1)
We managed to get a snow trip in this season. We
visited big bear and we skied at snow summit. Oh my goodness every year I renew
my love for cold weather and alpine imagery. It makes everything worth it.
2)
I am so officially a grad student now. My first
every graduate level classes are am Taking Finite element methods and the
mechanics of sintering. It didn’t take long for those classes (only three
weeks) to kick my butt and I am excited for the challenge.
3)
I visited the San Diego Museum of Art and really
enjoyed the Sternburg exhibit. I fell in love with the painting entitled “the
seventh wave”. The colors were so vivid. I would have spent longer gazing at it
had I known that the images didn’t exist online. I suppose that makes the
museum going experience just a little bit more special.
4)
We are now proud owners of Amazon Prime. We
should have treated ourselves to this little multifaceted subscription service
long ago. Everyone always raves about the free shipping and the video but no
one has never mentioned amazon music to me. Its amazing. As a old timer that
still buys CDs because I enjoy the album experience so much, I think I saved
myself the price of prime in just Adele CDs alone.
5)
I am also exploring music through new podcasts
lately. Out of the 20 or so I downloaded these three are worth keeping.
a.
Song exploder. They don’t have a copious amount
of episodes available, but I immediately recognized at least 4 of the artists
they featured. This podcast gets the artists on the show and explains each
portion of the song 10 second clip and layup at a time. I especially loved the
episode with MGMT. I heard that song before but it gave me a whole new
appreciation to understand the artists influence.
b.
Tiny desk concerts. I really enjoyed the format
of this podcast. Normally when I listen to a new artist I give them a one song
tryout. This episode has no host, no introduction, just three songs from an
artist that I probably haven’t heard of. It is great, it’s an awesome little introduction.
c.
All songs considered. The format of this show
longer than the other two but it goes more in depth, riffing on genres instead
of specific songs or artists. I loved it.
6)
Speaking of Music, have you all listened to
Kendrick’s Lamar’s Album “to Pump a Butterfly”?. Oh Man, so good. I first got a
whiff of the album from listening to “All Songs considered”’s episode about the
best music in 2015. They played “king kunta”, and it just sounded so different.
I listened to the album and I was amazed about how well the song fit into the
overall album. There were references that kept coming up in such a new way. The
lyrics in different songs made a reference to someone named “lucy” and each
passing reference fleshed out Lamar’s relationship with her. After a while, I
started thinking that Lucy wasn’t a real person. Maybe it is just a cloaked way of describing his
demons, Lucifer even. That was just the first pass through the album. I have
the feeling that if I listen to the album again I’ll pick up more content I
missed the first time.
7)
I have been shopping like a beast. I have taken
New Year New You to heart and I want 2016 to feel completely different from
2015. Some things I have bought in January
a.
Sam Edelman Black Suede petty boots
b.
J Crew mint coat on major sale. Too cute
c.
Airplane throw pillows for the office
d.
Cornocopias to give my kitchen a decidedly fall
feel
e.
An Akubra so I can walk around the park in style
f.
Silk Flowers to decorate my kitchen
g.
Stickers from Hobby Lobby to decorate my planner
h.
A Donna Morgan silk dress
8)
I have a new name because Marriage!
9)
I am now subscribed to Martha Stewert Living. I
am really excited about it. I snagged a black Friday year long $5 subscription.
It even came with a ride along subscription to Better Homes and Gardens. It’s a
major steal. I was joking with Alex that if we move I will decorate absolutely
everything with Grommets.
10)
I bought the cutest valentines day gift for
Alex. I broke down and ordered matching underthings from meundies.com. I
thought the fabric quality was good, but not like a million times better than
my other lacy things. Alex, on the other hand, was head over heels with his red
valentines day boxers. I have a feeling that my gift was the best thing that
happened to his underwear drawer since, well, Costco. And the box came with a
free hat, nicely wrapped.