So...Yeah. Sorry About That...

Life.  It is happening.

And I feel I owe my friends and apology.

Things have suddenly gotten a little wild and it has left my brain weary.  I have been reading your blogs, I swear, every morning from 6:45 to 7 over coffee and blueberry yogurt, while I wait for the Things to vacate the bathroom and allow me to get ready for work.  But I haven't been commenting like I ought.  And I don't mean to imply that any of ya'll think I need to comment, so much as I wish I could comment but I can't think of what to say because of the aforementioned brain weariness.

We've had some shifts out here.  Nothing catastrophic.  But shifts.  And the time I've had for blogging & blog commenting has been reduced beyond what I had originally thought it would be reduced because of my taking the extra class.  And the book.  And the committee work.

Jeremy is now working at the local library in addition to teaching a few classes.  Adjuncting has become a precarious career out here in our mountain home.  It doesn't make sense, but there it is.  And local colleges are reducing the number of classes adjuncts can have under political, well, duress.  Its weird really.  They have reduced the number of classes an adjunct can teach, but have hired more adjuncts to pick up the classes a smaller number of adjuncts used to teach.

But that is politics, and I won't go there.  At least, I won't go there from here.

So to make things work he had to move outside of academia.  He loves his new position at the library (he works the research desk), but it means he's not here, he's there.  And I miss him.  We are a team.  I feel like Robin must have felt when Bruce Wayne went to a board meeting.  

All tight-ed up but no where to go.

And I've had to cook dinner.  A lot.

And I have a cold.  With sore throat & sniffles & everything.

*whimper*

So I apologize to you, my friends, for not commenting as per normal.  I've been reading.  I swear.  And at some point we will find our balance & things will resume as before.  Its just not this day.

Hugs~*

Race Weekend, in More Ways Than One

I spent yesterday at the Bristol campus doing registration and class prepping and chatting with colleagues & my husband {who has the dual role of colleague AND husband, the lucky so-n-so}.  It is race weekend.  Our satellite campus is on the main street.  It was madness.

We got there a bit early, before the crowds, while the tents were going up & the cars were pulling up & the sun was coming up & the temperature was rising.  And we were able to sneak out at 5, just as the main street was getting in its groove {& all I wanted to do was get home & pour a nice glass of wine.  Have you tried Dreaming Tree, Crush?  It is lovely.  And so is its founder.}.

I don't really understand the appeal of NASCAR.  I do like the history-- it started with moonshiners, who raced the law for their day job, then got together to flex some muscles & gain outlaw cred by racing each other at night.  Cool.  But I don't get modern NASCAR.  Not that I fault it (though the environmentalist in me cringes a bit at the thought of the pollution caused}.  Who I am to judge what others clearly enjoy?

Others clearly enjoying--they seemed very excited and made jokes about not touching the car-- I hope they don't mind their picture going up here, I just wanted to share their enthusiasm with all due respect.  And as you might note, the stereotype NASCAR viewer is just like every other stereotype-- completely untrue & media driven.

One of the side effects of living in a free country is that not everyone is going to think like I do or like what I like and more to the point, I have to accept that others won't think like I do or like what I like.  And that makes life interesting when you come to think about it.

Maybe that is why I love teaching & learning.  There's always something new on the horizon-- minds to open and  ideas to open mine, you know?  I may  not agree with or enjoy every new experience or concept that comes my way, but my life is enriched by the exposure.

I took an extra class this semester, so I'll have 6 instead of the usual 5.  Without going into details, or politics, my college found itself on the short end of the adjunct stick this semester, and I happily volunteered to help. I love teaching.  It is what I do.

So this weekend I will be doing laundry, helping with homework, cleaning house, coloring my hair {I wouldn't mind so much if it was just gray or white, but salt-n-pepper I can't abide} & prepping a last minute class.  I don't mind, really. But it does means, with my committee work & the extra class & the book & all the chickens settling in to roost there may be more posts like this around The Closet.  I hope you don't mind, but I think the blog will take on a distinctly rambling style~*

Have a great weekend, rest up & get ready for the adventures that next week has in store.  I know I will.

See you Monday with Five Among Friends!

Nearly There...

I much prefer teaching to attending meetings. Teaching, planning, researching-- those are my top three favorite-est bits about my job.  Meetings linger near the bottom of the list, hovering right above paperwork.

