My Fall Reading List

Yes, I'm still reading this book and yes, our living room/closet/etc. is kind of messy.

You guys, I have been working on this compilation of Bradbury stories for months now.  Just admitting it makes me realize how rarely I read these days, which in turn makes me want to make more time for reading, then I get sleepy from stressing so much and just want to take a nap.

Anyway I figured I'd share with you some of the books in my "To Read" pile.  It keeps getting bigger and I'm hoping the guilt will motivate me to read blogs less and read books more.

1. Rez Life by David Treuer.  Written by a Native American (Ojibwe) novelist, this is a memoir that focuses on the author's childhood and life on the Leech Lake Reservation in Northern Minnesota.  I found this at the one non-chain bookstore in Santa Fe, and bought it because I realized that I know close to nothing about life on reservations or life as a Native American is the modern-day United States.   Plus I love memoirs.

2. Loud in the House of Myself by Stacy Pershall. This is another memoir recommended to me by my therapist because the author is (apparently) anxious/depressed and high-strung and tattooed and quirky, which reminded her of me.  I'm pretty excited about this one actually.

3. The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II by Iris Chang. Can you tell I like nonfiction? I got caught in the Wikipedia rabbit hole one day and started reading about the Nanking Massacre.  I don't know about you all, but I had never learned anything about this horrifying period in Chinese history and reading about it totally fucking shocked me.  I found this book at the aforementioned Santa Fe bookstore and felt like I should probably educate myself on it.

4. Death's Acre by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. This book is about the "Body Farm", a partially outdoor forensic science laboratory that's mostly comprised of rotting bodies.  Scientists working at the "farm" use the bodies to study decomposition and the effects of various climates/environments on human flesh.  Is it weird that I kind of want to visit it?

5. Room by Emma Donoghue.  My only fiction book on the list!  My sister Megan recommended this to me (and I believe it was recommended to her by our mother).  I believe it's about a kidnapping victim told from the perspective of the son she had with her kidnapper, but I don't know much else about it other than Megan really enjoyed it.

The last two are eBooks which don't make for nice photos.

What are you guys reading this fall?

You know...

...that feeling where you hiked 8 total miles, huffing and puffing the whole way because you're out of shape, ate a PB&J sandwich at about 10,000 feet above sea level, laughed and joked with your handsome husband and awesome friend while your legs shook in fatigue, awkwardly peed in the woods, failed handsomely at peeing in the woods, felt triumphant when you made it to the top of the trail and then to the bottom again, tried to go to the bathroom at a gas station but couldn't because someone apparently "wrecked it," sang songs and took a bunch of pictures on the ride back, and came home to eat steaks and and laugh at nothing and sleep because you actually feel physically tired instead of just mentally stressed like you usually do?

And then you realized how special days like this are and chose to share them in an admittedly semi-nauseating blog post?

That's me.

Happy Saturday!

Friday Thoughts

I know I complain about this a lot, but is it weird that 97.5% of my blog posts have been "random shit we're doing" type posts rather than something with an actual theme? I just enjoy writing these more.

What are you guys up to this weekend?  Tonight Robbie and I are visiting some friends for dinner and RiffTrax. Having adult friends for the win! 

On Saturday we're planning on hiking in Taos, a ski town about an hour and a half from here.  The aspens are hitting their peak so it should make for some lovely photos WHICH I'M SURE I'LL SHARE WITH YOU GUYS because what else is a blog for right?

On Sunday we're taking a trip to Albuquerque so Rob can get tattooed and so I can stuff my face with P.F. Chang's and martinis.  Should be a rollicking good time.

It's been really weird getting used to having Rob around all the time again.  It feels like summer was years and years ago, especially since I haven't seen Natalie in a month and I haven't seen Lindsey in weeks.  I find myself vacillating between distancing myself emotionally and being extra-clingy, which luckily he's pretty used to.  This is one of the many reasons I'm happy I married the bastard.

Last night we hung out outside for hours in front of a roaring fire in our fire pit, along with pumpkiny s'mores, new Mumford & Sons and Green Day music, great company, and spiked cider.  I just love sitting outside with my favorite person, gazing out over our "new" hometown and enjoying each other's presence.  SO LOVEY AND RIDICULOUS.

Wow, guys, this was SUPER BORING.  I'm coming down off of a super tweaky Monster energy high and can barely get my thoughts in line...I hope you guys still love me.

