Whew!

Classes are done (hallelujah!) and I got an "A" in both. I would have been fine with a "B" because this degree is about getting it done, not about getting it done with a 4.0 GPA. My plan for the next few weeks involves a lot of crafting, a lot of baking, and a few naps here and there.

Another Favorite

If you haven't tried Ina's beef stew recipe you are missing out. Time consuming? Yes. Will you make a big mess of your kitchen? Yes. Will your husband fall in love with you all over again? Yes.

This is one of the Mister's favorites. Goes well with a long weekend and a snowstorm.

School

School is really gearing up--assignments are looming and deadlines are fast approaching. I have made some resolutions to get me through to the first week of December:

• Enjoy the evenings off, like next weekend, when we have tickets to the Symphony.
• Run 3 miles at least twice a week.
• Cook a nice dinner every Sunday night so that a) we have food to eat, which is really becoming an issue and b) to connect with the Mister.

I have an assignment due at midnight. Better get back to it.

The Mister Needs A Job

Me (calling home at lunch): "Whatcha doin?"

The Mister: "Funny you should ask! I was throwing apples at the squirrel."

Me: "I'll call back later."

I did receive an explanation for the bizarre behavior but his afternoon activities did leave me shaking my head and wondering what else he was doing when I'm not around.

Go-To Meal

Now that fall is here I can start making my favorite cool weather recipes. The Mister and I love the butternut squash recipe I found a few years ago in Real Simple magazine. The beauty of this recipe is that it's cheap, makes a lot of soup so you don't have to cook for a few days after you make it, and it's elegant enough to serve to company.

I'm not a big squash fan, but this recipe is one of my all-time favorites. Recipe found here.

Forgotten Valley

The Mister and I went for a hike to Forgotten Valley this summer. We'd never been to Golden Gate Canyon Park but now it's one of our favorites. Close (less than an hour from the house) but still far enough to feel like we're away.

Pictures from Summer

We went to Oregon for four days this summer. It had been three years since I'd been home, and I was literally aching to get on the plane. The Mister and I had a great time and made a solemn vow to go home every year, no matter the cost or the schedule. It's important for my mental health.

The lavender farm was amazing. The drone of the bees was unreal. That's Mt. Hood in the background.

We did the "Fruit Loop" through Hood River and stopped at the Mt. Hood Winery. Yummy, yummy!

We stoppped at Multnomah Falls.

I had to visit the Duck store. Because I love my Ducks and it's hard to be a Duck fan in Colorado. BTW, I am very bitter that the CU Buffs are going to be polluting my Pac-10. Like, so bitter I'm still having a conniption fit about it. I'll get over it but it will definitely take some time.

More pictures later...

Colorado Symphony Orchestra

I love classical music but I don't know much about it. My folks always had Bach or Beethoven playing in the background when we were growing up, but there wasn't much in the way of education about classical music. I am married to a classically trained guitar player, but he is really only interested in guitar music. After much discussion and a few successful forays to CSO concerts last fall, we decided to become season ticket holders this year because we could create a package with concerts across the musical spectrum--jazz, pops, holiday, etc. Our first concert is this Friday night and I am so thrilled because it means we have seven date nights this academic year, planned and paid for, and that's something I've been looking forward to all summer.

Recommended Reading

I bought The Power of One on impulse and was completely captivated by the second page. The descriptions of life in Africa and the clever story-telling made it a book that I couldn't put down. What was intriguing was the end...it comes rather abruptly. I won't spoil it, but be forewarned.

Christmas Music

Last December Kimberly and I went to a concert that I'm still talking about 10 months later. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra did "Too Hot to Handel", a gospel interpretation of Handel's Messiah. At the end of the concert I was crying and had goosebumps because it was so powerful. The familiar sounds of the Hallelujah Chorus plus an amazing groove with drums, bass guitar, and piano filled the auditorium in a way I've never experienced. It was a given that we would go again this year.

The good people at the CSO sent me a coupon this week for 25% off all holiday concert tickets, so not only are we going to the concert, but we're also going to have better seats than last year!

Higher Education Nerdery

I'm taking a leadership class right now. I am generally opposed to leadership classes because a) they rarely present new or challenging information, b) everybody and their mother has written a leadership book, and c) quite often the people presenting on leadership completely lack leadership skills themselves. I am cynical.