Annual Chair-Holders Meeting, Ed van cer Hoek

Sigh.

Don't get me wrong, its not the meetings fault.  Its not you meetings, its me.  I just don't like to sit still that long, you know?

Birdo, Matte Stephens

Unfortunately I've literally been busy from dawn to dusk since Wednesday, so my stellar Five Among Friends post {this week hosted by Jeane from The Dauntless Tales}, will have to wait for the weekend to be written & Monday to be published.

Monday Bear, Aggie Cheung

We may be going to an auction over the weekend, but other than that, we plan on being mellow.  I'll do some light housecleaning, hopefully sew, & do a bit of blog reading to catch-up on the week's goings on.  Then there will be one more week of 8:30-4:30 meetings &/or registration duties before the fall semester opens & the real fun begins~*

Here's hoping ya'll have a blissfully meeting-free weekend & I'll see you Monday!

Summer Whirlwind~*

The summer semester came to a close yesterday & the fall semester is about to begin.  Faculty has to be on campus starting August 14, and classes start August 26.  And once the fall semester gets going, its a steam roll into autumn.  Time is flying so fast!

Summer is almost over!!

I feel a bit like Poosh after he's had a bath...

Make way for the whirlwind, the last 5 days of my summer officially begin today~*

End your summer on a high note-- enter in these two great giveaways and win something to make the end of summer as sweet as the beginning!

$100.00 From My Life of Travels and Adventures

Dawn's Disaster Blog-O-Versary Blow Out

And while you are signing up for things, link up your blog for the Follow Who?  Social-Weekend blog hop thanks to Jay at Crafty Spices!

Its Friday & That Means Five Among Friends!

The beautiful, fun & downright delightful Kate of Just Pirouette and Carry On came up with this Friday's Five Among Friends!

As always, I extend an invitaiton to any of our readers who would like to join in the fun!  Just shoot me an email {theclosetintellectual (at) gmail (dot) com} & I'll get you set up!  We do have a bit of a waiting list, but we'd love to have you join our group & get to know us all a bit better while we get to know you too!

Without further ado, here are Kate's questions & my answers & a good deal of fun t'boot~*

1. If you were going to start you own company, what would it be? 

I think I'd rather live in a refrigerator box than start my own company.  Waaaayyyy too much pressure.  Our personal bills are enough to worry about, I don't want to be responsible for a company's bills too.  I like to do my job & get paid for it & everything else is somebody else's problem.

2. Who is the craziest person in your life? 

Me.  Followed closely by Thing 3.  She's a nutter.

On second thought, all of the Things are nutters...  

3. What would the title of your autobiography be? Explain why....?

I'll Have to Check With the Penguins.

I tend to think very fast and about multiple things at the same time.  I jump from thought to thought-- and if I'm particularly busy headed I'll even switch conversations mid sentence or just randomly say something completely unrelated to whatever is happening.  When I was in grad school, my professor and mentor asked me how I managed to keep things straight and I responded without thinking that the penguins in my head were responsible for my brain's filing system.  And it stuck.  If ever I get particularly weird, my friends and family blame the penguins.  

4. What do you lie about? 

My weight.  But don't feel badly, I lie to myself about my weight too.  I think I'm in denial.  

5. What are you obsessed with right now? 

I am between obsessions at the moment.  I was obsessed with redoing the house, but that is mostly done now.  In another month I'll be obsessed with my classes.  But this is my down time~*

Its Friday: That Means Five Among Friends!

Its Friday & that means its Five Among Friends!  We had a drop out, and Dawn of Dawn's Disaster picked up the slack with this week's questions.  Next week the lovely Kate of Just Pirouette and Carry On is the host.  We'd love to have you join in too!  Just shoot me an email {theclosetintellectual (at) gmail (dot) com} & I'll get you set up!

1)  If you could be famous for ONE thing, what would it be?

