January 5th, 2012

2011 In Review

Another new year, another reflective blog post.

 

Notable events from 2011:
I have been at the AANM one year as of Monday – a busy year packed with learning, laughing & discovering my place in the organization.

AANM Halloween party

 

I survived grad school!
Graduation

 

I did a good amount of running & biking – a total of 525 miles this year (341.79 were running).
2011 Training

 

I joined the circus (well, I wish I could)
birdsnest

 

I celebrated 5 years of marriage
I love this picture of us.

 

I lost my stepdad to lung cancer
1993

I gave up being a vegetarian. [And ate a LOT of hotdogs!]

 

2012 Goals:

  • Stay active: train hard for Hood to Coast, do at least 1 more half marathon, do more circus
  • Grow professionally: present at a conference [or at least develop & submit some proposals], join some committees, expand my networks, work hard on new museum projects
  • Be responsible: save more money, do some house projects [the front lawn!], eat candy in moderation
  • Have fun: connect with friends, go easy on myself, to cultivate gratitude and kindness

2012
By-NC-ND

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November 26th, 2011

Thankfulness & a Delicious Success

I hope you all had a tremendous Thanksgiving! I really love this holiday because, gluttony aside, it’s focused on gratitude, togetherness and is always a really positive day for me [see last year & two years ago].

The holiday started off the best way possible – at the Detroit Flyhouse. I’ve just started up my second series of classes & have been having a blast!

Thursday morning we attending the “Ypsi Turkey Trot” – a run I made up, then invited everyone to. It was a lovely 3.33 miles around Ypsi. Even Joel came along for what he claims to be the furthest he’s ever run in his life.

This year, Joel & I hosted for our families for the Thanksgiving meal – a total of 11 people were able to make it. Everyone pitched in & the day went amazingly well, not a single mishap! And, not exaggerating, we made the best turkey I have ever eaten. Ever. And the best cranberry sauce. And dressing. Basically it was all very, very good.

Things we made:
Turkey – a 24 apple brine, then butterflied, rubbed with butter & cooked for two hours
Gravy -  flavored with drippings after the turkey cooked
Dressing – with homemade cornbread & toasted pecans
Cranberry sauce
Buttermilk rolls 

Everyone else brought salad, green beans, mashed potatoes, banana & lemon bread, lots of wine &, of course, PIE.

Unfortunately we were too busy to take any decent photos, but here’s a quick shot I got with my cell phone when we sat down to eat [it's hard to capture 11 people in our dining room]!

All  yesterday we been snacked on mini sandwiches made from leftover rolls. For breakfast I had greek yogurt with cranberry sauce. We took a walk to the food coop & picked up ingredients for turkey curry & I baked a loaf of whole wheat buttermilk bread for more sandwiches. I’m a little disappointed our leftovers will be gone so soon!

Now it’s back to drinking coffee, dreaming about apron-front sinks & planning the mini apple strudels I’ll be making this afternoon…

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November 23rd, 2011

Elections, Michael Moore & #ows

Yesterday, Michael Moore met with Occupy Wall Street protestors and helped to draft a vision statement and a list of 10 goals & objectives – you can read them all on his website.

I won’t get political, but one thing did stick out in point 10:

a) A constitutional amendment that fixes our broken electoral system by 1) completely removing campaign contributions from the political process; 2) requiring all elections to be publicly financed; 3) moving election day to the weekend to increase voter turnout; 4) making all Americans registered voters at the moment of their birth; 5) banning computerized voting and requiring that all elections take place on paper ballots. 

This appeal reminded me of the electronic records class I took, where we wrestled with the ideas of trust and authenticity in electronic record making and keeping.

This 2006 info graphic was used to highlight some of the complications. Things can change and improve and, of course, are different in each township/city/jurisdiction, but I don’t think the OWS trepidation of computerized voting is completely unfounded.

You can check out all of the content from the electronic records class, including the syllabus and lecture slides, at Open.Michigan. [HUGE props to David Wallace & Margaret Hedstrom for graciously allowing their work to be shared via a Creative Commons license.]

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October 30th, 2011

Hood to Coast 2012

At the end of a 12 hour work day on Friday, I got some really good news:

I’ll be running the 2012 Hood to Coast relay in Oregeon next August!


It’s 200 miles, it’s the 12,600 runners, it’s the world’s largest relay. It starts at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and goes to Seaside, OR, on the coast.

Check out this documentary trailer about the race:

Hood To Coast Movie Trailer from Film For Thought on Vimeo.

I’ll also be fundraising for the American Cancer Society – a cause that’s especially timely, given the loss of my stepdad to lung cancer last month.

Since I’ve never been west of Chicago, Joel & I plan to take the week after the race & have an epic road/camping/biking trip. Basically I want to go to as many National Parks as possible. And a whole lot of other things. Feel free to offer suggestions!

Only 176 days to go!

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October 21st, 2011

13.1 & the circus

Last Sunday was The Day – my first half marathon.
And it was great! [I'm even pretty pleased with my time.]

My running companion was my coworker Devon [our Deputy Director] & it was nice to have someone to chat with along the way. I stole this photo from him, in which we both look awesomely goofy.

I had so much fun that I’ve already signed up for another half, the Rock CF Rivers Half Marathon in Grosse Ile – a run that raises awareness & research funds for cystic fibrosis.

Besides running, I’ve been taking classes at the Detroit Flyhouse for the past 2 months. They’re called “ariel yoga” classes, but it’s easier to tell people I go to circus class. It’s an amazing upper body workout [I have shoulder muscles!] & the most fun [as evidenced by my giant smile in all the pictures below]. I also got a hair cut.

I’m signed up for classes at the Flyhouse through January [& may stay on longer].

Next project  - building a pull up bar in the basement.

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