Dear Blogosphere has been my online journal for over seven years. It has followed me along a journey of education and growth. It is where I have shared adventures, delights, and thoughts with my family, friends, and the world-at-large.
Today, I find myself contemplating on God, religion, hope, and love. I converted to Roman Catholicism at Easter Vigil of this year. I am still learning about my faith and know I will continue to learn and experience it for eternity. So lately I have been sharing my thoughts on my faith.
Please join me on this journey. Share your thoughts.
Five photographs of bunnies near and dear to my heart:
Baby Hufflepuff, my sisters, and I on adoption day!
Polka Dots Checks & Stripes and I We were best friends... he was such a chill rabbit. We would even go on bike rides. I'd but him in my front basket... awww...
1. Donde estan los ladrones? by Shakira I listened to this while grading all those papers a few weeks ago. My favorites are: Moscas En La Casa; Donde Estan Los Ladrones?; Inevitable; y Que Vuelvas 2. Fantasies and delusions by Billy Joel, performed by Richard Joo One of my favorites to listen to while studying or relaxing. Favorites: Air, Op. 10, "Dublinesque"; Invention in C Minor, Op. 6 (I love inventions... those were my favorite things to play way bach when); Suite, Op. 8, "Star-Crossed", all three movements; and Waltz #1, Op. 2, "Nunley's Carousel" 3. Cradlesong by Rob Thomas The newest Rob Thomas (as far as I'm aware) album. All the songs flow really well together. My favorites are: Mockingbird; Getting Late; Cradlesong; and Her Diamonds 4. The Dana Owens album by Queen Latifah Queen Latifah sings some jazz standards and other great songs. My favorites: Moody's Mood for Love; Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (compare with Cannonball Adderley's version); Hello Stranger (love the organ... makes me laugh); and Baby, Get Lost 5. Teaser and the Firecat by Cat Stevens My favorite Cat album... I think. Don't hold me to it. Here are my favorites: How Can I Tell You (possibly the best love song ever); The Wind; Bitterblue; and Peace Train
Five Things Friday! The quarter starts next Thursday... here are five of my plans:
I'm taking statistics (this will be my 6th stats course!), a course on peer relationships in adolecence, and research credits to work on my thesis. I am also employed as a GSR (graduate student researcher). No TAing this quarter! Yay!
Hit the gym at least once-a-week (setting reasonable goals, here!)
Apply to PhD programs. *Sigh*. I HATE applications and the thought of leaving the Great State of California. Pero que sera, sera.
Maintain sanity by getting an average of 6 hours of sleep per night and being social. (Dexter and dinner nights, Caitlin! Yay!)
Hit the ground running with a presentation on my thesis project next Friday!
I think this is going to be the hardest quarter of the year. But I do better work when I'm busy, so I think I will survive. And when it's over, I will be 66.67% of the way through my master's degree! Yay!
In the spirit of Emily's Five, I thought I'd share five of my favorite tap routines. These are in no particular order:
1. The Nicholas Brothers in Stormy Weather. I remember seeing this when I was a child and thinking either they were not human or the whole routine was magic. Needless to say, both men have had multiple hip replacements!
2. The Challenge in Tap. Starring many of the greatest tap dancers of all time: Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr, Harold Nicholas, Jimmy Slyde, Howard "Sandman" Sims, Bunny Briggs, Steve Condos, Arthur Duncan, and Pat Rico!
3. The B.S. Chorus. This is an old famous tap routine. It was required learning where I took tap as a child/teen.
4. Vera Ellen with some serious technique in Wonder Man! She's so flexible too. Remarkable.
5. Rollerskating in It's Always Fair Weather. Jaw droppingly amazing!
Everyone has five things to share! Submit yours to Dear Blogosphere. Any topic, any theme.
1. pas de chat, aka step of the cat. this step is named for it's likeness to a cat's leap. this step is fun for children to learn (plus they love the name and I always tell them to try to teach their cat to do it). for advanced dancers this step can be large or small, at a medium tempo or very fast. while this step seems simple, a perfect pas de chat is very challenging. an italian pas de chat is a particularly enjoyable step.
2. sissonne assemble. these two steps are my favorite way to start a grand allegro. i prefer an assemble battu.
3. saut de basque. the turning step is an excellent part of an allegro. a fun and quick step often combined with emboite.
4. waltz turn. this fairly simple step, though quite tricky when learning, is lovely in ballets like sleeping beauty. an indulging step that lets you really move freely.
5. pique tour en dedans, aka pique turn. on a good turning day i love a simple combination of single and double pique turns.
I've enjoyed reading others' blogs about their favorite iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad applications... I thought I'd join in the fun and share FIVE of my favorites. In no particular order:
Betty Crocker Cookbook - Free - This is an amazing eCookbook. You can search for recipes by type or by ingredients. So, if you're like me and magically end up to your ears in zucchini, tomatoes, and a need for inspiration, Betty won't let you down. And it's free. So why not?!
is that GLUTEN FREE? - $5.99 - A shopping guide for us celiacs, gluten-intolerants, and other glutenphobes. It's easy to use and the main plus is that it is updated all the time. The problem with paper-based shopping guides is that food producers and manufacturers change their ingredients frequently so shopping guides can quickly become out of date. This one keeps up with the times!
Words with Friends - $0.99 - A great Scrabble game! Add friends by user name and get Scrabblin'.
BGluMon - $1.99 - I've tried a couple of glucose monitoring applications and this one if my favorite. It has a nice graph showing what your blood sugars have been up to for the past day. It gives you instant stats and the hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia ranges are customizable. It makes the tedious work of glucose monitoring a little more like a game.
Savage Love - $1.99 - Dan's sage advice in my pocket? Yes please. This application includes the Question of the Day, the Savage Lovecast, Dan's YouTube videos and, of course, the advice column. It's for mature, open-minded, and difficult to offend audiences only. (Reading Dan's column for a couple of years was great prep for me to TA Human Sexuality.)
There's my five! Do you have any recommendations for applications for any or all platforms?
Welcome to Dear Blogosphere! I am Natalie, a 20-something PhD student, a Catholic neophyte, and a newlywed. This blog has served many purposes and is now a place for me to collect and share my thoughts as a new Catholic Christian.
1. Farmer's Market
I've enjoyed reading others' blogs about their favorite iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad applications... I thought I'd join in the fun and share FIVE of my favorites. In no particular order:
