Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I’m not really sure if having two weeks off for Christmas is too much or too little. I never want to go back to work, and I’m starting to get comfortable in this routine of staying up too late, sleeping too late, and drinking too much coffee. At all times of the day or night. Scandalous, I know.

I thought about doing a recap of the year’s highlights, but if you’re really that interested, just read some old blogs. ;) Instead, I decided to do a recap of this year’s best quotes…

Question: “Who was the Democratic Speaker of the House?”

Answer: “Condoleezza Rice.”

Student, discussing whether or not a professor was gay: “Maybe he likes the rainbow, but he stays away from the rainbow.”

Student: “It’s okay if I miss a Spanish lecture. I’ll just watch ‘Dora the Explorer’ before the next class and catch up.”

Me: “I gotta say, this paper was really impressive.”

Student: “Really?”

Me: “Yeah. Impressively bad.”

Me: “Have you started working on your multimedia project yet?”

Student: “No. I think we’re going to wait until the last week.”

Me: “Um…yeah, that’s now. It’s due next week.”

Student: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You can’t drop that bombshell on me!”

Me: “It’s been in the syllabus since the beginning of the semester.”

Student: “I’ve got three girlfriends.  I’m very productive.”

Student: “I want my hair to be long and flowing. Like a mermaid’s.”

Student: “My life is like a box of chocolates…you know, dark.”

Student: “My mom puts Scripture all over my wall because she thinks that I’ve got men over in my room all the time.”

Lastly, here are some pictures from Christmas.

Happy New Year!!!

How I love them

We gathered together Saturday to honor Betty, to remember her for her love, her generosity, her humor, and her spirit. It was the first time we all had been together in a long time, and, more importantly, it was the first day that the three great-grandbabies -- Joshua, Jack, and Miriam -- met.

Three babies, all looking the wrong direction

Of course, none of the great-grands had the desire to all look at the camera at the same time. I understand Miriam's excuse. I mean, she is only three months old. The boys, however, know to look at the camera, lol!

JuJu and Jack

 She's just getting some quick practice in. Her first grandchild is due Dec. 26. How fun is that!!

My grandmother is holding her first great-granddaughter. I absolutely love this picture. My only regret is not getting Miriam's mother and grandmother in this picture as well. As it is, though...I'll just be happy with Miriam and Granny. =)

Granny, Miriam, Jack and Nicole, his aunt

See?? I told you Jack knows how to look at the camera!

How many women does it take to get two cute boys to look at a camera?

 Apparently, six....(counting me!)

Joshua still does not understand that he's no longer the only great-grand in the family. This has apparently not been an easy adjustment for him, ha! As you can tell by these pictures, he's not all that sure of Jack!

And, of course, my husband wanted to play with all of these sweet angels...

Jack, his grandfather, and his great-uncle

They're having their first child within a few weeks, and it'll be Baby Boy No. 3 (for our family, at least!)! It's the first grandchild for my aunt and uncle. Who's excited? We all are!

My husband playing with Joshua

Joshua gets some lovin' from his grandmother.

My mom holds sweet Miriam

Oh, aren't these babies adorable?? And we're all just a bunch of "baby hogs" lol!! If someone was holding one of them, it would not be five minutes before that bundle of joy was passed along to someone else. It's so much fun having them around, and I can't wait to watch these little angels -- and Bryce and Katie's, who is due any day! -- to grow up in our family.

So this is Christmas…

I remember as a kid hating to count down to Christmas. Because I was always looking forward to it, but somehow after all the gifts were unwrapped and scattered across the floor, that’s when I remembered that half my Christmas break was – gasp – over. As much as I loved Christmas and the anticipation of it, I knew that the time for me to return to school seemed much closer at noon on Dec. 25 than it seemed at noon Dec. 24. 

This year, Christmas is different – for many reasons, good and bad. Bad, obviously, because this is the first year without Betty. The second week without Betty. My parents and I are actually exchanging gifts tonight because a) my dad will be home and b) I mean…why not? 

