primavera...

Spring Break is a lovely tradition, though supreme sadness descends when the week ends and I must finish the semester in a mad push to the end. Spring Break typically symbolizes the tail end of winter and the around-the-cornerness of spring, hoorah! This winter, however, likes to linger. Yesterday we received 8 inches of snow in Western Michigan. I was worried that my drive back to Dairyland would be fraught or postponed, but the roads were clear, the sun bright, and music lilting. I hauled my bags of provisions--CHARD, Koeze's peanut butter, grazing fields eggs, bionaturae whole wheat pasta and crushed tomatoes, Uncommon Grounds coffee, sencha vanilla tea, two kinds of artisan bread from the Journeyman Cafe--into the house, made a quick pasta dinner, and turned on a little Spartan basketball, and tried to stretch vacation just a teensy bit longer...

And now here I am, with my large piles of student papers mostly graded, and just a few grants and proposals to craft before this week becomes too crazy-busy.

I'm starting to feel the call of lightweight, floaty dresses; tissue-tees; bright colored prep-ster capris a la jcrew; shiny, brightly colored flats; and fresh, shimmery, glossy make-up. Spring fashion delights me more than any other seasonal garb!

road trippin'

Today my friend B and I headed across the fair dairyland state to attend an awesome conference, chat it up with some fellow professor types, and forage for good eats after our minds were filled with new ideas.

First, we visited a candy store that carries Vosges exotic candy bars--I purchased my ever favorite Barcelona bar (dark milk chocolate, smoked almonds, and grey sea salt). We found a groovy little grocery store that featured organic produce and natural/organic goodies. I bought a bouquet of organic CHARD (hoorah!) and a small paper bag full of organic yukon gold potatoes. Tomorrow I'll make a simple dish of sauteed chard, garlic, mashed yukon golds, and olive oil. Yummm. Then we browsed in a used book store, where I bought my very own copy of Jhumpa Lahiri's pulitzer prize winning short story collection The Interpreter of Maladies for six dollars. Then it was back in the car in search of caffeine and all we could find was the ubiquitous Starbucks. We drove the rolling hills of central Wisconsin and found our way to Green Bay, where we drove through town on a whim and serendipitously settled into spicy goodness at Nukeo Thai. Delish!

I'm happy to report that Green Bay seems alive and thriving even with the news of Brett Favre's retirement, which has broken a few hearts and induced many a tear to fall across this great state this week. (note: if you would've told me a year ago that I would blog about Brett Favre, not just once but on multiple occasions, I would've been full of scoff and snark).

natal day

These gorgeous pink and white tulips, imported from the netherlands, are a bday gift from my parents, who brought them to me all the way from the other holland!

I feel blessed today--the small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness have lessened the sting of turning 34, and have reminded me of what's truly important--family, friends, loving kindness, and shared time.

And chocolate.

My "sally" moments ("but I'm going to be 40...someday") will continue to flit in and out of my consciousness, but for now I'm glad, and so grateful that I know so many wonderful people who share their lives with me in a multitude of ways.