TOP SECRET PROJECT #1 (of 2011 at least): 10

Thanks to an old friend who randomly introduced us over e-mail, I’ve recently become involved with what I can only (at this time) call Top Secret Project #1 of this year.  Getting to think about all the components of a dream school, put them together in writing, and hopefully get them approved by the state, possibly leading to the opening of a new school as soon as 2012 is exciting to say the least.  I am lucky, excited and honored to have been included in the project.  This morning was another great morning of work with amazing people

INTELLECTUAL CONVERSATION AT COFFEE SHOPS: 8

Remember the good old days when you could sit around at a coffee shop for hours with college friends and spout intellectual theory and discuss the way the world should work?  Dropping big, academic words left and right to impress others, win the debate, or just convince yourself that your education really was worth the $40,000/year?

Yeah, the good old days.  I do miss those conversations (minus the pretention and big words that I preferred to substitute with smaller, easier to pronounce and understand words), but I don’t miss the kids in my classes who did this ALL THE TIME, about everything.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s what drove me away from academics (higher-level anyways), and from DC.  There’s a nice balance between the world of academia and the world of application.

BUT, that said, taking a trip down memory lane this morning was fun  One of the teachers I mentored this summer wrote me asking if she could pick my brain about feminism and teaching, as she’s currently working on her Women and Gender studies capstone, and also a NC Teaching Fellow.  I happily agreed, as she was one of my favorite teachers (shhh… we don’t really have favorites), and I love thinking about these things.  Turned out to be an amazing addition to the morning, as it reminded me that sometimes I can get too bogged down in actionable conversations and tangible takeaways, and no longer seek out the bigger picture, theory conversations that I did used to love.

She also enlightened me with her e-mail organization, the one compartment of my life I have yet to master in terms of organization (not counting my car…).  Check out the product a short two hours later:

MY NEW, IMPROVED & ORGANIZED G-MAIL INBOX: 8

Add in some intense labeling (color-coded of course), a three-tier starring system, and multiple inboxes, and I’m ready to take over the world.  The real test will be if it stands up over time, so I’ll revisit this rating in a week or two.

After this motivating coffee date, and the reclaiming of my inbox, I headed home to see this:

THE LAZINESS OF MY PUPS: 9

While it does make me jealous at times (-1), overall I’ll take this over THIS any day.  Thank you Murphy for growing up, and Kota for being so darn cute.  And for cleaning out my empty peanut butter jars with your giant tongue.  The recycling people thank you.

That’s all for now folks.  Until next time, just living for the tens

September: As this week proved, September is when the air starts to get a little cooler in the mornings, and night time walks with the pups require a hoodie or a fleece.  Absolute best feeling ever.  Football season has officially begun, including tailgating.  You have an excuse to do back-to-school shopping, and Hound Ears is less than a month away.

October: Now fall is in full swing, pumpkin flavored lattes, cakes, muffins, ice cream and even pancakes.  It’s everywhere, and you will never find this girl complaining about that.  You get to start brainstorming Halloween costume ideas, scouring thrift stores, and hosting pumpkin carving parties. Add in a corn maze and the North Carolina State Fair, and you’re as close to a 10 as a month can get.  Plus, it’s now officially okay to start listening to Christmas music.  Don’t even bother commenting on that one.  No one will ever convince me otherwise.

November: Halloween may be over, but the pumpkin foods are not.  Now we’re getting excited for a much needed Thanksgiving break, and a trip to the mountains.  It’s officially cold and I can start wearing my favorite hats and scarves.  Christmas music is now popping up on the radio and in malls…

December: Rejuvenated from Thanksgiving break, you’re now ready to attack the holiday season full force.  Christmas shopping, apartment decorating, holiday parties and visits with Santa at the mall.  Pumpkin is still available most places, in addition to some delicious gingerbread options.  Add in a nice 1-2 week break, and I’m loving life.  A lot.

So when it got cool this week and I got to really think about the season we were approaching I realized it was time to share a little of this joy with others.  Thankfully Jill was in town from DC, so we got a chance to start the celebrating.  Including our first high school football game of the season…

SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME:  7

Despite the sky spitting on us all day, and throughout the night, I’m pretty grateful KIPP was playing locally.  Gave me an excuse to throw on a hoodie, brave the rain, see some of my favorite students, and witness a huge win for the Panthers!  -3 for the rain (meaning we couldn’t sit down, my toes got pretty wet, and my body took about 2 hours to get rid of my goosebumps).

KIPP CHEERING SECTION: 9

HIGHLY entertaining.  Not always the friendliest of comments (hence the -1), but I loved how disproportionate our vocal presence was to our physical presence

PUMPKIN SPICED LATTES: 9

Yup, after diving in on Thursday I’m worried the seasonal addiction has begun again.  Loved every second of this guy.

Still not over the price

After some afternoon shopping at Southpoint, Jill and I headed to Cheesecake Factory for lunch.

JILL’S ABILITY TO HANDLE THE LARGE, BOOK-LIKE MENU: 2

20 minutes later she was ready to order.

MUSHROOM LETTUCE WRAP @ CHEESECAKE FACTORY: 9

I’m loving several of their vegan menu items, and decided to go with their Mushroom Lettuce Wrap.  Sauteed mushrooms with crunchy rice-like noodle guys, and giant pieces of lettuce to wrap it up in.  Seriously delicious!  And only $5.95.  Meaning I left Cheesecake Factory paying a total of $8.  Unheard of.  Even at the food court.

Was hungry a couple hours later, so not the most filling meal, but still worth it

After some serious Felicity marathon watching, and a visit to City Bev with great people, we headed out to the mountains.

HANGING ROCK HIKE: 7

I’ve heard a lot about Hanging Rock, and since visiting Blacksburg more recently I drive by the sign on the way there and the way back.  So this weekend was the time to check it out.

2 hours later we arrived.  A bit deceiving, as it was easily 30 minutes off of the highway where I thought it was going to be.  -1.

When we arrived we were presented with several options for hikes.  We went with the classic ‘Hanging Rock’ hike, a total of 3 miles round trip.  Rated ‘Moderate’, I would say that was a bit of an overstatement.  ’Light Moderate’ would be more accurate.  There were some steep portions, but it was pretty short and not very rigorous.

This is great for an afternoon stroll, but I like to earn my views.  I also like to avoid loud children.  Especially when there are a lot.  And the more strenuous the hike, the less loud children.  And people in general.  -1.

That said, boy were the views amazing.  For an hour hike up, we were definitely rewarded with some of the best views I’ve seen since Maine last month.

Now I know you’re wondering about the last point.  See the ledge we’re sitting on right there?  Yeah, it’s a straight drop down.  Which not only makes me nervous for myself (which it does), but also for all those people I mentioned earlier.  Especially the kids.  NERVOUS. WRECK.   -1.

HIKING WITH MURPH: 6

I love how much Murph likes to hike.  I love how tired he is after a long day of hiking (as I type, he’s sleeping next to me quietly).  And one of the reasons I wanted a dog in the first place was to take him hiking.

However, what I didn’t have in mind was him dragging me up mountains.  And then down again.

I swear I use twice as much muscle on every hike just pulling the opposite direction of him so I don’t tip over.  Case in point:

Don’t worry.  We made up once we got to the top.

Until we started hiking down, that is.

Once we finished we still had plenty of day in front of us, so we drove home (and by ‘we’ I mean ‘I’, while Jill slept like a baby in the passenger seat and Murph napped peacefully in his bed in the back of the car) and headed to the Tobacco Trail.  My new apartment complex offers free bike rentals and I’ve been meaning to try them out.  After handing over a check for $350 (which I got back as soon as the bike did) we were on the road again.

TOBACCO ROAD BIKE RIDE: 10

I love biking.  And you can’t beat a nice paved road with minimal hills, and good company.  I love biking with music, but I like biking with conversation even more.  Plus the temperature was PERFECT.  Long-sleeved shirt, no sweat, a nice fall breeze, and occasional whiffs of burning wood.

What a great way to end the day

Until next time, just living for the tens!

9.

So very, very close to a 10, but I find it hard to give any drink a 10 that costs over $5.  And that it did.

But once I forked over the money, that wasn’t going to stand in the way of my enjoyment of my first Pumpkin Spiced Latte of the season.  Add in the fact that the high tomorrow is 62, and you’ve got one happy, fall-loving girl.