Additionally, Kyle and I have (mainly) exchanged gifts. He has one more than I had shipped to Misti’s house to open, and he actually has to have mine installed (auxiliary cord in my car, what what!). But it’s just different this year. 

But it is Christmas, despite this stupid 70-degree weather we had yesterday. If I’m running in shorts and a T-shirt in December, it’s just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I’ve been wearing sweaters despite the weather. It’s December, dangit, and I want to wear sweaters.

One really sweet moment in this month, however, is Christmas at my house. Our new house. Kyle and some friends put up lights outside (for the first time EVER), we bought an eight-foot live tree, and I strung Christmas lights all around. I made some new crafts for the holiday, and we bought a few new decorations to add in our house.

My holly jolly Christmas wreath I made. I must say, I'm quite proud of it! =)

Our Christmas mantle 

My nativity. I've lost a few pieces, but I still have the Baby Jesus. That's kind of necessary for any nativity, really.

Tinsel going down the stairs...

Tinsel going up the stairs. =)

Our photo Christmas cards (as of Monday!)

Peppermint trees I made resting on a silver tray my aunt got me for my birthday

Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree... 

Our eight-foot tree! LOVE how it smells and how beautiful it is!

Lol, just a fun Christmas tree cheese/tomato tray I made for a work party

Beautiful memories have been made, and more have yet to be made. I love spending time with my friends and family, even though the time with family is a bit marred by sadness. But, still, in the pain, praise God for His mercy. She could have suffered for longer, but He welcomed her into His presence in peace. She was with my aunt and grandmother – leaving loved ones behind but being welcomed by Christ and other loved ones.

Continue to pray for us, friends. This is a difficult time. I’m so thankful to have an opportunity to be off of work for two weeks, to spend time with my family, with my husband’s family, and to refresh myself for 2012.

Loss

My mom's youngest sibling, Betty, passed away yesterday afternoon around 3 p.m.

My mom said my aunt was rubbing her hair and my grandmother was holding her hand.

The memorial service has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday in Eudora, Ark., Betty's hometown.

Betty and Nicole, my cousin

The siblings -- can you tell who the cut up is in the family? I'll give you a hint. He's front and center.

Just keep us all in your prayers, please.

Catharsis

NOTE: As I well know, many of you are suffering this Christmas season from some sort of loss. If you’re having a good day or if you are a member of my family, just go ahead and stop reading now. I'm quite serious. Writing is my expression and a release for me, very similar to running. If you’re suffering through loss and want to know that someone else feels your pain and you think that would help, go ahead and keep going.

I wrote this last week with no intention of using it as a blog or to go public in any way. Again…writing is cathartic for me. However, the more I think about it, the more I just get a feeling that maybe this is good. I don’t really know how. There’s nothing hopeful or uplifting really in this writing. Just raw, barely filtered (for privacy’s sake) words. We do have hope in Christ. I realize and am joyful for that. Yes, there is joy in this pain, because she has her faith in the One who will save her from everything this world has thrown at her. And for that, yes, I am quite joyful. But it doesn’t take away the sense of losing this battle or the feeling of helplessness.

We received news last week that Betty has a brain tumor, and the doctors sent her home without treatment. As of today, one of my aunts and my grandmother are in Texas with her and her husband.

*****

For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. – Philippians 1:21

“Universal emotion,” I explained to the class, “is no different from regular emotion. I just specify that it’s universal so you realize that everyone feels. Everyone has joy. Everyone suffers. Everyone has a good day. Everyone has a bad day. Universal emotion, in your columns, is about writing something that has emotion, that connects with a large number of people – because we’ve all experienced that.”

It was dark when I got the call. I was heating soup in the microwave, trying to watch for when it started bubbling. When I got the call, I let the soup go. It splattered all over the microwave.

