2013 Garden

Like everyone else in the Midwest this year, I am hardcore craving spring. I think Mother Nature is making up for last year's early spring, with flowers in the middle of March, with this year's extra-late spring. I've seen a few patches of crocuses, a couple of daffodils here and there the last few days, but man, the forecast today predicted flurries. come. on.

The trees are budding though, the birds are singing, and I bet in the next few weeks we'll see ACTUAL spring--flowers and new leaves and green-ness and warmth. 

I've been planning my balcony garden nonstop, ever since the moment I sadly realized it's been so long since garden season, I'd literally forgotten where I stashed my flowerpots for the winter (I finally remembered: down in my apartment's semi-creepy basement). I can't wait to bring them back up, fill them with new soil, and get 'em outside!

I'm not planting any veggies this year due to the many, many veggie thieves that inhabit my neighborhood (squirrels, bunnies, finches, I'm looking at you!). But here's what I will be planting:

HERBS 

Dill
Sage
Mint
Basil
Chives
Lavender
Rosemary
Lemon Thyme
Pink Chintz Thyme

FLOWERS

Daisies
Zinnias
Petunias
Geraniums
Snapdragons
Moonflowers

I'm not starting seeds indoors this year because I can get most of my herbs already started from the farmer's market vendor I work for, and the rest I'm going to start outdoors at the beginning of May (you know, if it's not still snowing then). All the flowers I'll be growing are sun-loving and non-delicious to scavenging animals, so the sprouts should be safe! I'll also put some of my indoor plants outside like my Boston ivy and succulents.

Now, come on warm weather!!

A jolly green giant // Herbs from last year's garden
Flowers from last year's garden // A slightly-less-jolly, green, shorter-than-a-giant

--Sammie

Life Lately

A few iPhone shots of the past few weeks:

I got my hair chopped! 

The first sign of spring: my mint exploded thanks to a couple of fifty degree days.

Ben's birthday rolled around, and we all know what that means... cheesecake!

My masterpiece:

To celebrate, we met Emily and Nate for a drink... and tater tots.  Gotta love GC.

Then a few days later, this stinker turned five years old!

His cake-master genius Grandma made this Kick Buttowski cake:

...and he made a wish and blew out the candles.  aaaaaaaadorable.

There were some pretty, almost-spring days at OSU!

 ...and a warm weekend afternoon was spent on my mom's patio.

Oh, but wait, we live in Ohio-- this is what Monday morning looked like.

Come on, spring!!

In other news: the job applications continue; I have "second-year-grad-student"-itis; the President is my commencement speaker; I suddenly like oatmeal; I'm planning my balcony garden (if it ever gets warm); there is only one more month of indoor farmer's markets; I'm stressed and tired and happy.

This is the first time in my life that I'm really not sure of what's coming next (school/job/money-wise).  It's a little terrifying, but exciting!  Here's to optimism!  :)

--Sammie

Interview with a Bobcat

I'm taking a fantastic elective called Higher Education Governance and Policy this semester; it's all about college presidents and administration and how university systems affect students, and vice versa (yes, I'm a big higher ed. nerd). The class is co-taught by two professors; one, Dr. Holub, was chancellor (president, basically) at UMass Amherst, and is now a professor of Germanic language at OSU. The other is the inimitable Dr. Strayhorn, a professor of Higher Ed. at OSU (check out his TEDx talk last year!)

Our midterm for the class was (what else) to interview a college or university president. I had high hopes of interviewing a female university president to talk about women's issues, but unfortunately couldn't get on anyone's calendar. As time ticked by, I decided to return (figuratively) to my alma mater and interview the president of Ohio University, Dr. Roderick McDavis.

When I was at OU, there were mixed feelings about Dr. McDavis; the typical battle between athletics funding and academic funding raged for a couple of years, and many students took issue with what they saw as a discrepancy between his salary and what he was worth. However, since I've been back in Columbus for two years now, and know a considerable amount more about the realities of being a university president thanks to my class, I went into the interview without the agenda of talking about those issues.