However, if you are in higher education and you are interested in leadership, Steven Sample's Contrarian's Guide to Leadership is worth the investment of time. He can back up his statements with real-world experience and actually has some different perspectives. He dislikes lawyers with a passion rarely seen outside of the opinion page of the newspaper, which I find amusing.

Update

So much has happened since the last time I posted! Life in bullet points again...:

• My niece was born last week! Her big brother is very excited.
• The Mister and I celebrated our 6th anniversary at the Melting Pot.
• I got a big fat promotion at work.
• Still in school, but I have a plan to finish and I'm scheduled to graduate in May of 2013. Only 8 semesters to go!
• Our veggie garden was awesome. Next year, only 1 squash plant--I'm so tired of squash.

I have no idea if I'll be able to maintain this blog, but I'm going to try.

Committee

This weekend the Mister and I took a trip up to Laramie to visit the University of Wyoming campus. I had my orientation to my doctoral program on Saturday. When I took my first class last fall I was a non-matriculating student because I had not officially been admitted. In fact, I wasn't admitted until late February when I was half-way into my second and third classes. So, by the time orientation came around I thought I had school pretty well figured out.

The first clue that I was suffering a cranial-rectal inversion was in a phone conversation with my advisor about three weeks ago. She is going to be on sabbatical this fall and next spring so we had several semesters of classes to plan out. At the end of our phone conversation she mentioned that I need to have my dissertation committee locked in by the end of this semester and must complete my general exam this fall. Wha...? I convinced myself that I probably had more flexibility than that and decided to "believe" once I went through the orientation.

(Duh-duh-duh...sense of impending doom)

The orientation knocked me on my butt. I'm completing my third class this spring and I think I'm already behind on my dissertation! My general exam MUST be taken this fall, and why don't you have your electronic portfolio set up? Don't know who you could ask to be on your committee? Better make a phone call to your advisor ASAP and get that figured out! Oh, by the way, you'll probably need to take a week's vacation to do your general exam because it's 5-6 fully-researched 8-10 page essays that must be completed within 5 days. Oh, and did we mention that while you are working on this degree you should also be A) learning a foreign language B) publishing and C) teaching. So...I think I need to "adjust my expectations" because I was not prepared for this at all. I still want to (need to) do this degree, it's just now I have a much higher level of anxiety about it!

"So I've got that goin' for me..." (I never reference movies, but that's a good one).

I do not need to adjust my expectations for the peonies. They did their job this weekend and have poked through the surface. I did several turns around the yard yesterday while taking a break from schoolwork and am pleased to report that the flower bed is really starting to take off.

Family

Last night I went to dinner with my friend Lindsay and we were discussing family--the family you're born with versus the family you choose. I've come to depend a lot more on my chosen family in the last year and didn't even realize it until our conversation. Kimberly and Lindsay are two of my favorite people in the world and I'm grateful to have them in my life. They are both such an encouragement to me. Thanks so much, ladies! Hope you don't mind the very public shout-out (hee, hee).

The Mister and I are off to Wyoming this weekend for my EdD orientation. I am hoping that my peonies will work very hard on breaking the surface while I am gone.

Birthday

Today is my 36th birthday and it has been outstanding. I am so grateful for my dear friend Kimberly who knows how important it is to feel special on your birthday. A massage and a facial on the same day? Heaven. I'm also grateful for The Mister who had a rough morning but put that aside to take me out for a wonderful sushi dinner. This has become our tradition--The Mister takes Kimberly and me out for sushi at a restaurant of my choosing. My two favorite people and a sushi dinner is, in my book, a recipe for a great evening. That we've done it enough times to call it a tradition is even better.

I have no idea what this year will bring but I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the blessings that have already come my way.

Time Flies...

It's been almost a year since I've posted. It's amazing how quickly you can fall out of a habit and how hard it is to regain it. Last summer was very busy with work and teaching and I was barely able to keep my head above water. In August I started my doctoral program, so fall semester left little room for writing for fun. I had the best of intentions to pick this up again over Christmas, but naps and shopping took up most of my time. Now it's almost April!

I've always felt conflicted about this blog because I don't think I add much to the internet that's meaningful or helpful. Not that blogs have to, but I never fell into a rhythm or a niche that I was comfortable in. I'm careful not to expose too much of my life, and I think my caution has kept me from feeling like I'm contributing. I have almost deleted this blog several times, but something always stopped me. For the last couple of weeks I've felt the pull to come back to it so I'm giving it another try. Who knows where I'm headed now?