Fun with some sun

SuziCate of The Water Witch's Daughter has given me a Sunshine Award. Thanks, SuziCate!

The award is supposed to be passed on to twelve other bloggers (no other rules as far as I can tell). But I've noticed that, within my blog circle (small but growing), this award has been handed around to many deserving people. Some folks have even been tagged multiple times! I do want this to remain fun and special when I pass this along, but if this is your fourth nomination, you're probably wondering, "Twelve more blogs to pass this to? And I thought the first thirty-six were hard to come up with."

So. In consideration of so many of you who have received so much well-deserved Sunshine, I'm revising the rules a bit.

I'm sure some of you, when you were growing up, heard this medley by The 5th Dimension at least once on the radio (and if you remember the second half of it, then you know why I'm mentioning it here). It won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Group at the 12th Annual Grammy Awards. I was not yet around to remember that, but the recording has also, according to Wikipedia, been referenced in the media as follows (and I quote)*:

• French's mustard used portions of "Let the Sunshine In" for their commercials in the late '80s.


• Hans Zimmer created a version of the song for the opening sequence of the 1990 film Bird on a Wire.


• In the third season episode of The Simpsons "Bart the Lover" from 1992, the Twirl King Yo-Yo company uses the "Age of Aquarius" portion of the song during their school Twirl King Champions yo-yo exhibition assembly.


• The song appears as the fifth track of the second disc of the soundtrack to the 1994 movie Forrest Gump.


• In 1998, Burger King used this song to promote their breakfast menu.


• The 1999 remake of The Out of Towners used "Aquarius" when Steve Martin's character has a psychedelic scene after ingesting a hallucinogenic.


• In the 2001 Disney movie Recess: School's Out, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" plays during the end of the movie, moving into the credits with the chorus "Let the Sunshine In."


• "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is performed with dancing at the conclusion of the 2005 movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin after the lead character's first sexual encounter.


• Société Bic (brand name, Bic) also used the song in the 2007 advertising campaign for the debut of their "Soleil Triple Blade Razors" in America.


• The "Let the Sunshine In" portion of the song was used as one of the official theme songs for the 2008 general election campaign of Barack Obama.


• "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is also used in commercials for the Kia Rondo.


• The "Aquarius" song is used in commercials for the Aquarius sports drink.


• William Shatner sang a version of "Aquarius" in a commercial for Priceline.com.


• Used in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, 2001, second walk.
  

Okay. Here's what I'm asking you to do. Examine the bulleted list above and give yourself a point for each item you can count in your own viewing/listening experience. Then report your point total in the comments below and tell us about at least one of those experiences! (Seriously, I want to know if you've seen William Shatner's performance and/or remember that French's mustard commercial -- what was going on in your life then?) Ten bonus points to anyone who has heard the medley performed live by The 5th Dimension. (Anybody know if they did that at the Grammys? I'm guessing they did, but ... ?)

Once you've done that, feel free to grab this award and pass it along as you see fit (by offering it to twelve deserving bloggers, if you so choose, or by using the modified rules I've created). You are, of course, still welcome to play even if you don't want to pass the award along. Enjoy!

* Clearly I have not verified said media references, but I am supposed to be working on my thesis, people. Forgive me?

Let's face it

Having to maintain anonymity on this blog means it's unlikely I'll ever post a photo here with my face in it, or that of anyone who can be unquestionably linked to me. It's just too risky.

As I'm sure you've noticed, this forces me to limit the shots I do post to those showing only the backs of people's heads. Until now, that is: enter the Mad Men avatar maker.

No, it's not a replacement for real photos (and no, I don't watch the show; I just saw this on another blog), but being able to put a face to a name is nice. Even when the name is merely an initial or a very obvious pseudonym. I played with the different features you can give each avatar -- face shape, eyes and eyebrows, nose, mouth, hair, skin color, etc. -- and was able to get interesting likenesses for D, Almost Dr. Sis, and Newly Graduated Sis.

So where are they? Well, I was going to post them. But then I decided it would be much more fun to have each person design his or her own for me to put up instead! Hopefully they'll be willing, and if not, then I'll share what I've created. In the meantime, here's mine:


In addition, I shall reveal the last nominee for the One Lovely Blog award, something I've been saving for an appropriate moment. I'm giving these accolades to iHeartFaces, written by Angie Arthur and Amy Locurto. Even though I can't post real pictures of my favorite people, here's a place where others can post shots of theirs. Enjoy!