Dr. McDavis was so great to talk with; he was happy to be talking with an alum, and answered my many questions intelligently and with character. He described the university's proposed Guaranteed Tuition Plan, which would lock in a student's tuition at the same rate for all the years they are in school, even if tuition prices rise in subsequent years; this proposal would make planning for college much easier and take the burden of unforeseen financial hikes off students and their families.

McDavis also spoke about the evolving role of the college president from a more internal role to a more external one--presidents spend much time fundraising, lobbying and traveling, while positions such as the Provost and Chief Financial Officer deal more strictly with on-campus issues.

All in all, we had a great conversation and it was amazing to talk about issues I've been studying in class with a real college president who I've had experience with in the past.

President McDavis (photo from here).

 Only six weeks to graduation! Aaaahhh!!

--Sammie

Jam-Crackers

So, we've already established that I love the TV show Friends.  I laugh especially hard at the character Joey's incessant love of food (maybe he reminds me of, oh I don't know, me?).  Joey loves simple food: sandwiches, pizza, and even just jam on crackers.

Last week, my mom brought one of her coworkers over to see my apartment.  Janell is gorgeous and one of the sweetest girls I've ever met (check out her super cool blog!).  She is thinking about moving to Grandview, and wanted to check out my place.

She and my mom came over after work, and we cracked open a bottle of wine to sip on as we talked.  I whipped up my own version of 'jam-crackers' as a snack, alongside some olives and chocolate covered blueberries.

Jam-Crackers
These are literally the easiest appetizer ever, and everyone loves them.  I chose a jam that was both sweet and spicy for some added surprise and depth, but any quality jam would work. 

Ingredients
-Thin crackers (I used Almond Thins because my mom is gluten-free; Wheat Thins would work too)
-Whipped cream cheese
-Jam (I used an amazing raspberry jalapeno jam I bought from the jam-lady at the Farmer's Market where I work.  Check out the awesomeness.  The spiciness of the jalapeno was cut nicely by the cream cheese.)

Directions
Spread some cream cheese on a cracker, and top with a small smear of jam.  See, I told you it was embarrassingly easy.  Enjoy!


--Sammie

Annie Hall

Yesterday, I watched the movie Annie Hall with my mom. My mom and I have a very similar taste in movies, and she and I are official "old-movie" watching partners-- we almost exclusively watch movies from the 1970s and before.

Annie Hall stars Woody Allen (also the director) and Diane Keaton, and was one of Allen's seminal works of the '70s. The movie examines a neurotic, obsessive comedian (Allen) and his relationship with the ditzy, pot-smoking singer Annie Hall (Keaton).

I've been wanting to see Annie Hall for a while, mostly because in How I Met Your Mother, Ted Mosby often uses it (his favorite movie) as the initial indicator of compatibility with a girl he's dating. (Watch, and laugh). He obsessively can't understand why people may not like the movie-- ironically similar to Allen's movie-loving character's attitude in the film itself.

Photo from IMDB

My favorite part of the movie was Diane Keaton's style: menswear to the max. She wore ties, vests and baggy suit trousers. Apparently this look in the movie inspired the resurgence of the menswear trend in fashion.

I also enjoyed watching the movie and realizing exactly why Ted Mosby likes it so much; it's set in NYC, and one of the underlying themes is that Allen loves the city, while everyone else is convinced that it's dying and that California is the place to be. Also, Allen is slightly arrogant, quick-witted and self-deprecating (similar to Ted), and he's constantly trying to convince himself he's found the right girl, but he keeps failing.

My other absolute favorite parts were the brief cameos from Christopher Walken (Annie Hall's brother) and Jeff Goldblum (who literally shows up for three seconds). Everyone looked so young!

So yes, I've seen my first movie starring Woody Allen; however I had no idea he wrote and directed Midnight in Paris (one of my favorite creative rom-coms from last year) and Match Point (which I thought was horrifying). Here's to seeing another little piece of movie history!

The next few movies on my list (that I haven't seen already) are:
Mystic River
Warm Bodies
Dances With Wolves
Argo
The Shining

And then I will always rewatch the following:
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter
Anything by Hitchcock
...and about a million others. I love re-watching movies and we all know how I love to re-watch TV shows!