Honestly it would be history related.  I'd like to be famous for putting Americans back in touch with their real history.  American history has been heavily manipulated by politicians since the 1950s, and most Americans really don't know what our history is-- they just know what politicians tell them from either the pulpit or the podium.
BTW A politician is a person involved in politics or who is manipulating information to gain advancement politically-- whether they are manipulating people to gain power for their political views, party or religion. You don't have to be a congressman to be a politician.  You just have to want to manipulate people for a political reason.
The frustrating bit from the educators side is that when one tries to correct the misinformation, they are accused of "revising" history.  They aren't revising history, they are correcting the revisions that others made.  Even the tests students have to take to "prove" they know history in elementary/high school are manipulated.  Did you know that politicians make the tests American kids take in school?  They do.  Well, actually test companies write the tests to political requirements.  So teachers are forced to teach what politicians and/or political figures want them to teach-- because if students don't pass the test, the teacher can lose his/her job.  

Lemme give you and example. 

I actually had a college student argue that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Pledge of Allegiance.  He didn't.  It was written in 1892.  And under God wasn't added to it until Eisenhower added it in 1955.  And In God We Trust was added to our cash in 1957 and our motto in 1956.  All of those additions have literally nothing to do with the founding of our country.  Nothing.  At all.  Yet students still occasionally argue that they believe the founders had something to do with it, and their belief is all that is required to make it true.  I think Stephen Colbert referred to it as truthiness.



But history doesn't require you to be believe it-- it is so whether you believe it or not...

Argh.  Sorry about the rant.  I care about this rather passionately.

2)  If you had a super-power, what would it be?  Why?

Oh no question on this one-- time travel.  I'm a historian after all.

And on a vaguely related note, I started watching Dr. Who as a kid on PBS.  Here is my doctor.  

I love the new Docs too, don't get me wrong.  But if I had to pick a favorite Dr. Who character, no question again, I'd go with River Song.  She is, in my opinion, one of the greatest female characters in sci fi.  Love her.  And I can only hope I'd be as badass~*

3)  When did you realize you wanted to be a blogger?

I don't know that I had a moment when I decided to become a blogger per say.  I mean, I decided I wanted to start a blog because it looked fun, and blogger made set up easy so whizz-bang the thought became an action in an afternoon.  As time went on, I started posting regularly, inquiring as to how to expand my audience & studying basic html and graphic design as a hobby.  I guess I sort of evolved into a blogger without noticing lol

4)  UPS or FedEx?  Which is better?

FedEx for speed, UPS for sheer childlike excitement.  There's nothing like it when that big old brown truck pulls into your driveway-- its like Santa!

5)  What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

I know I should say something wonderfully modern like peach & basil {which Ruthie of My Trash and Treasure made recently & I'm dying to try}.  But reality is, I'm a Ben & Jerry's girl.  Chunky Monkey FTW.
And I like Taro Yobe Frozen Yogurt.  In case you were wondering.
Now stay tuned for these fine blogger's answers coming soon!

Five Among Friends: Week 6

Its time for Five Among Friends!  I've gotten messed up somehow (sorry guys), but I should be on schedule now. Questions this week are courtesy of Jules from My Mom's a Whack Job!

1. Put your iTunes on Shuffle, what are the first five songs that come up?

Ahhh, a musical interlude, love it!

Shine For Me, Camera Don't Lie

Hit or Miss, Odetta

Pig, Dave Matthews Band

Love Letter, Clairy Brown and the Bangin' Rackettes

Save Me, San Francisco, Train

2. Who was the last person you held hands with?  Jeremy!  We are kind of prone to hand holding~* 3. Name two personality traits of yours that you love and explain why.

My sense of humor, because its unusual and somewhat manic & lots of fun.  And my creativity, which is also unusual and somewhat manic & lots of fun.  

4. Who is your best friend? How long have you been friends? Where did you meet?

My best friend is my husband, whom I've known forever from college :)  My best female friend is unquestionably my mom, who I've also known forever from birth lol

5. If you could do one random, crazy thing, with no fear of doing it or any lasting effects, what would it be?  To be perfectly square with ya'll, I don't really have an answer to this one.  For all intents and purposes, I do what I want to do.  I surround myself with people I want to be around, I have my dream job, my marriage is awesome, my kids are great, I love my house & I truly don't have secret aspirations to skydive or rob banks or free climb Mount Everest.  I have the same problem when people ask "what would you do if you had no fear of failure" or some such variation.  I am not afraid of failure, its how I (and anyone else) learns.  I mean, failing sucks, but I don't fear it.  I don't know, I guess I am genuinely a happy and contented person, which apparently has its drawbacks given that I can't come up with a simple answer to questions like these lol!

