the blanket with sleeves!

it may be dorky to admit it (scratch that: i know it's dorky to admit it), but i have absolutely fallen in love with my snuggie. i got one from the preppy sis as a gag christmas gift. i laughed a lot about it at first -- the wtf blanket indeed! -- but when the temperatures nose-dived in my part of the country this winter, it suddenly became an absolutely indispensable item in my house. i can sit in my living room comfortably, using my laptop, and not jack the thermostat way up! amazing.

(one tip, though, if you're going to get one of your own: wash it with fabric softener and then dry it with dryer sheets before using it. i nearly got electrocuted on a lamp the first time i broke it out of the box!)

the new york times had a hilarious article about the joys of the snuggie in the style section last week: "snuggie on the street: watch your back." now, while i love mine for cuddling up on my couch, i think i'd have to draw the line at going outside in it. or even walking around my own house. this is a couch blanket, not an article of clothing!

and quickly, about the bachelor last night? boo hiss, jason. you suck! (and molly, what are you thinking, honey? he's already dumped you once, for goodness sake!) what a load of hooey all around.

ladies, will you accept this rose?

here's a vaguely (or possibly very) embarrassing admission: even though i'm a girl who works as a scholar for a living and am supposed to be very high-brow and la-di-da and all that, i still watch the bachelor like it's going out of style. it's like a "real" soap opera, and i've always secretly loved those. i've been super-hooked on this season, but less so since my girl jillian was booted a few weeks ago. fingers crossed that she's the next bachelorette -- love her!

i've heard that there's all sorts of weird behind-the-scenes drama that's going to go down tonight on the show. hmm ... we shall see!

the girls are on the move!

fellow golden girls fans: make sure you tune in on sunday to the hallmark channel for a marathon of the girls! the show is moving after being on lifetime for what seems like an eternity, and they're having a special day of episodes to mark the move. i can't ever decide which episode is my favorite, but all of my most-loved moments seem to center around sophia (who doesn't love sophia?) and rose -- she's just so childlike in her wonder about everything in the world, and that is hilarious. here's one of my favorite scenes -- rose thinks she has "died and gone to heaven." oh, and of course, the parody video of the girls as the election '08 candidates!

also, it seems to be "entertainment with old people" day, but everyone needs to check out the clara cannucciari cooking show on youtube -- she's 91, and she and her grandson produce a show where she demonstrates recipes that she and her mother made during the depression. she's adorable!

more grading tonight -- and then i'm going to spend some time sketching out more ideas for the persuasion novel. i really feel like this could go somewhere if i just had enough time to sit down and get through it!

another long day

lesson planning? check. we're going to keep pushing on cultural studies questions tomorrow, and things should hopefully work out okay. so now i've given myself the rest of the evening to chill on the couch, eat potato chips, and watch 30 rock on tv and old episodes of rich girls on youtube. ah, relaxation. if i could just forget that i have all those papers to grade tomorrow, i'd be totally zen.

after my weekly liz lemon fix, i'm switching over to pbs for the video of last night's stevie wonder extravaganza at the white house. can't wait to see the prom king and queen of dc there! ;) (and it just started -- and he's kicking off with "sir duke"! my favorite!)

austen fans, check it out -- the first preview art panels from the new marvel pride and prejudice comic books! i've already got mine ordered, and i can't wait until they come in the mail!

still working on the editing project for that forgotten regency novella that i've rediscovered. i really think this could be an amazing edition if it all takes off -- i've got plans for the introduction, the annotations, and even the appendix material, with primary sources, contemporary reviews, and more. i'm not sure that i'll have the clout yet to convince a press like broadview to publish my stuff, but i think they'd really benefit from something like this text for college students -- it's short enough to be read quickly, but it's got so many dimensions that it could be interpreted in lots and lots of different ways.

tomorrow: teaching, laundry, grading, more grading, possibly drinks later. and hopefully a hell of a lot of sleep!