Notes.

Today, I shared my hand made artisanal house made baked from scratch pop tarts with many people, including my son who finally had enough room in his belly (everyone is taking him out to eat and he is perpetually stuffed) to eat one, and then another, and then another. His friends also ate them. And my friends ate them. Verdict: they are awesome.

Today, I picked up my new Kitchen Aid mixer from Target. I have hungered for one of these for years, but I was too busy buying sweaters at the J. Crew sale to (a) stop buying GD sweaters, (b) save the money thereby saved by not buying sweaters, and (c) buy a GD Kitchen Aid mixer, already!

Meet my new kitchen pal. She's apple green and also a powerhouse. And also super cute. #stuff

A photo posted by Lisa Bickmore (@megastore) on Jan 8, 2016 at 9:30pm PST

Not that I've stopped buying sweaters. I will probably never stop buying sweaters.

Today, I saw this.

Today, I heard this, because my son was humming it, and then I was humming it. We were humming it because it is beautiful and haunting.




Today, I heard from a local bookstore that they'll stock my book, and I might get to do a reading there, and I heard from the photographer who shot the picture on my book's cover, which means I can send him a copy.

Today, we saw this, and it was sumptuous and beautiful and moving.

Today, I furthered the plans for this poet to visit my college, which is so freaking exciting, because it's the first reading in our new reading series! (!!!)

Today, I rediscovered a beautiful blue scarf in my scarf box, and wore it. I ate a delicious enchilada, and met with my colleagues, and considered the snow. I talked with my son and his friends, and walked with the historian and Bruiser under a midnight blue sky strewn with clouds. It was, it must be said, a lovely day.

Things under consideration.

1. Chris Hemsworth's arms and general Thor-ishness.

2. Mark Ruffalo, the very best The Hulk of all the Hulks.

3. Okay, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, full stop.

4. The fact that I am possibly, maybe, getting a little bit stronger.

5. The fact that I am not working at the moment, at least not at my job job, and thus, I can be firm about the need for flexibility--i.e., my need for flexibility--when I am asked to work work at my job job. ('job job' is kind of fun to say.)

6. Today is the birthday of both Timothy Olyphant and Matt Czuchry--all hail the hotness.

7. The splendor that is the SLCC Publication Center, where I made little bound notebooks today for various people.

8. How thoroughly daunting it can feel to gather one's wits and one's poems to begin sending them out again.

9. HOWEVER with superior mental toughness and so forth, the dauntingness can be contained.

10. i.e., I am sending out packets of poems tomorrow.

11. Vanilla Icebox Cookies.

12. Rain.

A few things have come to my attention.

1. Two times of late, I've had advice from editors that I should cut a sizable chunk out of a longish poem. And after consideration, I've decided that they're right, the poems are better without the sizable chunk in them.

2. There are about a billion television shows on cable that I know not whereof. What are these shows? What is Chrisley Knows Best? Is it kind of like Charles in Charge? or Who's the Boss? Could you make up a little chant of three word television show titles, all of which are (maybe) subpar? (Except I really did love Who's the Boss. Shh.)

3. In terms of online shopping, shoes.

4. I have a ton of books I have never read, or only barely read. Shelves and shelves of them. They sit amongst the books I have read like strangers, like friends of friends. Will I read them? Who can say?

5. Too much to know, not enough time. Too much to do, not enough time. Not enough time, basically.

6. I have got to make a shopping plan and actually buy groceries that can be turned into something besides pasta and/or a soft taco. MUST.

7. Comfortable shoes make parking far away from one's building on a sunny but cold day seem like an opportunity to get some steps in, and not like a foot-abusing ordeal. In this regard, comfortable shoes are practically life-altering. Maybe literally life-altering.

8. Other people--students, for instance--may have a different perspective than I do on the giant and expensive community project that is higher education. And in some respects, they may be correct.

9. The last of the already cut-up raw vegetables, an apple and (again) a small piece of cheese are not exactly a satisfying lunch. But they are a postponement of ravenous hunger and as such may play a satisfying lunch in today's masque, entitled "A long long very long day without sandwiches."