Taking a Break

Hi, all.

I'm hitting the road again for a week, and have been considering hanging up the FTTDS lists for a while now. I'll let you know for sure in the new year, but it's been 4 1/2 years of almost-daily lists. I might be done.

For now, Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happiest of holidays. And here's to a new year better than we expect.

xo
Ruth

Five Things that Don't Suck, Christmas Eve Edition

1. Hanukkah*
2. biscotti with breakfast**
3. baking bread
4. the good people at the NFL who scheduled the Pats/Jets game so as not to interfere with celebratory things
5. spending Christmas Eve with the Foleys for the first year in ages

*thematic for this year, but timing will vary. Still doesn't suck, though
**not that I'm doing that. Those are for the cookie boxes! So no. Definitely not eating them. No crumbs here. Nope. Nope.

Five Things that Don't Suck, Out for Breakfast Edition

1. Mary-Elizabeth
2. coffee someone else (who knows what they're doing) made
3. crisp bacon
4. french toast with caramelized apples
5. juice

Five Things that Don't Suck, Up and At 'Em Edition

1. a toasty warm house
2. Jed, who heats the disk we bought for Rudy a million years ago as a bed warmer, and tucks it in next to me, where it stays warm all night
3. a toasty warm bed
4. flannel sheets
5. five more minutes

Five Things that Don't Suck, Getting There Edition

1. mailing Christmas cards
2. starting on the cookies*
3. seeing if I can find some new-to-me jeans
4. wrapping Jed's presents
5. holiday spirit**

*which, um, perhaps I should have started on yesterday
**today's holiday spirit: rum

Five Things that Don't Suck, Off-Campus Monday Edition

1. Mondays that aren't the first day of a work week
2. the fact that Jed's next two Mondays will also be days off
3. long holiday weekends
4. the slowest day for grocery shopping
5. getting started on those cookie boxes

Five Things that Don't Suck, Rainy Sunday Edition

1. football
2. not having to play football in the rain
3. all of yesterday's snow and ice melting
4. maybe some popcorn
5. making some long-simmering Indian food for dinner

Five Things that Don't Suck, Let It Snow Edition

1. running out for essentials* with Clancy
2. being done with the shop for a couple of weeks
3. turning in final grades**
4. Favorite Neighbor Dennis and his snow plow capabilities
5. four warm throws for two people

*booze
**TODAY

Five Things that Don't Suck, Clancy and Julie Edition

1. Julie
2. Clancy
3. Clancy and Julie together in the same place
4. that togetherness happening today
5. how happy the dogs are gonna be

Five Things that Don't Suck, Wrapping Up for Christmas Edition

1. getting last-minute (well, last-minute for an online shop anyway) items out to happy people
2. making happy people even happier
3. the woman who wrote to let me know the tiny "Not Today, Patriarchy" tees I sent her were gifts for the flower girls at her wedding to her partner and they were both excited to see I was donating a portion of profits to Planned Parenthood*
4. pre-paid postage**
5. getting mail

*that note was a liberal artist's trifecta right there: marriage equality, indoctrinating young kids to believe in equality, and support for women's health
**it's like a dream, really, to just walk into the PO, go past the line, drop off packages, and say, "Thanks!" as you're walking back out again (Sorry, people in line)

Five Things that Don't Suck, Winter Break Edition

1. cocoa
2. naps
3. hanging out with the dogs*
4. seeing friends again
5. recharging

*who are also, generally speaking, napping

Five Things that Don't Suck, Last Day on Campus Edition

1. finishing up
2. getting most of my grading done*
3. clearing the decks
4. reading for fun
5. not setting an alarm for tomorrow

*still waiting on one paper until Thursday

Five Things that Don't Suck, Finals Week Edition

1. not giving finals
2. not taking finals
3. meeting with students to help them finish off their semester
4. being so close to winter break I can see it from my house (kind of like Alaska and Russia)
5. not being able to see either Alaska or Russia from my house (brrrrr)

Five Things that Don't Count Entire Weekend at once Edition

1. an Elf/It's a Wonderful Life double feature
2. cocoa with Kahlua
3. and a snickerdoodle
4. cozy blankets
5. sleeping in

Five Things that Don't Suck, Octopus Edition

1. octopodes
2. how nobody believes me when I say "octopodes" is a word
3. the fact that it really, really is
4. suckers
5. intelligence

Five Things that Don't Suck, Last Day of Classes Edition

1. snickerdoodles
2. or any cookies, really, but snickerdoodles are a perennial favorite
3. perennials
4. being so close to winter break I can almost taste it
5. getting my grading done early

Five Things that Don't Suck, Dad's Birthday Edition

1. my dad
2. his birthday
3. remembering to call him*
4. having already given him his gift
5. the love of reading

*theoretical but probable

Five Things that Don't Suck, Last Day of (This) Class Edition

1. engaged students
2. even when they're tired
3. taking time to get to know them as people
4. even when I'm tired
5. how close they are to being able to go home

Five Things that Don't Suck, Let's Do This Edition

1. the last week of classes
2. not actually having classes today*
3. students
4. the whole "buckling down" thing
5. counting the number of times the alarm will go off before the end of the semester**

*helllooooo, tutorials!
**3

Five Things that Don't Suck, Chilly Sunday Edition

1. oatmeal*
2. coffee
3. cocoa
4. perhaps a mid-afternoon cappuccino
5. chicken pot pie

*Sorry, Julie