I tried to remain calm, tried to sound strong for my mom, who was suffering, but when I saw my husband, I remembered…I don’t have to do this alone. There he is, a trained, professional counselor here in my house, right now, who can deal with this. Because I can’t. Not right now.

I handed him the phone and hated myself for not being able to hang on.

He talked to my mom, talked to my dad, asked what we could do. He’s so good at separating himself from the situation to make logical, rational choices. After he hung up, he looked at me. “What do you need me to do?”

I shrugged. “I’m going running.”

It’s amazing how stress can make you forget that you’re running in the dark. In 36 degree weather. For 50 minutes. It’s amazing how hearing that your aunt has a month to live makes you forget to take walking breaks. My running partner just thought we were doing well on our run to only take one walking break in five miles. Truth was, I forgot to stop. But I didn’t tell about the phone call.

My running directly correlates with my stress. That’s why I started running – because I was overly stressed. It’s a means to escape, to keep my mind busy as one foot goes in front of the other, one foot goes in front of the other, over and over, over and over. Repetitive. Scenery changes. You keep running.

“What’s something that you could write about – a personal, emotional story that others can connect with? Just think of something off the top of your head. K – what are you thinking about?”

K is shy. Reserved. But she’s smart. You can see it in her eyes. She wants to learn; she wants to be a good student. She wears a 2009 senior shirt, so she’s probably 19 or 20 at the oldest. She looks young.

“Becoming a mother,” she said with a hint of pride.

I was surprised. “Do you have kids?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “A little boy. He’s 11 months.”

I sent a text message with the same, impersonal message: “The doctors are not treating Aunt Betty and are sending her home. They say she has one month. Please pray for her and our family.”

I didn’t want to send it, frankly. I wanted to bottle this hatred, this unthinkable bitterness up inside and not let others have to endure it. But I did, mainly because my dad asked me to – he asked me to have others pray. And others can’t pray if they don’t know there’s a problem.

I’m sure my family thinks I’m a bit crazy when I joke about certain things. I’m sure they wonder why I laugh about something as awful as some of the things that have happened this past year. But what are my options? I can laugh or cry. And, if there’s any possible way I can laugh – I will. Sure, it hurts. But if I can laugh about it, I can get by.

That’s why I didn’t want to tell anyone. Why make them suffer as well? Why make them uncomfortable? And I’m the world’s worst at receiving heartfelt condolences. 

J sent me a text this morning saying, “I’m sorry.” And it crushed me just a little. Not because it was a condolence, but because it was true. She was sorry. And she knew, maybe better than others, that nothing else can be said.

“What else is a universal emotion?” I asked. “What about fear? Hollywood has capitalized on the fear market. They create movies and shows to scare us.”

“I’m not scared of movies,” A said.

“Really?” I asked. “Then what are you afraid of?”

I was leading them to my next point: death.

So I told them. But I didn’t tell them everything. I didn’t tell them about having lunch with Aunt Betty last week. How awful it was. How she couldn’t walk straight. Couldn’t hold a fork. Couldn’t read the menu. Fell down outside. Was in tears the whole time. Couldn’t remember where she was.

That was hard. It left me raw.

What do we do now? Where do we go for this month? This awful, long, stupid month? While we wait, while we pray, and while we wonder – do we have today? Do we have an extra day?

“What about death?” I asked. “You’ve all, I’m sure, experienced it by having someone close to you die. And I want to ask you this: Are there things worse than death?”

“No,” A said firmly.

“What about torture?” I asked.

The rest of the class consented that torture was worse than death, but A disagreed. “Even if they torture you, you end up dying,” she said.

I thought it strange – that death was a greater fear to her than torture. Death would seem more of a release than torture. But maybe that’s because of my faith. Maybe because I know after death, there’s life.

“What about Alzheimer’s?” I asked. “Is that worse than death?”

