The Blue Muse

I must admit, this straight teeth smile looksweird to me still!Please don't say no. Please don't say no. Please don't say no."How are you today, kiddo?" Kiddo??"Good, unless you change your mind in the next few minutes."The dentist laughed as he wrench...

I am a big enough person to admit I've watched American Idol for years. Not faithfully, mind you, but regularly. And you know what I've secretly dreamed about? Being on that stage, winning the contest and twirling around in the inevitable hailstorm of ...

Garage cleaning continues! A few more Flashback Friday gems for you...1. One dedicated journalism studentSenior year, apparently just a few weeks before graduation from Walla Walla College, I was finishing up a journalism class on participant observati...

It is finished. The dissertation, that is. After submitting a final draft on Monday, I just received official word that the book was approved and accepted. That's 285 pages of DONE!Having had a few weeks/months to ruminate on the process, I thought I'd...

Search "Spicy Thai noodles" on Pinterest and you'll see a thousand copies of the same basic recipe: A boat load of fat, sugar and sodium--excuse me, I mean oil, honey, and soy sauce--tossed with linguine and Pad Thai accoutrement. Now don't get me wron...

With all of this week's sad things (see here, here, and here for just a few examples), I've been trying to limit my exposure to traumatic images since I have a tendency to ruminate. Instead, I've been contemplating life, praying a bit, and spendin...

Life post-dissertation has been strange and glorious. I'm finishing up revisions, applying for jobs, and reconnecting with my usual Spring pursuits--organizing, gardening, piling up donations for Goodwill. This year, I've also done a fair amount of cel...

"You just finished your PhD. What are you going to do?""I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!!"That's an approximation of a conversation that took place just minutes after defending my dissertation a few weeks ago. And last weekend, to Disneyland I went with my tw...

So the thing where I swore the Christmas tree would be down before Easter? Lies.Granted, I've been a little busy doing dissertation things, but I really did think we'd get the 9-foot perpetually perfect pine into the garage before it came this. Th...

Post-dissertation defense presentation and discussion, awaiting the verdict. I am so grateful to my dear friends who attended the defense and supported me, especially Max and Geeta who drove over from SoCal. (And of course, Mr. T who was taking picture...