Monthly Archives: February 2016

5gts: i can make good turning amazing

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1. My mom comes to town tomorrow, and my dad is already here! Super-fun weekend, bring it on.

2. No time for after-parent sadness, because on Monday they head back to Chicago and I head to NYC to see my sorella and co. for HAMILTON.

3. While in NYC, we’re going to play tourist – here I come, Lady Liberty! I can’t wait to do something in NYC that makes me feel like I’m 14 again, and maybe I’ll even by an I (HEART) NY shirt on a street corner for $3. I’m a wild woman!

4. Our first pizza night in our new house tomorrow night. This would be number 2, but see number 2, and you get me.

5. I’m sorry, have you seen 2? Also, Lin Manuel Miranda. Also, Angelina/Eliza/And Peggy. The list goes on…in fact, soon I’ll have my Hamilton playlist available for you. You’re welcome.

xo

on three words i try not to say.

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As you get older and you have little people (aka nephews/nieces/friends’ babies) around that you want to help grow up loved and smart and happy, you start to notice the way people use their words.

I’ve always been a stickler for grammar and word usage, but as I get older, here are some words I’d wish people would use less:

  • Jealous. I hear 100 times a day “I’m so jealous!” of someone’s brunch, trip to a far-off land, weekend afternoon off, manicure, new jeans, etc. I hate that word. Don’t be jealous, be proud/appreciative/happy for them. And mean it. You’ll get yours. And even you don’t, aren’t you glad they did? Appropriate replacement: gratitude. Show gratitude for what others have and also gratitude for what you have – even if it isn’t a month in Fiji or a new wardrobe or standing manicures.
  • Sorry. I’ve talked about this before. Don’t say sorry unless you’ve done something worthy of apologizing for. Appropriate replacement: excuse me, pardon me, thank you.
  • Starving. This is one I think my mom said to me a lot that’s stuck with me. You are definitely not starving. You are very hungry. You are regular hungry. You might even be thirsty. But you are not starving. This is more of a mindset. In addition, please everyone stop getting so hangry all the. Be a responsible adult and carry a snack in your purse like the smart people do. (I need to take my own advice on this one often.) Appropriate replacement: Hungry. Very hungry. Hangry.

What do y’all think? Are there words you try to use less? Do you try to put more meaning behind your words as you get holder?

5gts: you only get one person knows you best.

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1. Matt Nathanson’s “Show Me Your Fangs” album.

2. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Specifically, the audiobook version with all it’s nuanced voices and accents.

3. Hamilton in 3 weeks. (I cannot even allow myself to think about this.) (But I can’t stop.)

4. Yoga tonight for the first time in almost two weeks.

5. My husband, which, though cheesy, is really the number 1 on this list. Keeping me sane over weeks and weeks of busy lives with a cool, even attitude and knowing what I need at every turn.

Happy end-of-Monday, y’all.

Purple Polka Dots & The Road to the White House

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The other day I looked through my closet at this black shirt with purple polka dots, put it on to wear to work, looked in the mirror, and thought I should get rid of it as it isn’t (and probably never really was) flattering. But I can’t get rid of it, because when I look at it it reminds me of 2008, and explaining to Hillary Clinton why I couldn’t take a photo with her.

When I was a senior in college, I took a class in the fall called “Road to the White House.” It was easily my favorite class and is one of my favorite memories – working the campaign trail (albeit I had Republican candidates) and learning more about the insane way the politics works in the US.

Among the events we attended as a class was a rally for Hillary Clinton in Salem, NH. We were going to hear the senator speak and cover the event. It was one of a few events that we went to as a class (the other was a democratic debate where I stood feet from all the candidates and took photos) and it was, to say the least, memorable.

For the event, and for the class, I purchased a few items from the Macy’s in Boston with the help of an overly spunky salesperson who whisked me from section to section of the store in search of the perfect clothes to look professional but still hip. Among them was this black, purple polka dot shirt that is some kind of double-layered mesh with frills and lots of buttons. If it sounds bad, that’s because it.

Anyways, dressed in purple and ready for the event, we headed to NH. During the Q and A portion, one of our two teachers stood up and endorsed Senator Clinton. It was a shock to us all, as we were there as journalists, and suddenly were thrust into the spotlight as this class whose teacher publicly endorsed a candidate – not exactly non-partisan.

Needless to say, after the event Senator Clinton’s team wanted to get a photo with our class and our teacher, and our other teacher was aghast and reminded us that we were there as journalists and should remain neutral as media members.

As our class, and our teachers, discussed this on stage in a gym in rural New Hampshire, Senator Clinton and her team wondered what the hold up was (she was very gracious, but I am sure she had places to be.) As our students scurried from on the stage, ready to be photographed, to off the stage, remembering their career choices, the senator looked confused, and so of course I felt the need to explain to her why, exactly, we couldn’t take a photo with her.

So I stood there, in this black and purple polka dot shirt and blazer, hot and nervous and 21 years old, and told Senator Hillary Clinton that we couldn’t take a photo with her because we were journalism students, and we couldn’t choose a candidate for integrity’s sake, and the moral implications of our seemingly endorsing her ourselves, all the while lightly touching the senator by the elbow…you get the idea. The senator understood, and told us she wished us well in our studies and walked with me off the stage.  I still get flak from my dad about not taking the picture.

And that’s why, for a little while longer, the purple polka dot shirt, unflattering eight years later, will sit in my closet. Because once it gave me confidence to explain my morals to Hillary Clinton.