“Yes,” J said, his eyes darkening. “My grandmother has it – and as hard as it is to watch her…it’s even harder to watch my mother have to help her mother.”

I knew exactly what he was talking about. I thought about my husband's aunt selflessly taking care of her mother, day after day. One foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other, over and over, over and over. I thought about Betty and my grandmother, how Granny is trying to take care of her. Of how Betty now has to have someone take care of her – and she’s barely in her 50s.

“Yes,” I echoed J. “There are things worse than death.”

Colors

Sometimes, in the hustle and bustle of buying gifts, putting up decorations, going to parties, and planning festivities...sometimes, it's good to have a girls' night with nothing else to do but paint.

Angie and her reindeer

A few friends and I arranged to participate in a Palette Party, where we spent three hours doing nothing but talking and picking out paint colors. Christmas music played in the background, and we just sat back and relaxed, letting our teachers help us when necessary and enjoying each other's company.

Bethany, a super half-marathoner (seriously, she just finished a halfie in Vegas this week), and her Christmas painting 

Christmas always seems to be a time of the year when everyone's so busy. So much to do, so much to plan. So much to enjoy! But sometimes...sometimes it's nice that your biggest concern is whether to use the dark blue or the light blue paint for your next stroke.

Brandi and Morgan with their reindeers

What a great reason we have to celebrate. What a great opportunity that many of us around the world get to celebrate the birth of our Savior. And, yes, while Christmas PROBABLY isn't Jesus' birth date, it's nice that we picked a special day to celebrate His birth and what it would mean for mankind.

Christy and me with my blue dog and her Christmas trees. And, yes, that is a Blue Chihuahua. =) 

Joy to the world, the Lord has come. 

Thoughts from the dog

Merry Christmas from the Super family...including the Super dog...

 

Vicki: "Aunt Misti, I thought you were on my side on this one. I bet your dogs don't get stuffed in gift bags for pictures. This is just as bad as the stocking incident a few years ago. Oh, yeah, I remember that."

 Vicki: "I'm not smiling nor looking at the camera. Haters gonna hate, but I HATE Christmas card photos."

 Vicki: "Are we done yet? Do I get a treat for this? I BETTER get a treat..."

 Vicki: "I'm pooping in all your shoes tonight."

Vicki: "Peace out, humans! I'm making a getaway!"

Merry Christmas to all!

Welcome back to class

Whelp, it's that time again: a wonderful random assortment of quotes!! Here at thirstysouthernsoul, we like to highlight some of the funniest sayings of (mainly) students and other people around me. So, Merry Christmas early, and enjoy this round of quotes.

Student: “I got a C in that class. That doesn’t sound like it’s good, but it was. I failed all the tests, but I wore miniskirts to class, and he gave me a C. Perverted ol’ man, but he was a good guy.”

Editor: “TCU had drinks at their party. They're at the top of the food chain.”

Co-editor: “We can't even get a legit coffee maker.”

Student 1: “I don’t want to marry for money. I just want to be well-off.”

Student 2: “That’s called a gold digger.”

Student 1: “What am I going to do in *local town*?”

Student 2: “You could marry *Dude.* He said you were good breeding stock last night.”

Student: “I don’t drink beer. I’m black.”

Student: “I know this dude who’s doing research on if crawfish feel pain when they get boiled. I asked him why he would do that. Crawfish taste awesome. Who cares if they feel being boiled?”

On Nov. 11, 2011

Student: “Was yesterday Groundhog Day?”

Student 1: “What does TSA do?”

Student 2: “They bomb people…right?”

Friend (about why she couldn’t do something fun the next day): “I have a job. It cramps my style.”

Thank you, and good day!

Harsher holidays

Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Canon Rock” is playing. I’m anticipating hot chocolate in my future.

Gifts are wrapped. Plans are made to see family and friends. We plan to volunteer, to celebrate, to watch Christmas movies on TV (As a side note, my husband has never seen “A Christmas Story.” This must be remedied IMMEDIATELY.). But, based on my pastor’s sermon Sunday night, I got to thinking…the holidays aren’t jolly for all.