Have a great weekend, friends!

Thoughts on Fall

I am really, really excited it's fall.

...and I'm not going to wax nostalgic about how the crisp fall air reminds me of open carriage rides with my parents who then made us pumpkin-spiced tuna fruit tarts while we watched old episodes of "All in the Family."

No, instead I'm going to talk about how it's the one time of year where I find cold air acceptable and, indeed, preferable to the hot sunnery of summer.  And also about butternut squash soup and hats and jackets and new television shows.

And especially fucking Pumpkin Butter from Trader Joe's.  Which I have eaten plain obviously, on toast with cream cheese, and with a chocolate bar. AND TONIGHT WE ARE PUTTING IT ON S'MORES.  Rob can thank me for that stroke of genius.

When people ask me what my favorite season is, I usually say summer.  Because summer is awesome and sunny and awesome.  But seasons are like music genres--summer is pop music, fun to listen to and dance to but mostly an indulgence.  Fall is classic rock, like CCR or the Rolling Stones.  Not always great for a night of wild partying, sure, but it's got soul and never fails to make you feel absolutely fucking awesome.

No, I don't care that I've said "awesome" about 70 times already in this post.

Spring is obviously easy listening, along the lines of Frank Sinatra. Winter, of course, is Christmas music until December 26th, after which it's mostly a 5-month long funeral dirge.

Pardon my tortured metaphor.

Anyway, there are few pleasures more...pleasurable? I guess?...than sitting on a patio, no bugs, cool air, a sunset, pumpkin-spiced s'mores, favorite person by my side, and a crackling fire.  Or huddling inside with Robbie's woobie (Army poncho, so warm) drinking hot cocoa while a cold rain falls outside.

Fall, you can come to my house and into my bed any time.

Dog Stuff, Spiders, Netflix, and Other Randomness

I know this is such a blogging cliche, but does anyone else feel like this month is already going by at light speed?

This week has already been pretty full over here at chez Roblin.  It's been so amazing having him home  to run errands and make decisions (mostly pertaining to Cypress), and to act as eye-candy while I work at home.

We've been running into issues with Cypress and her daycare(s) lately, and yes, I'm about to write at length about where I choose to board my dog when we aren't home.  Back in Maine she had an amazing facility that worked perfectly for her style of doggery and that had affordable daycare and overnight boarding.  We assumed when we came to New Mexico she'd just as easily fit into a new place, but sadly we were wrong.  The one facility that worked for us price-wise took a bit for her to get used to, and even when she finally did acclimate, we couldn't afford to actually board her there for longer visits ($25 a day for daycare, $65 a night for boarding! Welcome to fucking Santa Fe).  We found a place that had cheaper boarding, but after going a few times Cypress started showing clear signs of anxiety even after she came home.

So this week we had to start all the hell over again with even more expensive places.  You know what's funny about checking out new dog boarding facilities? You find that it's actually better to find people who can't communicate effectively with humans because chances are it means they're great with dogs.

CASE IN POINT

We were at the vet the other day (MORE CYPRESS STUFF) and I saw a massive spider web with a black widow in it on the outside of the waiting room window.  I've been terrified of seeing one and I'm sort of convinced that there are several living underneath our cluttered bed. Since this one was on the other side of the window I could spend more time appreciating the beauty of it rather than hyperventilating and/or vomiting.  If you'd like to appreciate the beauty of a black widow (or induce hyperventilation and/or phobia) click here and tell me how nice I am for not posting it here without warning you.

Also this week Netflix decided to take a turn for the awesome by adding Season 6 of "30 Rock," a SyFy miniseries called "The Tin Man," and the entire one season of "Freaks and Geeks." This all makes working from home even more awesome, especially because I pretty much finished up all the episodes of "X-Files" that really matter and I've seen every available episode of "30 Rock" at least 16 times.

Want to see something adorable? Cypress has dug herself a little "den" in our dirt-yard and every time we hang on the patio she lays down in it (always spinning around 3 times to scare away snakes first, of course).

Finally, Rob informed me that I forgot to share with you some out of context quotes we wrote down from our Grand Canyon trip:

"You should never assume you don't need to bring a machete."

"Holy Jesus on a stick!"

"I'm not drunk, I'm just drinking."

Have a lovely week, melon farmers!

