Freshness

Things that should taste like mint:
-Mojitos
-Toothpaste
-Some chocolate covered candies (Junior Mints, Andes Mints, etc...)
-Gum
-Ice cream with chocolate chips
-Girl Scout cookies

Things that shouldn't taste like mint:
-Lamb
-Jelly

2009- the A(compishment)-List

Prompted by the always-inspirational Ms. Sarah Von, I thought I'd record my accomplishments for 2009. It's been so easy to look at this past year in terms of all the things I didn't get done, but when I sum it all up it doesn't look all that bad:

-Hiked Volcan Pacaya (and thought I was going to die! but didn't!)
-Took and passed my social work licensing exam
-Graduated from grad school for the second time in two years
-Formed and led a support group
-Approved a handful of families to become adoptive parents and helped some of them welcome beautiful children into their lives
-Published my first piece of academic work
-Moved across the country
-Went to Alaska and ate dessert(Baked Alaska!) on top of a glacier
-Organized a Christmas party for 110 of my closest relatives, a conference for a bunch of high-level academics, hosted an Easter brunch, a bachelorette party (with nun drag queen bingo!), and threw myself a great/sad going away party
-Interviewed midwives in Guatemala about their training
-Baked one perfect batch of French macarons
-Rang in the New Year in France and traveled to Guatemala, Alaska, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, California, and Massachusetts and Panama (by accident)and touristed around the cities I lived in


Here's hoping 2010 is just as full of adventures!

30-Something Before 30 or Accountability to the Masses

I turn 30 in approximately 33 months. I thought I would create one of those popular 30-before-30 lists. Because I'm a bit of a slacker it might be good to give myself more than 30 months. And so, without further ado...

::30 Before 30::

1. Rent a fancy Winnebago (cash contingency plan- borrow my parents camper van for the weekend)

2. Visit a sixth continent- South America!

3. Submit an editorial to a major paper

4. Bake perfect French macarons

5. Own a custom upholstered sofa or chair

6. Perfect the crow pose in yoga

7. Sew a wearable dress

8. Ask a stranger out

9. Read the tattered copy of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn that I have been carrying around for the past 14 years

10. Tailor/hem all of my clothes so they fit properly

11. Take a road trip through “The South”

12. Grow vegetables and herbs and then eat them

13. Go on a photo scavenger hunt

14. Form and lead another support group

15. Relearn the subjunctive tense in Spanish

16. Get certified as an HIV counselor

17. Upkeep a blog for six months

18. Discover my cocktail of choice

19. Camp in Big Sur

20. Find the perfect Little Black Dress

21. Learn the names of the different kinds of clouds

22. Jog across the Golden Gate Bridge

23. Try ear candling

24. Go on a juice fast for three days

25. Take a digital photography/lighting class

26. Go internet-free for a week

27. Find the "right" shade of red lipstick

28. Closely follow a baseball team for a season

29. Get fitted for contacts

30. Take the ferry across the bay to Heath Ceramics and buy a seconds coffee mug

Hey Ashley,

I love your new Sketch Blog. I'm floored by all of the talents our friends have. Who knew we had such artistic friends? Apparently, you did.

I'm feeling a little bit lame cause most of my Moleskin is filled with lists. I guess it's no secret that I'm more analytical than artistic. I think it was you who said that I speak like a grant report (and then corrected yourself to say "a sexy grant report").

So, in the spirit of sketch booking/list-making, I've written a list for you.

::Things I've Done in San Francisco::

• Been to two large outdoor free weekend-long music festivals in Golden Gate Park.
• Gone kayaking in the Bay and flipped over my kayak.
• Purchased my first "real" bike and was thrown over the handle bars within the first ten blocks.
• Attended a dinner party where someone was wearing sweats.
• Attended a different dinner party where they served pot brownies for dessert.
  
• Was interviewed for the nightly news on my thoughts on MUNI free-loading riders.
• Grown obsessed with Samusa Soup from Burma Superstar.
• Applied for approximately 1 billion jobs.
• Read the entire internet.