Once Upon A Time...

Warren and I met up in Paris a few months ago. It was so nice to be back in some of my old stomping grounds. Paris was a lovely, rainy few days and since today is a lovely, rainy day, I thought I'd share some moments. I really miss it. We climbed the PantheonWe discovered that Noah definitely took unicorns on the arkWe loved Montmartre so very muchWe discovered squeeze Nutella, AKA gift from the godsWe spent one awful, freezing night at a bus stop...

Read More

Brevity!

Brevity Fall 2009 just went live!!! If you are not familiar with Brevity, it is a lovely journal exclusively for "Concise Literary Nonfiction." It is a joy to read. I literally cannot believe that they accepted my essay, but I am insanely glad that they did! You can read it here. Many thanks to Dinty Moore, David Grover, and my amazing mini writing group for making this girl's dreams come tr...

Read More

breaking news!

Folks, the great Pat Madden just told me that an essay of mine ("When the World Explodes"--about volcanoes and spiders and such) was picked as a notable essay in this year's Best American Essays, edited by the one and only MARY OLIVER!!!! I nearly fell out of my chair! Luckily the 15 pounds of ice cream I consumed for my roommate's birthday anchored me pretty well. Anyway, I'm totally honored to be in the company of other notables like Pat himself.To...

Read More

the most terrifying donkey

is eeyore. obviously. my friend nancy just sent this to me and it is amazing/terrifying/sad/hilarious all in o...

Read More

Mini Donkeys!!!

We first fell in love with these adorably soft critters at the Iowa State Fair and we had to know more. So, for Labor Day, Warren and I drove down a series of dirt roads to get to a lovely farm called Sunny G Acres (owned by the wonderful Carmen & Dorie) to visit a herd of 60 mini donkeys. First we met Sunbun, a brand new jenny who spends most of her time hopping and butting into things. (Caution, the next few pictures may cause your heart...

Read More

"I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud,"

But I have been to the Iowa State Fair! Which we memorialized in a series of mortifying photo ops [Exhibit A]:First things first: we definitely won a blue ribbon for our awesome chickens. And by "we" I mean the moon-faced boy below. His little banty was quite a looker, too.We left the chickens to saunter down Main Street (literally, it looked like a small town's main street, only it was lined with fried food stands and golf carts) and stumbled across...

Read More