HECK YES.

This of course leads me to then think about where I’m going to fit my workout into my otherwise super busy day (and by super busy, I mean finding as many ways to avoid work as possible… turns out I’m just not the ‘sit at a computer all day and do work’ kinda girl).  Luckily I got an email from my MIA roommate asking if I was up for a 3pm run.

YES!  An excuse to get in my workout AND see another human.  Perfect.

DRINKING A LOT OF COFFEE BEFORE GOING: 2

Since the plan was unexpected, my 2pm ‘stay awake so I can actually get some work done’ coffee was unfortunately timed.  Had to go to the bathroom 5 minutes into our run.  Luckily the American Tobacco Trail is relatively uncrowded during the day, and I had a running partner, aka lookout.  Behind a tree I went.

NOAH’S LOOKOUT ABILITY:  2.5

Unfortunately, my running partner was not a very good lookout.  I walk out of the woods to see him way off in the distance, running the other direction.  Not only did he leave me behind, but had he seen someone coming (and there were 2 on their way towards me), there was no way to notify me.  When I rated him a 3 he began arguing the rating, so I bumped it down .5.

In his defense, maybe he didn’t know what it meant to be a lookout?

RUNNING IN 96 DEGREE WEATHER: 4

Glad I did it now.  Wanted to die then.

Will be waiting until sunset in the future.  Or fall.  It’s almost here, right?

RECOVERY SMOOTHIE: 10

Noah was going to attempt to make it, but, like most meals at our apartment, he realized within 3 minutes it would probably be better if he just let me do it.  So I did.

And he was right.

AMAZING.

Noah says ‘I would give it a 9.  A swirly straw would have been nice… something a little festive, you know?’  Fair enough.

TODAY’S CAMERA MASTERY:  5

One of the many ways I attempted to avoid work today was getting a little bit better with my Nikon D40.  Thought I was doing just great until 3 hours later I decided to check my understanding with the smoothie pictures.  Clearly I couldn’t remember most of what I had learned… will need to remediate immediately.

Until next time, just living for the tens

Clearly it was only appropriate the theme was a Hawaiian Luau, considering that Sunday was the 52^nd anniversary of their statehood.  Chuquin and I headed out that afternoon and did our best to find some things to spice up the apartment.  I’d say we did pretty well…

Only things missing were grass skirts and coconut bras…

HAWAIIAN LEIS:  7

Finding great leis was a bit harder than anticipated, however.  I knew immediately where to head, as I’ve hit up Party City for leis in the past (surprisingly effective classroom incentive for my 11^th graders).   But I did not anticipate quite how expensive they’d be… $2 a pop for the average ones, and $3-$4 for the super colorful, thick and flowery ones.  I fell in love immediately with a bright yellow one, but forced myself to put it back when I realized I couldn’t afford one for everyone.  Bad taste for the hostess to sport a high-end lei while handing out the skimpy ones.

Ultimately we went with lei headbands, as they were two for $1, so I could purchase enough for everyone.  I added in a couple colorful smaller neck leis as well, and I’d say the combo did the trick.  That said, if money were no option we would have scored some awesome fluorescent ones.

ROSEMARY PINEAPPLE PIZZA: 10

I haven’t been this ecstatic about a new food option since Friday.  We picked up a bunch of stuff at Trader Joe’s in the morning, and after playing some beach volleyball out back decided to throw it all together.  We did pretty well, ending up with guacamole (it’s so good any country/state would be lucky to have it as part of their cuisine), fruit salsa, homemade tortilla chips, and lastly this delicious pizza.

I can’t claim any credit, as it was entirely Chuquin, but please allow me to gush for a minute.  It started with the $1.09 whole wheat dough from Trader Joes, covered with an olive oil/rosemary/Italian season blend, then topped with cut up pineapple (okay, I’ll take credit for this), and some mozerella soy cheese.  Yup, that’s right.  SOY CHEESE.  Those non-believers have never tried this brand, on this pizza.  LIFE CHANGING.  And I’d say that almost everyone who tried it would agree.

Couldn’t resist, and made a quesidilla tonight with the leftovers.  Almost as good, but not quite.

