January 2009
23 posts
weekend to dos
swim in the ocean take olly for a walk on the moon build a cardboard castle out of refrigerator boxes snowshoe around loose park spend all day at the library find the dress of my dreams at the thrift store have a sleepover with chelsea and kayleigh
it could happen.
bad parent
lately olly’s been jumping up on my bed to cuddle with me. when i first got him i had a strict no-bed policy. i strongly believed the bed is human space, floor is dog space. now i’m losing my will to fight it… it just makes him so happy to be up there with me for twenty or thirty minutes before bedtime. he prefers his own bed (which is underneath mine) to actually sleep in, so he...
my current favorite thing about spending time in the inner city is the passion and intense interest my girls have acquired for politics since president obama’s election. last night i helped two of my girls with a social studies project they were doing about michelle obama’s life. i have never seen marquazia and reniah so involved in any of their homework, enjoying every minute with...
reniah: i saw on entertainment tonight that they was gonna make the president give back his blackberry.
marquazia: i know!
reniah: you know what? he's the president. if he wants to use his blackberry, then he can use his BLACK-BER-RY.
marquazia: for real. ms. shanna, why are they trying to make him get some other phone?
1 tag
64130, Kansas City's Murder Factory →
i spend every monday evening with twelve girls at the hope center, a christian leadership development center six blocks away from the “murder factory,” home to 20% of felons convicted of murder in kansas city. even though i hear about the violence in this neighborhood straight from my girl’s mouths, it’s still staggering to realize the enormity of the situation.
sisters, sisters
i’m in the mood for tater tots, grilled cheese, a milkshake and the kind of laughs i can only have with chelsea, kayleigh or katie p. i tried to convince all three of them to each spend a week with me this summer while ak’s in kenya. i hope they take me up on it.
1 tag
“every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
– oscar wilde. i like this so much. (via chelseakim)
i kind of have a lot of alternate selves but my favorite one is probably the blipster who grew up in brooklyn, has an elbow-length weave and rocks a new set of pro nails every other week.
“My only advantage as a reporter is that I am so physically small, so...”
– Joan Didion, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”
1 tag
everyone in kansas city please go eat at napoleon’s bakery on westport road (across from westport flea market). seriously. i’m here now and i try to come here once a week because i love it and i am taking it as my personal responsibility to make it a very popular kc establishment that WON’T CLOSE, because it is close to my house and i selfishly want a pastry shop/ lunch place...
Watch
“I often find myself thinking complaints about life, about business or politics...”
– Donald Miller (via joliesteele)
i’ve been so complain-y lately. and i really hate being that way.
a swift and timely confession
ugh… sometimes, i just don’t understand myself. a few weeks ago when i posted my top ten songs of 2008, i made a joke about how i listen to taylor swift. so tacky! the thing was, back when i wrote it, it was still just a joke. but now it’s becoming my reality. i deployed my best defenses against young ms. swift… and i lost. i know, you guys.
honestly, though? i’m not...
“i had a dream that you, me, and becca transferred to st. v for my senior...”
– i woke up to this text from shan this morning. we love the high school of lebreeeezy. (via chelseakim)
little known dipaolo fact? we grew up in the same city that lebron james grew up in and he and i graduated high school in the same year. we went to different private schools — st. v was...
pain alert
don’t worry, this isn’t me gushing about my love of t-pain or anything like that. (although, seriously, let’s hope he retires the auto tune in 2009, right?) this pain alert is about the pain in real life that i’m experiencing right now. in the last twenty four hours i’ve taken two Advil PM, two Tyelnol extra strength and three regular Advil (my kidneys will probably...
Michelle Obama First Impression, First Date With... →
chicagoians: the obama’s first date was a trip to the art institute, a walk down michigan avenue, and drinks at the signature room in the hancock building. so perfect, right?
get your cycling caps here, kids →
long-running member of team bff, rachel, just went live with her etsy. rach is my best friend from college and seamstress extraordinaire. her hats are kind of a thing in the chicago messenger scene as they were sold at rapid transit in wicker park. true story: robin williams (the comic, this is not one of those “ha! some regular guy also named robin williams!” type jokes) purchased...
overheard on new years eve
girl 1: woo! we're so fine in '09
girl 2: omg, that's it! that's what we're going to say this year!
girl 1: we're so fine in '09?
girl 2: yeah. i tried to figure it out a few days ago but really it just has to be whatever comes to you on new years eve.
