Hello!
I spend my days working in one of DePaul University's administrative
departments, in a job that surrounds me with terrific colleagues and abundant
professional challenges. Nevertheless, my activities outside the
workplace are what give my life the most meaning and enjoyment. I'm
firmly in the "work to live, not live to work" camp.
Above all, I love spending time with my husband, and I would have to
say that some of my favorite days are those when we are simply in each
other's company regardless of whether we are participating in a formal
activity.
Additionally, I have a few interests that keep me happy, even if I can
only pursue them occasionally.
From childhood onward, I have enjoyed baking homemade goodies in my kitchen.
Yes, I eat the dough. These days, I bake infrequently due to
my ongoing commitment to staying reasonably trim. In my glory days
(i.e. when I was younger and the stuff didn't seem to stick to my hips quite
as aggressively), I was baking every couple of weeks, assuming cool weather.
Christmas is now my primary baking season, because I've found that in these
times of mass produced everything, people really flip for homemade treats.
My great grandmother had a delicious sugar cookie recipe that I like
to think I have perfected. (I'll add it as a link to the Baking section
seen below.) I have also become locally famous for date bars, a recipe
I found in Bon Appetit. Believe me, they are delicious! Even
my husband Marc - who doesn't typically crave sweets - thinks so.
A few years back, I discovered the joy of gardening. For a long
time, I used containers and window boxes, a restriction forced upon me during
11 years of city living. This past year, Marc and I planted our first
"real" garden, with alternately triumphant (morning glories abound!), frustrating
(a munched rhododendron), amusing (a driveway rendered temporarily
useless following its takeover by our tomato and cucumber plants), and astonishing
(six-foot tall cosmos) results. It's definitely a novice garden,
and I promise you that next year will be different.
A number of arts activities also capture my interest and add to my overall
sense of fulfillment. Since high school, I have painted in watercolor
and have recently begun to identify a number of techniques that I would
like to improve. The ability to capture light, in particular, is one
of the great potentials of watercolor. To date, I haven't achieved
much in this regard, as a recent cruise through some high school and college-era
paintings confirmed all too clearly. I have reasonably well-developed
drawing skills, and I hope that someday I will be able to paint and draw
more often so that I can see just how far my rudimentary talent might take
me. I adore painting, but there are other artistic pursuits that I
also enjoy. Bookmaking, origami, hand-painted boxes, linoleum cut prints,
and wheel-thrown ceramics are a few that I have most enjoyed.
If you don't have a hobby or an interest that you like to do on an ongoing
basis, I encourage you to do some exploring to find one. Even if
you don't work at it everyday, these sorts of pursuits add a new level
of satisfaction to your life.
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Links to my interests:
