08/ 23/ 2014
Two weeks ago, I adopted an angel of a cat named Harlow Rose at a local nonprofit shelter called Animal Haven. She’s puuurfect (sorry… couldn’t resist)! Thought I’d share some photos from her first couple of weeks in her new home with you.
Harlow’s first photo!
12/ 25/ 2012
Each holiday season, my mom goes to Hallmark and picks out an ornament for each kid. This Christmas, I hung my 27th ornament on our tree — and among the lot — I’ve got a few favorites. The more I thought it over, each of my favorite ornaments has a memory behind it… maybe this is why the stand out among the rest?
Horton
As a child, Horton Hatches the Egg was one of my most favorite books. My mom used to repeat one of Horton’s lines to me over and over again: “I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred precent.” I didn’t understand what this meant at the time, but over the years, it started to click.
10/ 26/ 2012
I started With Muchness about a year ago, and given my type-A tendencies, it’s odd that it became something different than I intended. It began as a place to work on my craft as a critic. A place where I could discover how to write with more gusto. I didn’t know that this blog would become an instrumental part of my first year in New York. During this time, I’ve felt like just another Alice lost in Wonderland, on an endless journey; With Muchness ended up documenting my adventures down the rabbit hole.
New York has its share of wonderfully strange things. I felt almost childlike when I first ventured into Manhattan, filled with a sense of wonder and curiosity. I had never seen so many buses and taxis. I’ve never not had access to a car and taking the train everywhere was foreign territory. I had never been surrounded by so many unfamiliar people, coming and going briskly from one place to another. Personality, no New Yorker lacked that. Confident, guarded and often gruff, they’re most amicable when their schedules are packed and their needs are met.
07/ 30/ 2012
For 10 ½ years, I’ve been a very lucky lady. I never imagined how much impact a dog could make until my family and I got our beagle, Jefferson. A couple weeks ago, we found out that my brother — as I call him — has advanced prostrate cancer, that has spread to his lungs. We have medicine that will make him more comfortable, but eventually, we’ll have to put him down.
I was shocked to say the least. For the next few days, I was a basket case (which was so weird… I almost never cry). I realize that he’s a dog and this is very different than hearing that a person has cancer. However, for my family and I, it feels like we’re losing a very loved and cherished family member. Jefferson wasn’t a dog to me, but a brother, a friend and a teacher.
I remember the day we bought him. My parents, youngest brother Jacob, and I drove to a reputable dog store called “The Puppy Shop” (thinking back, that sounds a bit ominous). Jacob was young then, about 9, and I was 16. We’d always wanted a dog and had some how convinced our parents to get one. We were in a state of ecstasy.
