life update

What a surprise it was to log into Blogger and realize that my last post was ... well, almost two months ago!

COMPLETED: I made glass ornaments with swirls of acrylic paint in them with my class. It was a mad rush to get them finished by the last day of school, but I pulled it off - with the exception of one student whose ornament broke while he was packing it. I also had one student drop hers after working on it. Luckily, the paint inside kept the glass from shattering and meant a minimal mess - no flying glass. If I ever do this again with a class, I will consider using plastic ornaments. 

MOVED: out of my old apartment and in with my mom. My husband is seeking his fortune on the Mainland, and I'll be joining him at the end of the school year. 

READ: "The Children's Crusade" by Ann Packer, "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Hunt Mullaly, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick, and "What I Thought Was True" by Huntley Fitzpatrick. The latter was a surprisingly thoughtful look at love and socioeconomic differences on a resort island. 

I also enjoyed reading "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" aloud to my class during the last week of school!
LISTENED TO: The audiobook of "Modern Romance" by Aziz Ansari. I've watched some of his standup on Youtube and Netflix and didn't know that the book is actually about sociological findings about the impact of technology on romance. Not my usual audiobook pick, but interesting nonetheless.
CURRENTLY READING: "Twisted" by Laurie Halse Anderson.

EXCITED ABOUT READING: The second book in the Sandman graphic novel series - I've had it on request at the library for weeks. 

PURGED: four trash bags' worth of stuff, and donated a lot of things to a local charity. Still a lot of work to do - I want to significantly pare down my possessions in light of my impending move. 

DEVOURED: The most delicious apple pancake at The Original Pancake House.

EXPERIMENTED WITH: Making baked doughnuts using this recipe and the new doughnut pans I got for Christmas. I was apprehensive about making a dough that required yeast, but they came out great. Next time I'm making them with a chocolate glaze and a heavy dose of sprinkles.

ACCOMPLISHED: I drew for 38 days straight, as a fun way to establish a good habit for my 38th birthday. I now take a few minutes every day (usually before bed) to work on a Zentangle-inspired drawing.
Happy New Year! What have you been up to?