donut holes

- There were these Dunkin Donut coupons in the newspaper that I clipped out. They had promotions like 25 donut holes for $2.99. Then in small print it said that they had higher prices in Manhattan. I went to buy some for refreshments and saw that the coupon price for Manhattan was the same as the regular price! No way was I standing in line for that. But then a different day I went in to use the "buy two for .99" coupon, $1.09 in Manhattan and they only charged me .99 so maybe my local store would go with the lower price after all for the donut holes. Guess I'll have to go test it out. What can I say--I have a soft spot for donut holes!

- Just finished reading this family memoir called Sweet Mandarin about a family whose legacy is in food and their journey from Mainland China to Hong Kong to England. I wish I knew more of my own family history; I'm sure there are many interesting stories and details I'm in the dark about.

- Watched Rachel Getting Married with ML. I liked it--it's about a young woman who is released from rehab to attend her sister's wedding. I also just read an on-line column about parents playing favorites. As E and I are contemplating expanding our family it's sobering to think about how much differential treatment of kids can have such a huge impact. To some extent, it's part and parcel with living with different personalities, birth order, etc. But some of the comments from "less favored" or even "favorite" children are so sad. I was trying to remember who Ann Hathaway reminds me of in this movie...it's my old officemate, still department chair at school (in looks, not personality!).

- It was good to see my mentee on Saturday - it had been 3 weeks due to different scheduling conflicts. We went to a Mexican Food cooking class. I think it was her first time trying guacamole!

- I like my new dentist. And yay for finally a hygienist. I finally broke down and went out of network (we have a PPO plan). I found him on Yelp. Dentistry with integrity is his slogan--and there was a CS Lewis book on the waiting table. Can we guess Korean Christian? :) The problem is I need a root canal and the way the PPO payment structure works, the bigger the procedure, the greater the percentage I have to pay. So I said I was going to wait to see if I could switch our insurance to one that he takes; November is always switching month to begin in January.

- A couple Saturdays ago I was required to attend my school's 300th anniversary convocation. It was actually a nice ceremony. Mayor Bloomberg gave a word of congratulations (joking that even though in the first days a letter from the mayor was required, now a letter from him couldn't even get his best friend's kid a kindergarten slot). The NYU president (and former Trinity parent) gave a talk about how while our society devalues complexity and nuance institutions like Trinity need to uphold that kind of thinking. There was a brass piece performed by American Brass Quintet and composed by an alum. There was a poem honoring the occasion by Billy Collins, former poet laureate. And there was a choir made up of current Trinity students. Bonus: it was held at Riverside Church, just two blocks from where I live.

- A friend's husband is going through a tough spiritual time. It's one of those occasions when male-female dynamics come into play. I would totally make an effort to befriend, talk to the person if it were her sister. But as it stands, I feel like I can only encourage my husband (who does like the husband, but doesn't know him very well) to step up. And you want things to happen naturally, but when the person is the type not to reciprocate social gestures (of anyone) what do you do? Yes, I know, lots of prayer.

- I was reading an article in the Wheaton alumni magazine by a dean of students who is retiring. In his observations about how Wheaton students have changed one think stuck out to me. He said that they are less biblically literate. I want S to know her Bible. That means I need to be an example and to encourage it in her, too. I've been going through a not-reading the Bible rut. I'm taking E's suggestion and trying to see if reading before bed will work (mornings are hard with S and school). Last night I started reading Obadiah.

- Of the blogs I follow one is called Rumor Queen that follows the rumors and related issues of the updates from international adoptions from China. I love seeing the monthly posts with the new babies. It's like how I used to like watching TLC Baby Story. It's such an amazing gift, new life.

- Simone's nap schedule is all over the place. Sometimes she skips her morning nap or like today it was really short. At least that seems to make for a longer lunchtime nap!