--Sammie

The Tomboy Continuum

Growing up, I was a huge tomboy.  Maybe it was the fact that 98% of my cousins were boys and we played together all the time (football, baseball, basketball, soccer, frisbee, kickball, tag, hide and seek, ghosts in the graveyard, you name it).  Maybe it was the fact that my [single] mom showed me that women can do anything and shouldn't feel limited, and that she was super outdoorsy and encouraged me to spend time playing outside, hiking, looking at bugs and animals and digging in the mud.  Maybe I just wanted to be different than all the girls I knew.  Maybe it was just my personality.  But tomboy I was, and I was proud of it. 

I don't know if I ever actually grew out of being a tomboy.  I mean yes, there were some clear phases in my life:

1. Elementary school: I refused to pierce my ears, or listen to the music the other girls listened to, or wear makeup, or wear any pink clothing, or wear my hair in anything other than a low ponytail.  I was a hardcore soccer player and spelling bee competitor. 
2. Middle school: I actively dressed like a boy.  I wore long cargo shorts or camouflage pants and boys t-shirts (I refused to shop in the girls' section at Target or Kohls when my mom took us shopping), and I would have worn boxers if my mom would have let me.  I beat everyone in my middle school class, girls and boys, in a competition to see who could kick the longest field goal.  I snowboarded because at my school, only boys did, and I wrote a paper about how stupid I thought short-shorts and make-up were.  I even told my step-mom that make-up was for people who were embarrassed by their faces (I was a lil' firecracker sometimes, haha).
3. High school: I transformed my look into a pseudo-punk style ("pseudo," because I didn't really know what punk was, or have the means or desire to actually dress like a "real" punk).  I started wearing girl-jeans and shirts made for girls, but I sewed plaid and striped fabric into my jeans and my shirts were almost all black and/or rock&roll related.  I wore metal and black jewelry and choker necklaces (so cool).  I even had a pair of those jeans with the enormously huge, baggy legs.  I started wearing a little makeup, and I wore dresses to school dances.
4. College: I still struggled often, but in college I finally found my style that I've stuck with for years; blue or black or gray skinnies, boots or Converse or sandals, neutral or cool colored shirts (for ladies!), and a little silver jewelry.  I finally got my ears pierces at nineteen, and I got my first tattoo at twenty.  I enjoy wearing makeup and looking pretty.  I took a lot of women's studies classes in undergrad, and I developed and clarified my thoughts and opinions as a woman and a feminist.  

• To me, being a feminist simply means that I believe in equal opportunities and treatment for those of all genders, and I shy away from gender-specifications as much as possible. For instance, as far as jobs go, a woman shouldn't be judged if she chooses to be a firefighter or a tailor or a homemaker, and a man shouldn't be judged if he chooses to be a dress designer or a stay-at-home dad or a banker.  A woman shouldn't be thought of as any less or more of a feminist or a "real woman" depending on how much makeup she wears, or what her clothes look like.  To me, honestly, style and makeup are so based on personality they're beneath a discussion of human rights, but it's a common theme throughout the literature, and in conversations I've had.
• I believe in completely equal rights for women and men (equal pay for equal work, etc.), though I don't think we should have to use unisex bathrooms or anything.  I think it's fine and common and admirable for women to be proud of being women, and for men to be proud of being men, though this pride should not go so far as to debase, insult or harm others.  I also don't believe there are only two genders; I see gender along a blurry continuum similar to skin color; you can't say someone is "gay" or "straight" any more than you can say someone is "white" or "black;" yes, those labels have important connotations that shouldn't and can't be ignored, but they are much more complex and nuanced, which I think is amazing. 

So, today, you might call me a tomboy or a feminist or a girl or a woman (or just an oddball who thinks about these things way too much).  I'm more secure in my fashion, style, beliefs and mindset than ever, thanks to years and years of being a tomboy: being different and loving it, having friends who loved me for who I was and not what I looked like or what I acted like, and being around people who have taught me and mentored me and supported me through the process of growing up.  I'll never stop learning and I'm sure my beliefs will change over time, but I'm confident in myself and that's all that matters.  I still hate pink. 

--Sammie

Disclaimer: I could literally write or talk about feminism and gender issues for hours, and there's a lot more I didn't have room in my brain to add here, so if you ever want to have a conversation, get ahold of me!

