The Blue Oxford

Doesn't matter who you are, what your style is, or where your from - if you live in Princeton the chances are that you own a blue oxford. And the chances are that you'll show up in a blue oxford alongside somebody else at a party. James and I have had this happen before - if we're on a different schedule for the day we might both end up in class with khakis and a blue oxford.

But I've never had it happen with 4 people all at once before - we all showed up at a party together and felt like we were in school uniforms. So much for creative fashion, but every once in a while you just have to go along with the herd.

Circa 1961

Well, James and I haven't been doing anything too interesting lately. Both working on papers now. And hanging out with friends here and there. And greatly looking forward to the two hour LOST premier tonight. But nothing I have felt worthy of taking photos. Or of getting new batteries to put into my dead camera. So I've decided to post a photo here and there of some of our Princeton Christmas parties, which were a blast and which I haven't posted any pictures from yet. The one above is of James and Adam at the "Mad Men" Christmas party we had - Mad Men is a TV show based on an early 1960's advertising firm in NYC. So we all dressed up circa 1961, and had food and drinks to fit the times. I think James and Adam both look quite dapper in this photo....

The Logic of SNOW

It is snowing right now in Princeton - big, thick, frothy flakes of winter magic. Snow always puts me in a delighted mood, and it occurred to me that snow is winter's bouquet of floral felicity.

I am in the middle of a 3-week intensive J-term course, and I have been having a hard time buckling down to tackle my 15-page paper due in a week. But in sitting here and pondering the glory of this snow, I realized that this winter wonder should actually help me in me need to study. Because what else does one want to do when it's snowing and terribly cold outside but to curl up with a hot cup of tea. And once you are curled up with a hot cup of tea, then one inevitably wants to read a book. And if one starts to read a book, then one is learning. So the logic goes as such:

1. If A (snow), then B (tea).

2. If B (tea), then C (book).

3. If C (book), then D (learning) (or in my case writing a paper)

4. A

5. Therefore D.

And voila - a classic formulation of logical syllogism.

So here's to snow, tea, books, and learning!

To the New Year

Well, the blissful days of laziness, snow, sleeping, food and hanging out with family has come to an end. James and I are now back in full force at Princeton - James is working very hard on two different papers this month, and I am immersed in an intense and 3-week J-term course. But it does feel good to be back into a productive mode. And we have made some good changes in our life as part of our New Year's resolutions. Neither of us our religious about these New Year's resolutions...some years I do them, some I don't. But this year I felt beckoned to bring more discipline and order back into my life, and so we decided that the New Year marked a good time to make these changes. Here are some of the more important ones we are working at:

1. No TV.

Yes, we have unplugged our cable connection and I literally haven't watched one ounce of TV since we've been back...in our house, anyways. I have allowed myself to watch a bit if I'm with other people, but no more TV at our place for the month of January. James and I both feel pretty happy with this change for now - we always sit at the table and talk during dinner, I'm reading a fun book about a vintner in Tuscany when I need some mental fluff, and James is reading a novel. So it's good...no late night senseless hours lost to a cable abyss.

2. Better food - better workouts.

December was a tumultuous month for our stomachs. James is now engaged in a work-out program called "Belly-off '09." And I'm just tyring to make sure I work out regularly. I occasionally work out with my friend Sara, who does this crazy military-like program called cross-fit. It leaves me crawling the next two days, but it's very good. Also, we have a fridge stocked full of veggies and other healthy foods, and we're trying not to buy any junk at all. We haven't managed to alleviate it completely, but then again - dessert is one of the greatest pleasures in life!

3. Organized home and house.

I am quite pleased with our progress in keeping our house better organized and put together. If your home should be your sanctuary, we've allowed our sanctuary to be a tornado on far too many occasions. The day after we got home, both James and I completely re-organized all our closets and drawers, sorted through clutter, and did a thorough house clean. Still a few things to work through, but for the most part I'm feeling good.

So here's to the New Year! Although our resolutions are somewhat standard and mundane, my philosophy is that they will allow our lives to be more vivid and exciting. (in the long term, I guess this is true.)

And families....I know you have some of the same health goals as us. We hope you're working at them - we need your good health for years to come!