Unpacking

This weekend, D and I tackled the piles of boxes we'd stuck in the room that will eventually become D's office. Since our arrival, the space has essentially been an extra-large walk-in closet for us, but now that my parents and Newly Graduated Sis are coming to visit in a week, we're inclined to get it somewhat tidied -- so it can fit the boxes that have spilled over into the guest bedroom.

We got through the majority of D's stuff by Sunday night, which leaves the rest of this week for me to figure out what I want to do with mine. Much of it is memorabilia from school that needs to be organized so it can be sifted through more easily should I ever need to access anything from a specific time, and being on the point of starting to write this thesis has made me reluctant to toss things that provide potentially useful information about my past. Not the best mindset to be in when you're trying to make space!

It doesn't help that the texts I've been looking at as possible models for my work all incorporate the use of personal documents and other such things to really interesting effect. In the last few weeks, I've managed to steal enough time (mostly on planes) to finish three books that do this.

The first is Five Thousand Days Like This One by Jane Brox. Her memoir is one part a collection of family stories passed down to her by her father and the other part a history of New England farm life. Both portions of the work use old records to reanimate scenes from the past in Brox's poetic style. I don't think it's a style I would follow -- sometimes the way the records are quoted into the larger narrative feels a bit choppy against the original language of the writer; the two just don't blend -- but it's striking how much those records help Brox situate her father's apple farm in the culture of American commerce when industry arrives. Context is everything.

The second book that makes great use of personal documents is Honor Moore's The Bishop's Daughter. In a way, the work relies almost too heavily on these -- primarily letters between Moore's parents in their dating years as well as letters between father and daughter and mother and daughter. The goal of incorporating all of this correspondence is to aid in creating a portrait of the family's private life while its members navigate a very public existence (Paul Moore was the 13th Episcopal Bishop of New York). I love how much access the narrator has to all of these rich primary sources -- I certainly don't have that volume to work with! On occasion, though, the specificity of each piece of evidence meant to illustrate some detail makes it difficult to see the big picture that the narrator is painting. It overwhelms, to a degree.

The most recent book I've finished is Jeffrey Eugenides's Middlesex. This one isn't actually a memoir, but it reads very much like one and situates its narrative over three generations of a Greek family adapting to life in America between the 1920s and 1970s (which includes Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement ...). It is extremely clear that the author has researched the influences of these six decades on Detroit -- the city where most of the narrative takes place -- and he weaves that information into the background of the story in a way that doesn't detract from the focus on the protagonist, a girl coming of age in that third generation of her family. Her coming of age is complicated by biological factors that have their own story, and this narrative thread's ability to hold its own as a driving force in the novel against such a tumultuous historical backdrop is what really amazes me. The two elements work in sync with each other to even greater effect.

All right, enough pseudo-book-reviewing from me. I know I've been behind on updating my reading list for the summer, so there you go (see the full list in the sidebar). Also, for those of you keeping track, I've got six more nominations left for the One Lovely Blog award, so if you like reading about what other people are reading, here are some blogs I've discovered recently:

• Books and Cooks, written by Tara
• Breaking the Fourth Wall, written by Lisa
• Tripping Toward Lucidity: Estella's Revenge, written by Andi
• Incurable Logophilia (author unnamed)
• Writing Under a Pseudonym, written by Jade Park.

And yes, the final nominee will be forthcoming soon.

Number crunching

That's what today has been about.

I've actually been preparing for today for about six weeks (ever since my endocrinologist started me on that low-oxalate diet -- bleh -- at the end of May). I saw the doctor this morning and got the results of my latest lab tests. The good news: the numbers are coming down as we've hoped they would. The oxalate levels are now in the 60s, which is much closer to normal (under 30; my last reading was over 270) and the phosphorus levels are completely normal in the high 800s (previously over 2100). So cutting out spinach and (some) nuts and tea has worked enormously in my favor, which hopefully means no more kidney stones in the future. This also means I have to stay on this diet, but so far, I'm managing.

Of course, though, there's a new wrinkle: I have exocrine problems.

