HOTT (With Two T's!)

It was hot today.  Like really hot.

Empty Sink

If you know me you know how huge a deal this is!

(Psst...if you REALLY know me you know that there is a pile of pots and pans stacked just outside the frame of the photo!)

Things I Probably (Most Definitely) Should Have Learned Before I Did

There are moments in life when you accept something as fact simply because you did not know any better. I have many of these moments.

For example:

While reading To Kill A Mockingbird in high school, it took me an exceptionally long time to realize that Scout was in fact not a boy, but a girl. Did I skip over all of the pronouns in the first 9 chapters? Who knows. The book is now on my list of books to revisit in the future.

Until 9th grade I thought…assumed…was sure that Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh was named IGOR. This was one of the more memorable things I learned in 9th grade. I distinctly remember being astonished that I had been misled/misinformed for the last 14 years.

More recently, I heard about this new young singer that was putting the Jonas Brothers to shame named Justin Beaver. For months every time his song was on the radio I laughed a little inside. Come to find out that either my hearing is going or my mind is in the gutter when it comes to 13 year old pop singers named Justin BEIBER.

Also, coco van…mmm…who doesn’t like chocolate? Turns out coco van is actually coq au vin which is chicken, mushrooms, and wine. Thanks Julia Child!

Let’s hope the cliché of “better late than never” applies here.

Living Alone: Year One

Today marks the one year anniversary of living in my apartment on my own. This year has passed very quickly and has certainly had its highs and lows. But as always, taking time to look back and reflect has provided me many a life lesson.

These are the things I have learned while living alone:

1. I will watch almost any TV show that is presented to me in marathon form.

2. No one else is going to take out the trash.

3. All the hair in the tub really is mine. (Yikes! How am I not bald?)

4. Plants need water. They don't subsist on air and sunshine.

5. The fridge is always empty yet the sink is always full.

6. Apartment walls are thin!

7. There is NEVER a wrong time for an impromptu dance party.

8. Just about anything will rust if you leave it in the sink long enough.

9. I use an astronomical amount of toilet paper.

10. Living alone can be both wonderful and incredible lonely all in the same day.

RANT!

I told you I’m back!

Okay, so I am all for sharing the road with those pesky bike riders that insist on making driving more of a contact sport. I try to slow down as I pass riders and veer to the English side (read left) of the road in order to avoid scaring the crap out of them. BUT…the roads where I live are heavily traveled yet kept poorly.

Yesterday evening while traveling down one of these roads (for you Chelmsford kids think North Road with no sidewalk) at rush hour I come up to a bike rider who is riding quite far into the road and swerving to avoid pot holes.

Two things….
A. If your road bike is that fragile pick a BETTER KEPT road to ride on!
2. WEAR A HELMET! Do you really think your baseball cap is going to keep your brain inside you skull when you accidently veer into my traffic pattern causing me to run you over causing damage to my car, driving record, and general psyche?

That is not a rhetorical question.

Blogging Sojourn

So I’m back after like 85 weeks of nothing.

I wanted to describe my absence using the word sojourn, but I wasn’t technically clear on the meaning of the word. So after Googling* it I have found that sojourn in fact means “to stay somewhere temporarily” which is not at all what I meant. The word I was looking for was in fact hiatus.

So now that the word dilemma has been resolved I am ready to dive back into the world of blogging. I read that a blog should try to focus on one general topic in order to fit into a niche but when have I ever been a joiner? The correct answer is never.

This blog is just a collection of things. That is my topic area…is it specific? No. But is it open to interpretation thus lending itself to finding some direction and focus in the future? Sure.

So stay tuned for who knows what.

*The noun is Google which I can also use as a verb as in the sentence, “Did you Google him?” And I suppose if you did this yesterday one could reply with, “Yes, I Googled him.” But what about actively Google-ing? Googling? Hmmmm….thoughts?

OH MY GOD!!!

Screw Twilight....Eclipse cannot even remotely compare to the wonderfulness that is Harry Potter.



Eeeeek! I'm squealing like a 12 year old! Can we fast forward to November??

1,000 Books

Last year on the Fourth of July, I began to wonder how many books I have read. I have read a lot but kept no record of what or how much I read. So...I set a goal to read 1,000 books. This didn't seem too daunting at first but then I began to think....if I read 1 book a week that is about 50 books a year. Reading 1,000 books is going to take me 20 years!

Even if I read 2 books a week this is still a 10 year project!

Even if I read a book every single day it would take 3 years.

So far I am one year into the project. I read exactly 52 books from July 4, 2009 - July 4, 2010. So far so good!

In other literary news.....Summer and I are reading book clubby books together this summer while she is growing baby. Any suggestions?

Procrastination and Pasta

I've been talking about making my own pasta for a while now....like six months. So I decided to change my procrastinating ways and just do it!

That was on Wednesday.
On Thursday I found a reciepe online.
On Friday I went to the grocery store to buy ingredients.
And FINALLY on Saturday I actually made the pasta.

Here's how it went down...

It turns out there is not much in pasta dough. Some flour, eggs, and olive oil.

You mix it all on a cutting board! Just smoosh it until it starts to look like dough, then knead.

I took pictures of the dough going through the flattening and cutting of the pasta machine but my camera magically erased them on its own. Hmm...

It looks like pasta! It cooked very quickly but it tasted mostly of flour and egg which essentially is all it was. All in all it's way less of a project to cook pasta out of a box but that's not as fun and messy!

In other news, I cleaned my apartment for 2.5 hours today, napped, went to a booksale, and paid all my monthly bills.

How's that for kicking procrastination in the face?

Hello Cyberspace...

Where to begin...I suppose with the name. Zero Ducks in a Row pretty much sums up my life right now. Up until this week I taught 4th grade until my principal decided that even though I tried my best I suck at teaching and thus no longer have a job.

So I am back to square one with any career plans and I am beginning to think that I will never make it as a teacher. That sounds like I am trying to do something spectacular like be a show girl or president but come on already...all I want to do is stand in front of kids and impart some wisdom upon them. Is that really too much to ask?

Currently I am harboring many anxieties about my future. I am on summer vacation but I have no future plans for any aspect of my life. This blog is an attempt to record and inspire(?) change in my life.

So here's to finding some ducks and forcing them to sit in a row.