ALSO: I'm going to look for some SWEET tomboy pictures of me in my younger years, which I'll add in an update as soon as I can get my hands on some.

23 Things I Love at the Age of 23

So, granted, this post is coming about eight months later than I wrote it, and eight months later than I would have liked to have posted it (my birthday is on May 21st), but I love the idea of making annual lists of things I love and that are important to me, big and small. I'm planning on doing another list on my next birthday (24!), so for my 23-list, I thought hey, better late than never!  Also, I've been super busy at work and with school lately, and I've missed posting!  This is a quick way of getting back into my blog with something I wrote a few months ago.  Thanks for understanding :)

So here goes: 23 Things I Love at the Age of 23:

1. Plants & gardening: even though I live in a second floor apartment, I make the most of my little balcony and my window space in the spring and summer. My huge assortment of pots holds herbs and flowers and ivies and succulents. I can’t wait to get started on 2013’s garden in a few months!

2. Dogs. Mine. Other peoples’.  Snickers, Rio, Gunther and Peanut are a few of my favorites. 

3. Tattoos! I found a new artist in Columbus. Now, if I only had money to spend on more tattoos...

4. Books: old, new, fiction, non-fiction… I have so many that my bookshelves are double-stacked and threatening to break.  Oh, and there are stacks everywhere in my apartment. And on the same note, bookstores! And Half-Price Books, aka heaven on earth.

5. My friends! Wine nights with the girls. Card nights with the boys.

6. Simply Lemonade: I try not to buy it too often because I’ll kill a giant bottle in like two days.

7. Blogs! I’ve found so many great reads through the interwebs over the past year.  Check out the list of blogs I read on the right.

8. Avocados: one of my favorite produce items, and one that I rarely splurge on. But mmm, avocado and tomato slices on an English muffin… guacamole… avocado in quesadillas… yes please.

9. Pizza: Grandview has so many great little pizza places! Panzera’s, Grandads, Cowtown, Bono… I’ll never get sick of pizza, haha.

10. Art: seeing it. Making it. Buying it.

11. Northern Michigan: our family’s annual vacation to a teeny cottage on a little lake, and seeing my extended family for the 4^th of July. Swimming, laying on the dock, grilling burgers, sitting by bonfires, and drinking beer are a few of the many highlights :)

12. Silver jewelry: bracelets, rings, necklaces, anything

13. Coffee: my constant morning companion. I like French Roast with a sprinkle of Truvia and a splash of milk.

14. The Worthington Farmer’s Market: my job on Saturdays for almost two years now!  In the spring and summer, I sell herbs and flowers, and in the fall and winter, I sell apples.  It’s a blast and pays well and I love seeing all the regular customers and regular dogs and kiddos.

15. Getting up early: I sleep in on Sundays until about 10:00am, but I’m really a morning person and I get up early the other six days of the week. I don’t complain about getting up early, because a) I get coffee and breakfast! and b) it makes the day seem longer and more productive.

16. The Friday night wine bar my mom works at in the summer: the perfect Friday night!  Me and Ben and my friends Emily and Nate and all my neighbor friends who live in Worthington Hills meet up for bubbly and pizza and fun.

17. Decorative stuff that hangs: bunches of dried herbs and flowers, candleholders, dried peppers, glass feathers… I love that my apartment is filled with lots of hanging things; I love the look.

18. NOT having Facebook.

19. Retro swimsuits: I have yet to find one I love enough to spend the money on, but I’m on the hunt!

20. Thrift stores: clothing ones like Plato’s Closet and home ones like One More Time and other little consignment shops. Half the stuff I own I got from these stores!

21. Sports: I love watching football in the fall and basketball in the winter/spring.  Also, working out: I love running, playing basketball or volleyball or pickup football on rare occasions and doing yoga.

22. Nail polish- I finally stopped biting my nails!  They pretty.

23. A clear complexion; finally at the tail end of my 22nd year, my acne 99.9% disappeared. I don’t know if it was the new face washing regimen I started, or if I was just at the age that my face finally decided that acne was lame, but FINALLY I don’t have breakouts and while I enjoy wearing makeup, I don’t feel like I NEED to in order to hide my face anymore.