Because I was experiencing some GI unpleasantness in early May (I'll spare you the details) and inexplicable weight gain, I got a referral to another specialist who ordered some tests of his own. It's not definitive yet, but the early results indicate that I don't digest fats properly. The culprit behind this problem is most likely the pancreas (again!) -- but this time it's the part of the organ belonging to the exocrine system, i.e., the part responsible for getting fat-digesting enzymes where they need to go.

So I'm now taking these.


This is Pancrecarb, which basically delivers the enzymes I need in capsule form. I take one capsule with each meal, and the tiny pellets inside get released as their container breaks down. So far, this seems to be alleviating the GI symptoms extremely well. Unfortunately, the weight gain hasn't leveled off yet. (Granted, I've only been on the meds for a week, but ... ) While the upward creep of the numbers on the scale has been slow, it has been frustrating, especially since I've been increasing my workout time -- and all that's done is give me sugar lows more often.

The nurse at the GI doctor's office who gave me my test results said that my body may have been hanging on to extra weight because it wasn't getting enough dietary fat (a bit counterintuitive, but certainly possible, I guess) so my metabolism may need to readjust. If that's the case, I'm hoping that happens sooner rather than later. I'm fine with what I weigh now, but about seven years ago I was nearly 30 pounds heavier (out of the healthy range for my height and build) and I really don't want to go back to that. I've worked too hard to get fit only to have a pancreas on the fritz undo it all!

In the spirit of staying motivated, here are a few blogs I've been reading recently that I'd like to add to my list of nominees for the One Lovely Blog award:

• Cranky Fitness, written by Crabby McSlacker and Merry Sunshine
• Refuse to Regain, written by Barbara Berkeley and Lynn Haraldson-Bering
• Back in Skinny Jeans, written by Stephanie Quilao
• PastaQueen, written by Jennette Fulda
  

So there's some inspiration to fight the good fight without losing total perspective on why we do it. I am not just a bunch of numbers, I know, even if my doctors tend to rely on them to keep me well. Maybe remind me of that the next time I have to step on the scale ...

Nesting?

Why, yes, we are.

Having family around didn't deter us from working on our place last week -- in fact, it was all we could do to keep D's dad from making yet another run to the hardware store (it's one of his favorite places, it seems) as we thought of various tasks we wanted to tackle while the weather was good and the manpower willing. As a result, the gutters are now cleaned, the wasp nests are gone from beneath the eaves, the trees and bushes are pruned, and only one carload of our belongings remains in our apartment.

While D worked on tidying the outside of the house and moving as much as possible from our other address, I worked on putting things away. I think my biggest accomplishment was getting the closet in our room organized. Until three days ago, it was a chaotic catch-all with clothes flung in piles on the shelves and floor, mostly because we'd been focusing our attention on the rooms the family would be occupying while they were in town.

The nice thing was that even with four extra people in the house, there was plenty of space for everyone, both public and private -- unlike the time when D's parents, aunt, and three brothers came to visit us two weeks after we got back from our honeymoon. I believe we even had guests camped out on the floor of our bedroom that time. Talk about having to get comfortable with your new in-laws right away ...

Our visitors have gone now, and I have exactly one week before I'm traveling again, this time for a visit to my grandmother and a cousin's wedding. I wish I could have a few more days at home as I still don't feel like I have a routine here yet. The structure of each day has been drastically different, given the continuing move process, and that's made it difficult to establish regular work hours for my thesis. More on that front soon -- I've finished another book on the reading list, just haven't gotten to reflect on it properly yet.

One thing D and I have been able to keep routine is breakfast, thank goodness. And now that we're no longer limited by a shortage of cabinet space in the kitchen, we've been able to use the dishes we'd previously had to keep in storage, like the adorable egg cups from Almost Dr. Sis in the photo above. I love them -- the only challenge is bopping the eggs they hold. How can you whack something on its pate (much less scoop out its innards) when it's made to look as if its cute little feet are sticking out at you?

Well, D seemed to have no trouble.


We're looking forward to giving you a virtual tour once we've gotten our place completely in order. In the meantime, here's another nominee for the One Lovely Blog award, in keeping with the rest of this post: decor8, written by Holly Becker. So many ideas to consider ...

It's good to be (coo)king

Yep, the in-laws are here.