I know two women will spend their first Christmas alone after divorce…a friend will remember during Christmas that the main person missing at the dinner table is her father…Other people have lost jobs, lost loved ones either to death or unforeseen circumstances…families will be separated due to distance or that emotional wall that is placed between them.

The holidays are a joyous time for one reason – God sent His Son to redeem us all. That may be the only joy one can take from this season. Because all the presents and parties cannot fill the hole from a loved one gone.

I don’t mean to be mournful during this time. But I have a question for everyone: What do you say when you know someone’s Christmas may not be as merry as yours? What would you like to hear?

I’m quite awkward when it comes to comforting people. My best form of comfort is to give a hug or bake goodies. I do that better than speaking words that I don’t feel are true, especially the platitude, “It’s all going to be all right.” Because it won’t. There will be a grief, that, despite the years, will leave a hole in a heart.

For reference, based on what I would say/give, I just want hugs, baked goods, and prayers. =) But what do you say? Are there verses that have helped you during difficult times? What has someone said to you that has been true and helpful?

But I would like to end on a happy note. I was able to visit my family for Thanksgiving, and that was quite a joyous time.

That’s not all of us by any means, but it was great for us to get together and enjoy the holiday. My family rocks my socks, and I am quite thankful to have them.

Thanks to Thanksgiving

I am sitting in a coffee shop doing research. Actually doing research, too, not just playing around online -- most of the time. I decided to blog on my 10 minute break. Productive, right?

Blues music is playing in the background, and it's raining outside. I'm drinking an iced coffee and wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans, my favorite combo. I've already ran, I've already cleaned my house, and all that's left to do on my "to do" list is research. Which I actually enjoy. Especially when I've already completed four pages of my dissertation introduction. That's right. Because I'm awesome.

It's a great day.

I plan to spend most of my Christmas break in this coffee shop as well. Unlike my husband, I don't work well at home. I get distracted too easily -- something needs to be cleaned, something needs to be washed, the dog needs to be let out, etc. Something to do. The Internet, while it is captivating, is really not as much of a distraction to me. Plus, I enjoy the ambiance of the coffee shop.

This past Sunday, at the end of our lesson, I asked the people in our Sunday School class to name one thing they were thankful for. One thing. It was a hard task -- not because they couldn't think of something they were thankful for, but because just naming one thing is quite difficult. There are so many blessings God has given us -- all of us. If you woke up today, that's a blessing. Even if your circumstances in life right now aren't to your liking, you have a chance to change them. This could be the day everything goes right.

My heart overflows with thankfulness. This year had so many trials and so many ways where things could have gone oh, so terribly wrong. But God has been so generous to my family. My aunt is back home after undergoing chemo and radiation, and, for now, the cancer is gone! I have a new niece (technically, second cousin, but I will be "Aunt" lol!)! My husband has a wonderful job and has his master's degree! Heck, I'm ABD!

There are so many blessings, and I hope your life is filled with blessings and love this Thanksgiving. For some, this will not be a pleasant holiday, either due to crisis or circumstances or just things out of one's control. Hopefully Thanksgiving 2012 will be better, in that case.

Last night, our Sunday School class got together for a Thanksgiving dinner, and our young adult minister shared Psalm 100, which reads:

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Friday finds

What I’ve been digging lately…

Science 360
Videos, articles, radio, oh my! I’m indulging my science side a bit thanks to a recent National Science Foundation conference I attended and enjoying finding out about outer space, robotics, and time. Now that I’m ABD in mass com, is it too late for me to become a rocket scientist? Lol!!

Fudge
I’ve made all sorts of varieties this week – regular milk chocolate fudge, oreo fudge (add Eagle Bran Milk to make it fudge), peanut butter fudge…No wonder I’ve been running so much!