HAWAII’S VEGAN FRIENDLINESS: 2

While pineapple is certainly vegan, virtually every recipe we found online was not.  Hence why guacamole became Hawaiian due to my ability to make/change the house rules.

THE FRAMILY’S VEGAN FRIENDLINESS: 9

While I hate to be a pain to those who haven’t chosen a vegan lifestyle, I’m constantly debating with myself whether or not I can ask others to do their best to bring vegan foods while I’m hosting.  While the cheeses and eggs don’t bother me much, I must admit I really am not a fan of tons of meat parading in whenever I host dinners.  Last night had to have been the most vegan friendly dinner we’ve had, with the only exception being a little tuna.  And what’s more Hawaiian than tuna???  Exceptions can sometimes be happily made

Check out my plate full of delicious veganness…

MURPH & KOTA’S PARTY PARTICIPATION: 9

There was no hulaing, but they certainly looked good… the headband leis fit their necks perfectly J  In fact, they’re still wearing them today…

All in all another successful framily dinner.  The framily is constantly growing and changing, and it was great to have a whole bunch of new folks join.  Thanks Jill, Steve, Dan, Amanda, Jordan, Emily, Chris, Mauro & Chuquin!

Until next time, just living for the tens

Back in Durham for good, I felt something was missing from my life.  I’ve been reminded by several people that the something missing might just be Rate Your World.  Let’s try it out to see if that solves the problem.

YARN‘S PERFORMANCE AT ‘HE’S NOT’: 7.5

This summer I went to a Bluegrass music festival in Floyd, VA for the first time (Floyd Fest).  I think there will need to be some flashback ratings of this life changing event sometime in the near future… in the meantime, all you need to know is that I discovered several new amazing bands, one of which is called Yarn.

I saw their midnight show on Saturday night where they played all Grateful Dead covers (and considering I’ve never listened to the Dead, it was all new music to me ).  The next day I checked out their afternoon show where they played all of their own music, and  I fell even more in love.  Came home with a CD, and have listened to nothing else for the month since.

You think I’m kidding.  Please believe me when I tell you it plays in my car, on my stereo at home, before I go to bed, in my iPod at the pool, and pretty much the entire road trip up to Maine.  Yes, I’ve listened to almost nothing else since.

Is it obvious that I love their music?

While I forgot a camera, here’s a quick look at their music… but beware, it’s addicting.  Pretty soon you might be typing the same story I just told.

So I would like you to picture the excited face I made when I found they were playing in Chapel Hill this week.  An outdoor performance at ‘He’s Not Here’.  I was excited about the outdoor part, not quite as much about the ‘He’s Not’ part.

We’ve had some good times there in the past (see one of the original Rate Your World post for evidence), but it’s a classic college bar, the week that students are returning for classes.  I was pleased to see that at 9:30 the crowd was a bit older.  (What is happening to me that an older crowd excites me???)

The music was great.  The company was excellent.  The weather was AMAZING.  Chuquin, who introduced me to the band at Floyd Fest, was in town, which made it even better.  Couple small deductions, however…

-1: There were intense amounts of jam sessions.  I realize many people like this.  And I do appreciate that you hear things that aren’t on their album, making the live performance a bit different than the recorded performance.  However, Blake (the lead singer)’s voice is amazing.  And more jamming means less singing.  So really, it should be -1: More of Blake’s beautiful singing.

-1: At around 11:00 the crowd took a violent turn for the worse.  The old people (including most of my friends) took off, as we all have to work tomorrow.  The young people, who have yet to start classes, began pouring in.  And drinking.  A lot.  The area got crowded, the girls got a bit more obnoxious, and the number of people smoking quadrupled.  Bummer.