Now check out these bloggers & stay tuned for their answers & let them know I sent you!

PS
If you are looking for a good weekend hop, check out Crafty Spices' Follow Who?  by clicking the button below!

PPS 

Have a great weekend!!

A Word from the Girl Next Door

College life has taught me many things, from how to properly cite academic research, to how to expertly grovel at the feet of your professors in the hopes of getting an extended due date after a particularly adventurous Thursday night downtown expedition. As a twenty-something female though, I’d have to say that the most vicious college life lesson is the infamous break-up. To be fair, I've had a whopping two and a half (see my previous post) boyfriends the three years I've been in college and they were disappointing for the most part…ha. Though the first of the two (and a half) lasted four years, branching from high school, and the most recent lasting a whole three months, don’t be too impressed, a break-up is still…a break-up.



It seems to me that in every break-up there’s a casualty, on both sides no matter the duration or feelings involved. Whether it’s a lost shirt, a collection of CD’s, jewelry or maybe a favorite pillow, there is always something that doesn't find its way back to its original owner’s hands. The ultimate question however, is who gets the public stuff. Everyone has their hangouts – but after a couple splits, who gets where?



I've had a few relationships in my short twenty years, and about two and a half break-ups to go along with them. Break-ups are always messy it seems, so I can’t say that one was better than the other, they all have their own special chip in my young, angsty shoulder. My most recent break-up however presented its own interesting challenges. I made the beautiful decision of dating my polar opposite neighbor. He was great, in his own right, so I won’t really take the time to bad mouth him, the point is – we broke up. 

And he lives less than 100ft away from my apartment. GRRREATT (And not in the Tony the Tiger way).

The casualties of this miniature catastrophe went far beyond the t-shirt I claimed or the CD’s I haven’t gotten back yet – who get’s the sidewalk? I mean on the one hand, it gives me the motivation needed to always at least attempt to put together a descent outfit, because, it’s not the months down the road embarrassing crossing of paths, it’s a daily slanted grin kinda incident. But on the other, it leaves plenty of room for speculation – which is a nice way to say obsession. But what about when we’re not at home? Who gets the popular Thursday night hangout? And does running into each other all the time at home mean we should avoid where the other works?

So with this comes my advice, DON’T DATE YOUR NEIGHBOR! NEVER EVER. (Unless you look deep into their eyes as they’re carrying their couch and smelly socks up the stairs and you fall deeply into love immediately) Don’t do it. Seriously.

Oh! And keep tabs of the stuff you exchange, it’s not exactly fun to have to dig up old sentimental dirt when you just aren’t feeling it anymore….

PS: Bay is Thing 1--she's decided to go ahead & use her name AND she may start her own blog-- YAY! Have a great weekend everyone!

Five Among Friends!

What started as a one time deal has grown into a weekly event thanks to Jay from Crafty Spices!

Woot!

So here are my 5 answers to her 5 among friends!  Be sure to check out the blogs below to see what they answer too!!

1. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

The people!  The photos!  The stories!  Learning the coding! What isn't there to love?  

2. What do you dislike about blogging?

Sometimes its hard to keep focused.  There is a temptation to post what I think other people want to read, you know?  Staying true to my own aesthetic & real life is actually harder than it sounds!

3. What is you favorite thing to do with your little one(s)?

My ones aren't so little anymore!  My youngest (Thing 3) is 15.  Now-a-days we like exploring new places together, but when the kids were wee our favorite thing to do was a Caucus Race a la Alice in Wonderland.

Whenever the trio got too rambunctious, I'd yell "Caucus Race!"  and the kids would run all over the place, zig zagging, jumping on furniture, generally being goofy laughing hysterically and getting all their energy out.  After about 15 minutes, I'd yell "STOP!  Everyone has won & we must all have prizes!!"  And give them each a lemon drop or breath mint or something.  They loved it.  I loved it.  And it worked!

Alice and the Comfits, by Meg Hunt

4. If you could move anywhere in the world (Money not being a question) where would it be, and why?

Some of the bloggers my English blog buddies live in look perfectly dreamy for example *ahem Kate ahem* Why?  Have you seen pictures of it??  You've got to read Just Pirouette and Carry On and see for yourself. 