They (D's parents and youngest brother) arrived Friday afternoon in my car, which they kindly drove from Little U., saving us enormous shipping costs and eliminating their need for a rental on their tour of national parks en route. D's aunt flew in from Chicago yesterday morning as well. The plan for the next week: day excursions with possible overnights around the Olympic peninsula. D and I won't be going, but we'll spend evenings with the family in the new house.

Cooking for six instead of just two has worked out well so far -- we had soy-ginger barbecued chicken with a field greens salad the first night and broiled halibut steaks with stir-fried zucchini, summer squash, and broccoli yesterday. Tonight, we'll have a pork loin roast with red pepper gravy. That calls for a little more prep, but it is Father's Day. So while the crew is out enjoying the Fremont Fair, I'm going to get that ready along with individual meringues to go with the fresh berries we picked up at Pike Place Market. This works out well, as there are only five seats in the car, and I'm frankly in need of some alone time. Being the primary cook is a lovely excuse not to venture with everyone else into the throngs that will surely await them.

I haven't had a moment to write about the thesis reading I've done so far in the last month, but the ideas are in notes form somewhere with my partially unpacked Boston luggage. I'm hoping to have some more extensive thinking time Monday and Tuesday while also figuring out where to get my driver's license changed and what gift to get for my cousin's wedding, which is the next big trip on the horizon. Why does summer somehow feel less restful than the regular academic year? It must be the constant interruption of routines. I do like the occasional break from the usual grind, but everything gets accomplished in fits and starts with so many special summer activities stacked back to back. I think I'm becoming thoroughly convinced that everything in moderation really is my preferred way of living.

On a completely unrelated note before I head off to the kitchen, a big thank-you to Sherlock of Sherlock's Stuff for the One Lovely Blog award. Such a nice surprise to come home to -- and even after such sparse posting from me in recent weeks!

The rules for accepting this are as follows: (1) Accept the award and post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award as well as his or her blog link. (2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

There's no way I can nominate 15 blogs in one round, so I'm going to do a few with every post till I hit the mark. So at this time, I'd like to share this award with Mrs. Whatsit of I Love Science, Really. She's just been reunited with her husband after doing the long-distance thing for what, I imagine, felt like an age. Props for all the effort that went into that experience as well as the decision to move back while still working on a Ph.D. She writes with a candor I love.

To the ovens ...

How sweet!

While I was on my way back to Little U. on the Prairie, Medieval Woman gave me an Inspiration Award! What a lovely surprise -- thank you!

Of course, there are a few rules I must post with it.

The obligations upon accepting the award are to extend the compliment by doing the following:

1) Put the logo of the award (above) on your blog if you can make it work with your format.

2) Link to the person from whom you received the award.

3) Nominate seven or more blogs.

4) Put the links of those blogs on your blog.

5) Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

So here are my nominations:

• French Fancy, the namesake blog of a Londoner who now lives in Brittany, France, and writes about life on the other side of the English Channel -- including her progress toward her B.A. in Humanities from the Open University. I admire anyone who takes it upon himself/herself to pursue education through distance learning. It's not easy to be your own motivator, and Ms. FF does a terrific job.


• A Lady Scientist, the blog of a fourth-year Ph.D. student in biochemistry who is, in her words, "navigating the so-called 'Two Body Problem.'"


• Hypoglycemiagirl, the blog of another fellow commuter currently living in Sweden while juggling what she calls "an academic four-body problem"(!).


• The Firefly Photo Files, the blog of a photography enthusiast from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, that features his beautiful travel and nature shots with personal commentary. There's nothing like looking at other people's art to make you want to do more yourself.


• Making This Home, written by an American blogger living in Berlin, Germany, while she and her husband remodel parts of their 480-square-foot apartment with do-it-yourself aplomb.

These last two are actually links to collections of blogs on specific topics. I couldn't choose just one from each place -- it's the community each site represents, perhaps, that is inspiring ...

• Diabetes Daily, a forum with feeds from people living with the disease that's become particularly relevant to me in the last few weeks. While I'm not fully diabetic yet (and hope not to be), I'm learning how to handle many of the same things these bloggers are dealing with, and reading their posts on day-to-day life has been really helpful.


• Authors' Blogs, a forum with links to the blogs of aspiring and published writers.