-1: Some dude had an intense microphone set up in the tree we were standing right in front of.  I’m oblivious, so definitely did not notice this despite the awkward stares he kept giving me (later translated as ‘Get the f*** away from my mike’ stares).  Finally when someone pointed it out he came over and said “I don’t mind if you continue to talk right in front of the mike, but just be aware that everything you say is being recorded”.  Seriously dude?  You couldn’t have told me this BEFORE I had multiple conversations RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT.  Apparently not…

+.5:  Luckily most of our conversation was clean up to that point.  Until we knew the mike was there.  That’s when we got inappropriate.  Enjoy your recording buddy

Overall yet another great night out in Chapel Hill.  Until next time, just living for the tens

CARRBURITO’S VEGAN CONCOCTION: 10

All I had to say to the burrito maker was ‘I’m vegan’, and he took it upon himself to get creative with the menu.  While many places will leave things out, he took it up on himself to find good stuff to replace it with so I wasn’t left with half the meal.  This is what he came up with:

Tasted every bit as good as it looked.  Went back two days later and got it again.  As if that weren’t enough, they also had this sign hanging up at their register:

Talk about amazing community.  There certainly is something special about this place, where local businesses look out for each other.

FIRST TRIP TO MYRTLE BEACH: 8

Perfectly trashy, wonderfully beachy, and incredible company made for a great roommate bonding experience.

-1: A sad, sad loss in a large, important tournament.  I can’t believe I’m only taking off a point for this.

-1: Beaches just aren’t my thing.  I get bored (and sweaty) after just laying around, and my fear of sharks prevents any serious water activity.  While this isn’t a huge deal for a weekend, I could never do a week at the beach like some do.  2 1/2 days was perfect

A WEEKEND IN BOONE: 9

Oh how nice it is to be 3 hours away from the mountains again.  Clearly my first weekend back I headed out there.  Along with Jay, Noah, Bill, Rachel, Lisa, Richard and many other great people, we hiked, climbed, photographed and camped.

-1: Still didn’t make it to the top of ‘Edge of a Dream’ to get the photo I’ve been dying for for about 3 years now.  Next time…

TOUR DE FAT: 10

Who knew something like this existed???  Not this girl.  But thanks to my new roommate, a Colorado native, I was introduced to this circus mixed with bike race mixed with Rose Parade.  Put on by the New Belgium Brewing Company (from Colorado, and best known for their Fat Tire beer), it’s a celebration of a bicycle lifestyle.  This year it came to Durham for the first time ever.  And the first stop of their summer tour. Folks come dressed in costume, with decorated bikes, and we all started by taking a 3 mile bike tour of the town.  With no real winner, it’s more about putting on a good show, and enjoying the atmosphere.

When you arrive back where you started, it’s time to party.  Next comes the circus portion, with plenty of beer, comedy performances, live music, and lots of beer.  Did I mention that already?  They even have an area filled with crazy bikes that you can take for a spin.

I’m pretty sure riding a two-seater with Noah was the most frightening part of that day.  And that includes when a dude on top of a tall unicycle hit balls at my face as part of his show.

Despite that, some could call this the best day ever.  Or at least a crucial part of the best weekend ever.

Until next time, just living for the tens

The first four tours were hosted by yours truly, as I tended to record them when already traveling, making it difficult to bring along students.  However, one of the prizes in my incentive bag this year was earning a guest-host spot on the next episode of the Magical History Tour.  Thanks to Reuben for his lucky draw, off we went to Washington DC this February, along with Paris, Faiz and Evander.  Before we even left Gaston I knew that combo was going to make for a pretty fabulous show.

Overall I rate the episode a 9, with many of the reasons coming from students this week as we watched a Magical History Tour marathon in preparation for their final exam, where they will be designing their own episode.

• Students are significantly more entertaining as hosts then I will ever be.
• Evander’s ridiculous antics and facial expressions.
• Transitions between events and slides.
• Editing of the FDR Memorial tour guide- past episodes involved a lot of talking, but this one cuts them down into easy to digest segments.
• Music variety and choices.  Especially “Over There” which never grows old.
• The amazing dance moves at the end.  Although today they informed me I should never, ever do them again in public.  It’s okay if I choose to do it in the privacy of my own home.  Thanks guys…

-1 because I’m confident it can get better than this.  The challenge on their final is to create the best plan, and the winner will earn the trip and filming this summer.  The opportunity to top this one is exciting   Until then, enjoy Episode 5…

Our Women’s Empowerment club on campus (which I am privileged to advise) made the decision shortly after Javaris’s death to host a Student vs. Teacher basketball game fundraiser in his memory.  I was immediately on board as I love anything that involves competition, beating students, and any excuse to talk trash to my kids.  In a loving way, of course.  The idea was to raise enough money to help cover costs of the funeral, as well as the sign that will soon be hung on the gym dedicating it in his name.  Boy did they ever do a great job.