Links Links Links

The moral case for sex before marriage. I loved this article and it made me want to write a whole blog post about my feelings on the topic.

I am so happy that Sarah is blogging again.

The Baby-Sitters Club: Where Are They Now?

Can You Make it Through This Post without Wanting to be in Fifth Grade Again? (via Kaelah) - How did we not know how good we had it?

The teenager audio test.  I could hear the sound, can you?

My dog: the paradox.

Disappearing mothers. (via Nova)

Since I'm trying out pole dancing, Sara recommended this news story to me - Pole Dancing for Jesus. I can't even.

The Broken Plate might be my new favorite Etsy shop. Anyone want to buy me some of those porcelain "brass" knuckles?

From my ma, a huge list of time wasters on the web.  You're welcome!

The worst page on the internet. (via Tanya on Facebook)

The Khan Academy: Learn Almost Anything for Free (in particular Math, Economics, and History).

Have you ever wondered if Hogwarts is all in Harry's head?

A Cancer Patient's Best Friend. Heart = melted. (via my ma on Facebook)

Loved this SNL skit: G.O.B. Tampons.

11 Abandoned American Hospitals and Asylums "Open" for Exploration.

Our Weekend in the Grand Canyon (Yep, Lots of Photos)

Well, not in the Grand Canyon but nearby.

This past weekend we decided to make the 6-hour trek from Santa Fe to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Our original plan was to go to the North Rim, which is less developed and thus less crowded, but due to Amie's new work schedule we didn't really have the time to drive all the way up there since it's an extra 200 miles or so.  This time around we had to settle for the more tourist-y side.

The drive down was actually pretty awesome.  Rob's back has been a lot better in the car for some unknown reason so he's been able to drive without a ton of pain.  Since driving causes an inappropriate level of stress for me, this works out really well for us. COMPROMISE. Also, driving 6 hours in the Southwest is so much easier than driving the same distance on the East Coast--the speed limit is 75 the entire way and the road is mostly straight--so the ride really wasn't as awful as I'd feared.

We got to the park and got our camping site all set up.  We managed to find a "corner lot" so to speak so we had tons of room and were positioned far away from the old people in RVs, which meant we could talk loud and drink and listen to music without fear of bothering anyone else.

Soon afterward we drove to one of the scenic viewpoints so that Amie and Robbie could actually see the Canyon since neither of them had before.  I know this probably makes me into a super nerd but I think I was actually more excited than I was the first time I saw it, just because I was anxious to see their reactions.  We spent the rest of the day checking out the different spots, throwing rocks over the edge to see how long it took to hear them land, and doing a lot of general oohing and aahing.  I took a lot of photos, too, as you can see (and the first photo of Amie is a great photographic portrayal of her initial reaction to the Canyon itself).

That night we had mac and cheese and hot dogs by the fire, and a few drinks of course. Pretty typical.

Also, I did a sexy dance, which Rob wanted to capture and I decided to share with you.

At around 9 or so we decided to go back to the rim and see how the Canyon was at night without the huge throngs of people cluttering everything up.  It was seriously gorgeous and, dare I say, almost spiritual.  I kept thinking about how crazy it is that the sun rises and sets on the Canyon every single fucking day without a single thought about whether I'm there staring slack-jawed at it or not.  I felt so insignificant and in such awe of our world and my tiny place in it, and yes, even atheists can be rendered speechless by how beautiful nature can be.

As we stood there, I decided to play with my camera settings a bit and see what my camera could do taking photos at night.  The pictures below were taken at this time (around 9pm on Saturday night) with no light whatsoever except an almost-full moon.  I haven't made any changes to these editing-wise except for a little bit of brightening on the first one.

Crazy, huh? It looks like midday!

Anyway Rob wanted to make sure I added that he did, in fact, pee over the side of the Grand Canyon while I wasn't looking.  He was pretty proud of himself.

We returned to the campsite and enjoyed the fire and each other's company.  We got a little crazy with the photography settings.

We all slept very well snuggled in our sleeping bags, and in the morning Amie was kind enough to make us some amazing breakfast sandwiches to start our day.  We went back to the Canyon to say goodbye and made our way back home.

So there you have it, a recap of my third time to the Grand Canyon.  We really had so much fun as a trio and I'm hoping we can take a longer, less crowded trip at some point.  

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.