Speaking of food, here are a couple of chicken recipes that have Kyle swooning.

Cheddar-garlic oven fried chicken
King Ranch chicken (can easily be served over rice)

Book obsession
The Other Boleyn Girl
The Last Voyage of Columbus
And, as always, The Hunger Games

Coffee
Timothy’s cinnamon pastry coffee
Iced coffee – but the homemade kind. My coworker brought me a batch he brewed, and now I am in love with it! I tried an iced coffee at Starbucks last Friday…bleh!! The homemade stuff blows that out of the water.

What’s made your day lately?

News is sports; sports is news

At my job, I am grateful to teach sports writing every other year. It’s my favorite class to teach, and I hate I can’t offer it more. Especially like now, with the Penn State scandal. The university president fired, the athletics director forced to resign, and beloved football coach Joe Paterno fired…and how did the students react to that turn of events last night?

WHAT?!

So when it comes out that a former defensive coordinator has molested at least eight (and the number will climb, I’m sure of it) CHILDREN, no one makes a peep? But the head football coach gets sacked, and all of a sudden, there are riots?

I don’t get it. I see the board of trustees’ point on firing Paterno, but I also feel very sorry for him and his family. And I understand that Paterno is a historic icon, the winningest coach in history. But lives have been forever shaped by what Sandusky did to those boys. Families have been changed, have been heartbroken by these events. Where is the outrage? Where are their riots?

Have a riot over something that matters, not because you’re scared you’ll lose a game. This scandal is so much bigger than that.

My heart and prayers go out to the families of the victims – and, really, to everyone involved in this disaster. Because this is an absolute disaster. God only knows how many children’s lives Sandusky ruined. God only knows how many could have been prevented had action been taken sooner.

It’s a sad week for everyone. But let’s not get away from the cause – one man, choosing to commit horrific sinful acts, has started this. God have mercy on his soul, because I don’t think anyone else will.

Lovely fall days

It’s finally starting to cool down a little in Louisiana. I actually had to wear capris jogging pants to run in the other day. Shocking!!

The pup has loved the cooler weather, maybe because she was born in November. Always, when it first turns chilly, she gets overly excited and runs playfully all over the yard. Now she has a much bigger yard to run in and cats to play with – even though they don’t play much with her. Misti and I had a puppy play date the other day, which made the Voo very excited – and very sleepy.

Isn't she absolutely precious? 

There’s nothing like sweet, cuddling puppy on a cool day.

Also, I finally got around to making pumpkin pie white hot chocolate this week. 

Notice the BLUE countertops...no more camo countertops for me, lol!!

I divided the recipe by four so I could make a single serving. Also learned that I think I would like a little less pumpkin puree. And I added the whipped cream just because. For those of you who don’t like pumpkin (aka Tara), I think just leaving the pumpkin out would still make this yummy. Our university’s coffee place has something called a Mayan Mocha where spices are added to the hot chocolate. It’s quite delectable, and I think using white chocolate would be even better.

Has anyone else been making fall yummy goodness? 

Chair makeover

We inherited a few fun things with our house...such as two dressers, a bed, a desk...and two bar chairs that looked like this...

The second chair had a crack down the middle, and besides that needing to be fixed, the chairs needed some serious TLC. I thought at first about staining them and then, after browsing Pinterest and feeling the crafty urge, decided to paint them. Since there are a lot of white accents in my living room and kitchen, I decided to paint them white...and get rid of that gold bar at the bottom.

However, I didn't want to just paint them white. I wanted them to have character, like our house has character. I found a really cool example of a stencil used to highlight the wood on the chair seat, but, after looking through stencils and not really finding what I wanted (and not liking the prices I was seeing!), I decided to go very geometric with a basic square. Also, I wasn't even sure if this project was going to be a bust or success, so I didn't want to be out too much money if it wasn't good.

First, the cracked chair needed some wood putty and both needed to be stained.

