Poetry, poetry, poetry. Watch me!
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Monthly Archives: February 2012
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Vlog Week 20
Posted at 7:55 pm , on February 29, 2012
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Evolution
Posted at 9:29 pm , on February 28, 2012
I am pretty sure the mice in our apartment have started evolving. They have become too smart for the traps, and there is evidence they might be flying. The have become…
A mutation of a cockroach and a mouse. Basically a flying mouse. Made famous by the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, you can find more information on them here. We are getting closer and closer to borrowing/renting/buying a cat. The deli downstairs has one. We could probably snag it for a few days.
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Return from the Wild
Posted at 9:18 pm , on February 27, 2012
I survived a weekend cabin trip in Upstate New York. There really weren’t too many terrifying Oh-My-God-we-are-in- the-middle-of-nowhere-no-one can-hear-us-scream moments. It really felt good to “get away from it all” as cliche as that sounds. As I have been trying to settle down and create a life for myself, I had started to forget how much I love to travel. I also have never laughed so hard in 48 hours in my life.
The picture above is from the one hike our group managed to make it on. The picture is pretty poor representation of what we could see. After only hiking up for about twenty min. we were met with this incredible panorama. The great thing about traveling with friends who actually know photography and have those crazy professional cameras, means that I can just let go in the moment and let them capture the images.
I am excited for where the next out of the city trip will take me (hint, it is Pittsburgh in a few weeks).
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Friday Writing Prompt
Posted at 2:00 pm , on February 24, 2012
New York Public Library, November 2008
Happy Friday! By now, I am on my way to a cabin upstate to enjoy a little rest and relaxation. So, I suggest for this weekend’s writing prompt–GET OUTSIDE! Leave your house/apartment and get somewhere green. Find a nice bench and just sit. You can bring you notebook if you want. People watch, dog watch, squirrel watch. Enjoy being outside and see what words come to you.
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One of the most beautiful feelings in the world…
Posted at 10:00 am , on February 23, 2012
…when you are so engrossed in a new book that you hear the subway conductor announce “please stand clear of the closing doors” and you look up, realizing that the doors to your stop are about to shut. You run off just in time and don’t even care that you have two more trains to take because you just want to keep reading. Being that engrossed in a book is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world.
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Vlog Week 19- Critical Reading
Posted at 8:38 am , on February 22, 2012
This weeks topic was to take a poem (in this case William Carlos Williams’ “A Love Song”) and each Vlogger will give a critical reading and respond to the vloggers before them.
Check out his poem here
And the previous vloggers here
“like” the videos, follow them on YouTube. You might just learn something interesting.
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The Day New York Almost Destroyed Me
Posted at 7:28 pm , on February 21, 2012
Ok, that title might be a bit of an exaggeration. But it seems everyone who moves to New York has that moment when they just want to throw in the towel and head back to their fly over state (although I really don’t think Arkansas is a fly over state. I mean where would you by flying? From Memphis to Dallas?). That morning you are running late for a huge presentation and get stuck underground on the E train because someone just had to have a knife fight during rush hour. Or being broken up with over brunch. Before you food comes. Or being splashed by a bus that has your face on it. That last one is actually the opening credits of Sex and the City, but you get the idea.
Mine happened last Tuesday as I was getting ready to go to a fiction reading. My apartment has been having problems with mice. And by problems I meant that they have learned to outsmart all of the traps and no longer fear my screaming. But as they have been mostly confined to the kitchen, I have been able to somewhat cope with their presence. So back to Tuesday night, I was pulling on my tights, as I saw a brown body scamper along the wall of my room. It rustled behind some plastic bags I had on my floor and continued under my dresser.
I just lost it. With my tights half-on, I jumped onto my desk chair crying and screaming at the mouse. It kept moving through my room. I called my roommate Jesse first and left a garbled voice mail about how scared I was. Hopefully that recording won’t be auto-tuned and put on YouTube. But in order to do that, the words probably have to be decipherable. Still in gargoyle position on the chair, I called my friend Sarah. She talked me down off the chair. Metaphorically. I was still afraid to get my feet anywhere near the floor. It was still somewhere in the room.
Luckily my roommate came home shortly after I called. Jesse talked me down off the chair and came into my room, broom in hand, to chase the mouse out. It managed to make a circle of the room before it finally ran out. The picture above is not what I actually saw, but a picture I found on the internet that pretty accurately represents it. The mouse in my room was nearly my breaking point. The moment I wanted to throw in the towel and head back. But, Jesse offered to make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I had a reading to get to. I just have to keep reminding myself that even though it is tough to live in the city, there are so many opportunities here for great friends and great adventures. I ended up meeting two incredible authors and getting their books signed for their collection. With good friends and good books, I think I could survive just about anything. Or at least a mouse attack.
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Adventures in Cooking: Vegetarian Sloppy Joes
Posted at 10:00 am , on February 20, 2012
Another Sunday, another Rachael Ray meal. Tonight I made one that I haven’t made in about two years, vegetarian sloppy joes! The meat in the Joe is replaced with portabella mushrooms and red bell peppers. They make a great meat substitute. The mushrooms are hearty but not too heavy and greasy.
As a recipe, this one had very little prep work. Just some chopping, only the table spoon for measuring, and a tiny bit of mixing. The sauce was a bit sweet, but tangy with the Worcestershire sauce. A quick, easy vegetarian alternative to the usual burger. Just add the sloppy joe veggies and sauce to a toasted hamburger bun with pickles.
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Back in the Kitchen
Posted at 8:18 pm , on February 16, 2012
Between my new job, the ease of making a sandwich, and my roommate not being home, I have not actually ventured into the kitchen in awhile. So I decided to make one of my favorite Ray-Ray meals, Cubano Mac and Chesse . As Rachael Ray would say, “YUM-O!”
This is a great one, it is rich and cheese with the flavor profile of a Cuban Sandwich–mustard, pickles, ham, hot sauce. The recipe is much better with Gruyere cheese, if you can find it. I have made it with Swiss the past few times I have cooked this one, but it just doesn’t quite have as great of a taste. Swiss is an acceptable substitute even if it is blander then Gruyere. The prep for this is one is pretty easy. I basically had everything ready to go and the cheese sauce finished by the time the water boiled and cooked the pasta.
Pickles and ham might sound pretty strange in a mac and cheese, but trust me, this one is worth making. There is crunch, there is spice, it is a perfect dish for a warm winter night.
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Vlog! Vlog!
Posted at 10:00 am , on February 15, 2012
Not only to I blog, I VLOG! About poetry. So watch my video. This week’s topic is poetry in the news. Which by “in the news” I took the topic to mean Valentines Day. I also read a poem by one of my favorite poets (watch to find out who).
Also check out the other Vlog poets. It is a great project where a collective of poets speak about a different topic in poetry. You might even learn something.
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