January 10: Chocolate croissants for breakfast

Months and months ago, on a rare trip to Trader Joe's in Green Hills, I picked up some frozen chocolate croissants. You leave them out overnight to "proof," then bake in the morning. I made some yesterday and ate them for breakfast yesterday and today (today, with a little help from Emory-Jane). What better way to start the day is there -- what more indulgent, posh way -- than with a pain au chocolat? I can't think of one, particularly this week, in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo tragedy. Vive la France! And vive le pain au chocolat!

(And watch this video!)

January 9: A car that works

Doug's car acted up this morning, so we had to take it to our trusty mechanic for a diagnosis and repair. It's times like these that remind us all how fortunate we are to have cars that (generally) get us where we need to go without trouble. I've been extremely lucky with my Sentra, a car that has (knock on wood) never once left me stranded because of mechanical failure. My lifestyle would come crumbling down if I ever had consistent car troubles, because I depend on the ability to drive 100 miles a day to make my living. Hooray for the Sentra!

(And the Echo is just fine, after a change of spark plugs. Whew.)

January 8: A day off

After three days getting back into the swing of teaching (and suffering from my annual onset-of-winter cold), I was so thrilled to have a day off today, a day to putz around the house, make some headway on my trek back through the "Gilmore Girls" on Netflix, and wander down to the Valley for some K-Roger shopping just for the thrill of something different. It was a great day, and I thoroughly enjoyed having a bit of down time. The start of the semester is physically demanding; one's body gets out of the habit of the physicality of teaching even after just a few weeks away, and my gallbladder surgery before Thanksgiving last fall means it's been even longer than usual away from the teaching for me this go round. So I was grateful for a rare day off, a by-product of UTC and Sewanee starting classes eight days apart.

Viva Gilmore Girls marathon days! :)

January 7: Local news

Completely out of the blue, today I found myself being interviewed for the local TV station's 6pm newscast about Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), former mayor of Chattanooga, becoming the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I wouldn't have called myself an expert on Corker prior to the interview (nor after, truth be told), but I was so incredibly honored to be asked for this... particularly at a time when I'm hoping against all odds to get a tenure-track job in the UTC department. Being on the nightly news as a representative of the university, and doing a not-too-bad job, HAS to help my case, right? Right?!

Here's the link, if you want to check it out: News Channel 9 report on Corker

January 6: Teaching a senior seminar

I've been teaching college classes for much of the last 15 years, with just a few interruptions, but this spring is the first time I have been given the opportunity to teach a senior seminar ... a class with people who are majoring in my field (political science) and a class that I designed completely independently. I chose the name, I chose the topic, I chose the readings, I chose the meeting time and meeting frequency. And I LOVE IT! We had our first session tonight, and it was So! Much! Fun! Getting to engage these juniors and seniors with provocative questions and incisive readings is going to be terrific fun this semester. And I'm so grateful to have been given the opportunity!

January 5: The Newsroom

Aaron Sorkin's TV show, "The Newsroom, " is one of my favorite current shows, and I'm so grateful for it. It shows journalism the way I always hoped to practice it myself: Chock full of ruthless idealism, unflinchingly critical of government, and with Sorkin's patented dialogue that I just love. It's a great show, and I love it.

January 4: The night before school starts

Before you've met your new crop of students, before you've had to deal with the excuses for why a quiz was missed, an assignment was tardy, or directions were fundamentally not followed ... the night before a new semester begins promises a panacea. This semester, you think, this will be the one where my students are bright and engaged and excited about learning. They'll be delightful, witty, incisive, prepared. They'll breathe fresh air and inspiration into my scholarly work. They'll inspire me to be better. We'll learn exciting things. I'll be clearer in my expectations. We'll be sad when the last day of class comes.

Knowing myself as well as I do, I know most of those things are true every semester -- yup, every one, without fail. Sure, there will be some high-maintenance students who, it must be acknowledged, will commit no errors on their own (it's always someone else's fault, and it's best if you work in higher education that you accept this fact right now). But the majority of them -- majority, not just plurality -- will be delightful young minds and souls who wander into my classrooms starting tomorrow.

I can't wait to meet them, and I'm so grateful to have a job where the hurt of having lost the last fantastic bunch is soon dulled by the excitement of meeting the new fantastic bunch.

January 3: A great Southwest boarding position

It's the little things, right? Whenever I have to hop a plane, I'm always concerned -- to the point of nearly driving myself mad -- about what the seating arrangements will be. This is something that lots of people don't have to worry about, but when you're Liz, it's really something that merits consideration. So when I logged into Southwest.com last night to check out my Early-Bird Check-in position, I was thrilled to get A24. Twenty-four!! Deee-lightful!

Ding! I'll be heading home later today... hopefully in a totally choice seat. :)

January 2: A comfy hotel bed

While in Kansas City to visit my fabulous brother, I'm staying at the Courtyard by Marriott in Overland Park. Their beds are just the way I like them, minus the fluffy memory-foam topper ... you lay down and fall into the bed. Normally, I sleep terribly in hotel rooms, but last night's sleep was pretty darn dreamy, by hotel standards. So today, I'm grateful for a hotel room with a bed where I was actually able to sleep last night (and, presumably, tonight).

January 1: Siblings

I begin the year grateful for my brother, Robert, who has always been, for me, somewhere between a mirror, a person who needs protecting, nurturing, and understanding, and a trusted confidant who makes my life feel more grounded and less isolated. I'm so glad this world contains Robert, and today I begin the adventure that is 2015 by saying how thankful I am for him. <3