Weekling: W.2

For previous posts in this series, go here: Weeklings

Happenings 

This week knocked me out.  All that blood work I got done last week?  Well, this week I finally got the issue resolved and am gallbladder-free.  So it's a good thing, but the process sucked.  Until this week, I only had bad memories of surgeries and hospitals in general.  Lungs collapsing, excessive bleeding, bad doctors - you get the idea.  Well, this time I had a killer surgeon and wonderful nurses.  (Now that I think about it, describing a surgeon as "killer" is probably not the best idea.  Let's change that to "awesome" surgeon.)  It was still far from fun, but it was less traumatic.  Also, I wasn't allowed to eat.  Anyone who knows me is aware that I like to eat.  A lot.  So every time a nurse or doctor asked me if I had any questions, I basically just asked, "Do you know when I will be able to eat again??"  Classy.  Priorities.  To sum up the whole experience: 

So yeah.  Since I had that going on, this week was pretty slow.  The exciting things this week?  I joined this movie club thing and got four movies for a dollar.  I can't wait to watch Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, and Dumbo.  Also, the season finales of my favorite shows were all pretty awesome.  (The Mindy Project, Grey's Anatomy, and Once Upon a Time.)  I need to binge watch Cosmos. 

Oh, very important update: pulled pork quesadillas are my new favorite food.  Favorite favorite.  I want one now. 

I'm working on this post about the Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games trilogy and I just... I just want to write books.  ah.  

Speaking of books, a very exciting thing of excitedness happened this week.  The "mother's day gift" I got myself (yep) came in the mail.  Look:  

My friend Liz helped me pick it out and I've been admiring it since I got it in the mail.  I think I'm equally excited about the package it came in... is that weird?  Brown paper packages tied up with string OMG THAT IS MY FAVORITE THING.  Other than pulled pork quesadillas.  But really, it's so quaint.  Swoon. 

Thankful for

My not-killer surgeon.  And the anesthesiologist.  And everyone else who had to listen to my ridiculous questions (This air bubble in my IV won't kill me, right?  I'm not gonna wake up during surgery, right?  CAN I EAT NOW?) and answered with kindness instead of eye-rolling, which is how I would have handled myself.  

My friends Alison, Liz, Ade, and Kayce for going to the hospital and staying there for so. many. hours.  And for helping me drink ginger ale when I couldn't lift the cup up (pathetic).  And for helping me get dressed, which I wouldn't have even asked for if I wasn't heavily medicated.  And for buying me French onion soup.  Food.

The nice weather. 

Books I'm reading now

I'm still working on The Twelve Tribes of Hattie and The Great Divorce.  I've added Little Women to the mix.  

Best kid quotes - I work part time with kids, and they're hilarious.

"Wow, Charlotte, I didn't know you could make me feel better by reading Dr. Seuss to me!  It worked, even though you stutter a lot!" 

Thanks, kid.  - nine year old girl 

"How do you finish word searches so fast?  Do grown-up eyes have x-ray power?"

- seven year old boy

Random

Good Lord.

Our gallery wall just keeps growing and I love it so much.  

We get Better Homes and Garden Magazine (it came with a pair of curtains), and in one of the issues there was an article about throwing a paint party.  Of course it was real fancy-like in the magazine, but my roommate and I decided we'd have one that would be low key.  We think we're going to have it in the nearby park, but we'll see.  

To-do

Cream cheese waffle sandwiches - myrecipes.com

Small compost bin - Young House Love

Political Tours

I'm not much of a breakfast person, but I love strawberries and cream cheese, so those look like a good idea.  I feel like it's not something you only make for yourself, though, so I'm going to have to figure out a day to have my friends over for breakfast. ;)

I'm a little bit obsessed with Young House Love.  Just a little.  We don't have a yard here, but we have a small deck, and I think a compost bin like that would easily fit and could be hidden with potted plants.  

Okay, so, political tours is a long-term to-do.  I've been wanting to go on one of these for years.  They're trips to places where there are political conflicts going on, and I think it sounds really interesting. 

Also, this (I couldn't find the actual article):

Links worth looking at

Lecker: The grass-roots movement for educational equality - Stamford Advocate 

The re-segregation of American schools  - Al Jazeera 

Both of these are pieces on education.  Especially relevant looking back on Brown. 

World Under Water - WorldUnderWater.org

This website allows you to type in your address and see what your home will look like with rising sea levels.  The house I used to live in: 

It's a two-story.  Yikes.

The Mother of God and the Scandal of Flesh and Dirt - Daniel Bearman

"These Church Fathers explain that Jesus did not just appear to have a body of Flesh and bones like us. Nor was his body created out of thin air. Instead, Jesus took flesh from Mary to form his body. Even more scandalous than the idea of God becoming flesh was this idea that his flesh came from a woman. This was a kind of reversal of the creation of men in the garden where the flesh for Eve was taken from Adam. Now, the flesh for the new Adam, Jesus, was taken from the new Eve, Mary." 

I've never thought all that deeply about this, so I really enjoyed the post. 

Why You Should Appreciate Being Told to Check Your Privilege  - Eric Krupke

"If you claim to be an ally, or someone committed to ending oppression, you should consider being asked to check your privilege an effort to better your activism. It’s not a personal attack, and it’s certainly not a request to apologize for your position of privilege, which you did not choose and have no control over. It’s a helpful appeal to reexamine your place in the fight to end oppression, which is often to do less talking and more listening."

Yes.

Heaven Changes Everything - Homecoming  - Pray for Ben Sauer 

Last week, I included a link to this blog.  This little boy, Ben, passed away on the 13th, and I really don't know what to say about his mom's blog other than I wish I could think the way she does.  Everything I've read on there has been amazing, even the heartbreaking stuff. 

Glenn Greenwald: from Martin Luther King to Anonymous, the state targets dissenters not just "bad guys" - The Guardian

"The opportunity those in power have to characterise political opponents as "national security threats" or even "terrorists" has repeatedly proven irresistible. In the past decade, the government, in an echo of Hoover's FBI, has formally so designated environmental activists, broad swaths of anti-government rightwing groups, anti-war activists, and associations organised around Palestinian rights. Some individuals within those broad categories may deserve the designation, but undoubtedly most do not, guilty only of holding opposing political views. Yet such groups are routinely targeted for surveillance by the NSA and its partners."

There's no excuse for government overreach. 

Do You Agree About These Motivations of the Upholder, Questioner, Rebel, and Obliger? - The Happiness Project

There's really nothing monumentally important about this link, it's just a bit interesting. 

Invisible Double Dutch  - Jimmy Fallon 

Skip to 1:40.  This looks like so much fun.  

Overcoming Fear  - House Unseen 

"In the face of my fears, the Church, in her timeless wisdom, in all her beautiful knowing, throws this fact: I am called, obligated, to use MY talents, too.  No matter how nervous I am to share them with all of you or how ashamed I'm sure I'll feel the first time I'm turned down, I realize now that I have to do it anyway." 

I needed to read this, and I'd recommend it to basically anyone. 

Bible action 

The book of Jonah.

Bonus

 That's all I got.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday :)

__
Charlotte