5. What is the most embarrassing think one of your kids has done in public?

When Thing 1 was around 3 or 4 years old, she & I walked about a mile to the local library, which we did often.  I was pregnant with Thing 2, it was hot, the walk was especially long feeling and whatnot.  While we were at the library,  she discovered one of those huge ole coffee table books of all Disney's film characters through history and she happily looked through it while I was looking up whatever it was I was looking up.  So.  
It comes time to go & she decided she wanted to take this ginormous book home.  I was not about to lug this book a mile home, so I said no.  She melts down in the middle of the library.  I was determined not to "let her win" (ah, new parenting eh?) so I was going to check out the smaller and lighter books we had picked out despite the fact she was freaking out.  The check out counter was in this marble hallway thing, and I am dragging this screaming child through the line.  We finally get to the counter and she hits the floor screaming "Don't hit me!"  I had never hit the child a day in her life.  I thought I was going to die.  But dammit if we didn't check out those books and the minute we left the library she stopped crying, show over.  

Good times.  LOL.

Check out The Five Among Friends crew for their responses to this week's questions!  

Crafty Spices 

Dawn's Disaster

Lady Lund 

Secret Obsession 

The Closet Intellectual

My Mom's a Whack Job 

Dream Brite 

The Squishable Baby

Just Pirouette and Carry On... 

Working for the Weekend With Giveaway Goodies & Maxi Dresses For All

A fairly low key weekend planned for us.  Farmer's Market on Saturday {look for pics on instagram} & a trip to the hardware store.  A surprise room fix up for Thing 3 {shhhhhh, don't tell her} and a planned skype chat with a fellow blogger Saturday afternoon.  Sunday will find me painting & primping & finishing up a variety of projects.  An owl pillow for Natalie {giveaway winner} & other goodies.  And all my favorite hops for the weekend too {check my sidebar & join in the fun}

A fun weekend & good times.

OH!!  Don't forget about the eShakti code for $40 OFF for a first time order of $55.00 or more 

THEC1HEC

Its only good until July 15th, so don't waste time.  And for those of you who have asked about my dress, its back in stock here:  http://www.eshakti.com/Product/CL0027468/Graphic-bloom-print-maxi-dress  .  Trust me, its gorgeous and sooooo comfie.  You won't regret it {& we can be fashion twinsies!}.  And with the code, its a real bargain!

Speaking of a good bargain...FREE is always a good bargain.  And there are a lot of free goodies on the Tales of Beauty for Ashes giveaway, so you best all enter now while there is still time!  You can enter below~*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And before I leave you to the weekend, be sure to visit all my friends as they answer their Five Among Friends questions.  You can find them in my sidebar, or by clicking the links below!

The Closet Intellectual
| Crafty Spices
| Dawn's Disaster
| Dream Brite
| Everyday Bloom
| Just Pirouette and Carry On
| Lady Lund
| My Mom's a Whack Job
| Secret Obsession
| Squishable Baby
| Closet Intellectual

Make this weekend one to remember!  See you Monday my friends~*

A Little Music for the Weekend~*

The first Friday in June, is there anything sweeter?



The best part about this video is the guy blowing into the jug.  I never identified that sound until I saw this vid, and now its all I hear.  The second best part is the sideburns 'cos damn dude has some sideburns.  His sideburns give all other sideburns inferiority complexes, truly.

No classes to teach today for either of us, so the hubs & I are running our errands today to free up the weekend.  And what a weekend it promises to be-- many projects & grilling out & our local music fest .  No fancy hipsters in flowing dresses or steam punkish burning men, but there will be music & craft tents & beer, & that is enough for me.  

Before you head into the wonder of your weekend, be sure to enter the smashing giveaway.  You may get lucky.  You may win.  It may change your life.  You never know~*

So here's to June & sun & music festivals & sideburns!

Weekend Social Mix Blog Hop!

It is time to get hopping!!  Be sure to let me know in the comments if you are a new follower, & add in a link to your site so I can follow back!

Welcome to the weekend everyone!  

Kick off your shoes, pull up a seat and let's get Social!

♥Please Follow the Hosts & Co-Hosts 

{Easy follow by clicking the picture of each blogger}

 

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♥Check out some great giveaways HERE.

♥If you'd like to Co-Host we'd love to have you join in the fun, email us at MWML11@yahoo.com.