The result= over $1,000 raised, an amazing evening of basketball, and an opportunity for everyone to remember Javaris and his love of the sport.

While I got to play (as is about to be shown), I also got to play with my new camera and editing equipment… hopefully this video will show you the many reasons I rate this event a 10.

Let’s take a look at a super grainy photo thanks to my old school Blackberry…

RED GRAPE SALE (bottom right): 10

Just the other day I walked into the grocery store and misread a sale sign that said “Green Seedless Grapes: $.99/lb” as “Red Seedless Grapes: $.99/lb”.  Easy mistake, I know.  And considering my budget and love of red grapes, I bought three bags.

I then proceeded to make a scene at the cash register when they charged me the full $1.99/lb, and they asked me nicely to take it to customer service.  It was there that the customer service lady walked all the way back to produce (with me following behind) to prove to me that I was the one who made the mistake, not them.  Oops   Embarassed, I left immediately with my $10 worth of grapes.

So when I entered tonight, saw the same sign and re-read it four times to confirm it did actually say RED grapes, I immediately filled my basket.

Plus, no embarassing scene at checkout= clear 10.

GIANT CONTAINER OF PASTA (middle left): 9

Eating the same thing every day for dinner could get old.  When it’s free, it happens a little slower.

Last Friday before our school’s annual 5K I hosted a pasta dinner for students and faculty at my house (right across the street from school).  While my kids can eat, my mom can also cook.  A lot.  Since she was in town I delegated all pasta making to her

This left me with a TON of leftovers.  Some might think this is a bad thing.  I, however, who have paid virtually nothing for meals over the past week, love it.  Add in some cooked veggies, fake meat and soy cheese and you can keep it delicious.

PRE-PACKED LUNCH (top left): 8

Nothing makes me feel like I’ve got my life together more than having my lunch pre-packed the night before.  At 7:00 pm no less!

That being said, it’s still the same PB&J I’ve been eating for the past couple of weeks to save for my trip.  However, this week my PB&J was taken to a much higher level thanks to a Sunday morning trip to the Raleigh farmer’s market…

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY LEMONADE JAM (pretty pink jar, top shelf): 8

While I probably wouldn’t have normally purchased it, I was dying to try a free sample and Adam seemed mortified at the idea of eating a free sample without a purchase.  So Mr. Cheepskate himself is the one who encouraged the final purchase.

Why every jam company hasn’t thought of combining strawberry and lemonade flavors is beyond me.  These people even included chunks of strawberries. Delicious, chunky AND homemade.  I love it.

-1 for the difficulty in spreading it (the one downside of all the chunks), and -1 for the $5 price tag.

FRESH WHOLE WHEAT BREAD (white paper bag, middle shelf): 10

I also splurged on a large loaf of homemade whole wheat bread at the market.  Made for a nice thick PB&J today (that elicited several comments from students due to its size) that held me over all the way until my 7:00 dinner.  Worth the extra cost considering that I saved two slices of normal bread I would have used on PB&J number two for lunch.

Plus, the thick crust was AMAZING.

PRE-CUT VEGGIES (bottom left): 10

I also took the time tonight to pre-cut all the veggies I bought at the farmer’s market and grocery store today.  Totally worth the 15 minute, as lunch packing for the week will be significantly easier, and the chances of me eating all of them before they go bad has just gone WAY up.

TRADER JOE’S HUMMUS (top shelf): 8

It’s amazing how much a trip to the triangle revolutionizes my fridge.

On the top shelf there you can spot three whole containers of Trader Joe’s hummus.  Not only is it cheaper, but it also comes in amazing flavors like ‘Spicy Chipotle’.  While I love my go-to Roaster Red Pepper from Food Lion, this is definitely a nice treat.

-2 because my favorite snack to dip in hummus is pretzels, which I’ve given up to save money.  And my favorite dip to go with pretzels is guacamole, which I’ve also given up since avacados are expense.  So sometimes when I eat hummus I find myself missing guacamole…

Until next time (which could be tomorrow or in 7 weeks when school gets out), just living for the tens