Now, time to go home and start grading. And so it begins again ...

Chouette!

I woke up to a little surprise today. French Fancy, a blogger in Brittany, kindly nominated me for a blog award (see her post here). I've never received one of these before -- what an unexpected and welcome nod of encouragement.

The really fun part is that now I get to put up some nominations (that's the way these things seem to work, according to what the conditions are for said award). I'm also asked to post the rules for accepting the award, which are as follows:

• Copy and paste these rules/instructions in your post.


• When you post about receiving this award, include who gave you the award and link back to his/her blog.


• Post five winners and link back to them as well.


• Post five of your addictions.


• Add the award image.


• Let your winners know you gave them this award by leaving comments on their blogs.

So, without further ado, here are my nominees.

• The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee, by Laurie Cinotto ~ One of my sisters introduced me to this darling site that covers the lives of foster kittens in Tacoma. I cannot wait to get back to Seattle for good -- D and I are hoping to adopt one (or two or three ...).


• Purring Prophecy, by Medieval Woman ~ While doing research on commuter relationships last summer, I came across this site by sheer chance. The author is, in her own words, "a medievalist beginning her first tenure-track position, working on her book, and commuting to see her long distance husband." She's also got a wicked sense of humor and manages to hang on to it through the travails of teaching.


• Cake Wrecks, by Jen ~ The name of this compendium says it all. A friend of mine who knew that I was doing research on footbinding for a Chinese history course last spring directed me to this blog for a look at a very relevant photo someone had sent in. Can you guess what the cake in the picture was made to resemble? I do have to say it was an excellent representation of the real thing, but whether or not it was in good taste -- sorry, I couldn't resist.


• Caramel Cook, by Brian Sharp ~ I found this blog when I was searching for a recipe for scones last winter. The food photography is wonderful, and the commentary is great for culinary inspiration.


• Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog, by -- well, that's a little more complicated. This site was originally by the esteemed author of The Canterbury Tales, but it seems he's been ousted from his role as head scribe. There's a new order handling things at the moment, but no matter what, it's a hilarious read, especially if you like deliberate anachronisms with your Middle English.

All right. On to the addictions ...

• Soup. Of almost any kind. It is really, really cold at Little U. on the Prairie in the winter (which sometimes lasts six months), and making a huge pot of soul-warming goodness always makes it more bearable. I got started on a soup-making kick last year thanks to a cookbook called Soup: A Way of Life by Barbara Kafka, which I picked up before moving from Texas. I also grew up savoring my mother's incredible homemade stocks, which kind of sealed my fate before I was old enough to boil water.


• Mountains. If you followed this blog especially during the past summer, you know this already. I discovered my natural habitat -- didn't know I had one -- in the Pacific Northwest, where the pines and the peaks they decorate make me happy. I haven't yet figured out why. Maybe it's the solitude, or maybe it's the smell of the air. In any case, I've told D that we're not moving once I get back because I don't think I could bear to leave.


• Books. This one probably goes without saying. D says I eat books, which is pretty accurate. I wouldn't feel right without some kind of personal reading in my life -- titles of my own interest, not those assigned for class (though sometimes those lead me to other books, which is totally fine). I'm currently collecting copies of my favorite children's books so that someday, I'll have a library all ready for our kids.


• Stationery. Beautiful pens, beautiful paper, the kinds of things that give you pleasure when you write. Even as a little girl, I was obsessed with writing (both penmanship and the creative act), and the sensuous trails of colored inks gliding from beneath the perfect nib onto the creamy surface of a fresh page of a journal were like catnip to me. Now, I do most of my writing electronically (I compose better that way), but when I'm grading and commenting on student papers, I always choose a pen that feels good to write with.


• D's hugs. This is the worst addiction because I can't get a fix on a regular basis! Now, I don't mean this in the "I can't help saying this because I'm in love with him" sense. I've had hugs from various friends, male and female, in my life, and even before D and I knew we were attracted to each other, his hugs far outranked any I'd ever experienced. Not like those airy, squeamish, not-really-touching-you hugs. His platonic hugs were warm and enveloping, gentle but firm. They were meant. His hugs now (not so platonic, obviously) are the same. Only now I get to ask for them and I don't have to let go.

I think that does it for today. Thank you again, French Fancy, for the award. This was fun.