsible for sending a well-intentioned book club into an early grave. Book clubs, like all social endeavors, have to be able to breathe a little. Yes, the discussion is better if people show up and have read the book. But if you want to build a lasting book club, people have to be able to miss or not finish the book occasionally without it being considered a failure, especially the first few years you are meeting (and I would argue even after that). At my book club that has been meeting the longest, we get excited if most of us have even started the book, and if only a couple of us have finished it, we still talk about other books and enjoy each other’s company (and omg the food – Brenda and our book club can put out quite a spread). And I get the frustration of going to the trouble to make something a priority and putting in the effort to plan one’s own work/life schedule around it only to have the time changed at the last minute. I second that emotion hard.  But even if you do have a regular time when the book club meets every month…sometimes things come up. If the host or most of the members can’t make the regularly scheduled time, it makes sense to be flexible. Talking about books is always ultimately worth whatever effort it takes to make it happen. 

I’m happy the weekend is almost here. I’m spending most of Saturday reading and cleaning and hanging with some people I haven’t seen in a while that night. On Sunday, I get to book club with Follow the Reader, so that will be fun. I hope you have a good weekend, too!

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July 2023 TBR

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Reading Challenges, Resolutions, Work, Writing on July 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Welcome to July! I have a writing retreat (more on the specifics tomorrow) and a reading retreat this month, and I start my new job..soon-ish? Other than my regularly scheduled festivities, those are the things I’m looking forward to the most. I think *knocks on wood* that my schedule is easier this month outside of work (which is good, because it is absolutely nuts at work), so I should have a lot of reading time. 

Book Clubs

MMD

TBR/Collection

Dewey’s Reverse Readathon is scheduled for July 21-22, so I will probably have some time to finish up a few things I’ve started in the past couple of months but have not finished.

That should keep me busy! I hope you have a great July.

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