Honestly, painting them took FOREVER, as I did the backs of the chairs first and then, like many projects I start...remained unfinished. However, yesterday, I spent the majority of the afternoon finishing them up. I spray painted the gold bar silver and completed my crafty project.

Ta da!! The finished remodeled chairs!

I seriously love these chairs. They're just fun and funky now and fit in so much better with the house and with us. Also, it definitely helped that this little craft was CHEAP!

Spray paint: $3
White paint (on CLEARANCE): $6
Stupid paint brush some dude at Lowe's convinced me was better than the $2 one: $7
"Stencil": I used painters tape that I already had
Wood putty: $2
Total cost: $18

Woo hoo!

ABD: All But Done

Guess what. This is probably the last (or 2nd to last, after rereading this, haha!) post I will ever write regarding comprehensive exams.

BECAUSE I AM COMPLETELY DONE.

I cannot describe the elation I felt yesterday after being called in after an hour of inquisitive questioning and hearing from my adviser, “Congratulations!” And then from my dissertation chair, “You’re ABD (which we joke stands for “All but done” but really just means you have everything complete but the dissertation)!!” My committee members hugged me and congratulated me, and I just stood there like I was in a dream. It felt like a dream. On the drive back home, the colors of the trees were more vibrant, the sun was brighter, and I read the most un-intelligent/research book I could think of. Sunday night I read “Analyzing Media Messages” while soaking in the tub. Last night, the book did not enter my house.

The one hour of questioning went by fast – and, really, it only lasted about 50 minutes. But they were looking for such specific answers that sometimes, it was hard for me to figure out what they wanted. I would ramble on for about five minutes and then when I finally said what they wanted, they would stop me and say, “That’s fine. That’s what I wanted to know.”

It’s just so…freeing. I’m giving myself today off before I hit the road and start working on my dissertation. Mainly cause…ugh, who wants to work on a dissertation when it’s so beautiful outside??

I was a bit surprised by my post-comps reaction as well. I had a plan to cathartically burn all my notes from comps, but, after it was over, I couldn’t help but think, “Well, it wasn’t really all that bad.”

What I’ve been happy to note is how God has used comps to show me another little piece of myself, something to help me again focus on others. He did it earlier with the buying/selling house fun that we went through this summer, but there was another little facet of knowledge that I took out from my comps experience – besides learning about Scott’s Pi, research methods, and diffusion of innovation theory. But I’ll get to that later this week.

In the meantime, happy (late) Halloween and happy November!!! (And, please shave your legs. There’s apparently a Twitter hashtag about November being a don’t-shave-your-legs month. Um…no. That is all.)

Comps

I can now discuss what will forever be known as “That Awful Week.”

We headed down to Super Duper on Sunday, Oct. 3 to begin my week o’ comps. By Tuesday, I told Kyle that I was a bit sad that the week would be known as “That Awful Week” because there were some wonderful times…like eating at some amazing restaurants…running whenever I wanted…going to the zoo!...being with Kyle…There were some pleasant moments, but, overall, the week was Awful. Why? Because of comps.

By Thursday, I told my professor I knew why I was only tested in the morning – because it took me all afternoon to convince myself to go back the next day. It was a long, stressful week, but I’m proud to say that my efforts (and everyone’s prayers!) have paid off.

I passed comps!!

Okay, technically I passed “written” comps, as I have orals still to take, but that will only be an hour. Yes, it will be an awful hour, but it’s an hour. Hallelujah.

Last Friday, I was going a bit nuts because I was supposed to hear back on that day of whether I passed or failed. I waited…and waited…and called…and left messages lol…no response. Then, today:

“Congratulations! You have passed the written comps exam.”

I couldn’t ask for a better birthday gift. =)

Oh, yeah, did I mention it was my birthday? And that today is ROCKING??!! It probably didn’t hurt that I received this little box in the mail yesterday.

Happy birthmonth to me!