Well, let's just pretend I never left. Won't that just be easier on us all? Just business as usual here...
This past Sunday, we spent Mother's Day up at my parents' house, and had a lovely little family-filled afternoon, showering this cherished woman with love. Here is a picture of me and Mom:
I can't help but feel like a giant every time I look at that picture. She's just so dainty. And here is a picture of both of the mothers among us that day. They're some good ones. And I love that little Alli can always be found cuddling and mingling and trying to convince her aunts (or uncles, or Granny or Grandaddy, etc.) to come play a game with her. She's just so irresistible. And here are Drew and Evan, in lego-land: Also that weekend, on Saturday, we went to a wedding of friends Jessica & David. So more picture opportunities. I'm just a big fan of pictures really. I think that I am incapable of posting unless there is some sort of visual aid associated with my writing. Maybe that's why I fizzled... too many barriers to success. But really, it just makes things a little more interesting, don't you think?
Anyways, here is a nice group shot of some great friends: And one with the fabulous bride and her new hubby: And an excuse to put up a picture of Lee in a suit. I like a nice suit. Especially on a cute fella. Apparently mid-sentence, but unfortunately this is the best I got!
So that's a glimpse of our lovely little weekend, filled with lovely celebrations of lovely people.
This is just a dipping of toes back into the water... starting out very slowly. Let's not get too hasty or make any sudden movements. No one can be too sure yet... but I think I might be feeling a little blog action coming on... stay tuned... baby steps...
The commercials during the Olympics really pull at my heart strings... You know they're good when the tears well up just before the commercial ends, as they give the product they're promoting... Here are a couple that get me every time.
Ugh! I just watched them again and they didn't disappoint! I'm putty in the advertisers' hands.
Lee let me know. I'm glad we have each other to keep us in check.
I'm deep into the world of grad school, so I am finding it hard to think of witty and insightful thoughts to bring to my audience that don't center on the daily woes of a graduate student. Here is a nice summary of my daily existence:
title: "Ready, set..."
And I have sadly come to truly appreciate the website PhD Comics. I realize this makes me the ultimate of nerds, and I make my pledge to not bring up the latest comics in general conversation. But, these little strips of humor bring me the light that says that I am not alone in this bizarro world of academia. I stumbled upon this one that changed my life:
title: "Grad student etiquette"
I thought I was the only one who had physical reactions to the questions "What are you working on? How's that going?" or "When are you graduating again?" This one gave me the courage to come out of the closet. When I graduate, don't worry, the chorus of angels from heaven will let everyone know.
And for a couple of other updates that I know you guys have been in suspense over for far too long!... Jeff Probst did in fact bring up Shambo's mullet, and she DID have it on the finale! I knew she wouldn't let me down. And as for the finale of So You Think You Can Dance, the four dancers that I listed ended up being the final four, which I was very pleasantly surprised to see. Russell ended up winning, which I was a little surprised about, but was ok with. It's likely that no one remembers what I'm referring to, but ya know, just following through with my promises. Now we all have closure, whew.
This document is pretty funny... people who didn't study for their tests. Page 1 reminds me of a lot of tests I graded this semester (a lot of words for the sake of words, communicating nothing). Page 7 very much reminds me of homeworks that I handed in for the class that I just took. Page 8 (the one about cats) made me laugh until I had tears in my eyes. Is that bad? (you can click Fullscreen to see it a little better, or click the little zoom buttons)
Iiiiiiit's official!! The semester is OVER and I can see those memories coming back of a healthy, balanced Erin who did things like work out and clean her house. And what is the best thing about Christmas break?? CHRISTMAS! And I can now embrace it.
Let me back up a bit before I get to the wonderfulness, and review previous events. It was just a pretty jam-packed semester. I'm sure I had rough semesters in undergrad, but that was back in the days when I lived on campus, so I just walked out my door to get to class or to go to the gym, I had luxuries such as the dining hall and a dorm room, so no cooking or cleaning, and I certainly didn't have bills or many responsibilities. So all I really had to do was school. But now, having a rough semester is only compounded by the general responsibilities that come with the "adult" world, or really, just the constant nagging feeling that I'm neglecting them all. Anyway, back to the rough semester. I can't say I handled it with grace... but I "handled" it. And now it's done. I pulled more all-nighters this semester than I can remember ever pulling. And the recent feat of amazingness that my body survived was the survival of 2 consecutive all-nighters. Not planned, but here's what happened. I stayed up all Monday night to get the ridiculous 20-page Senior Design technical reports graded, with some sort of meaningful comments. At some point during that evening, I realized that my Probabilistic Models final exam that I thought was on Thursday was in fact on Wednesday at 8am. Hence the second all-nighter. But don't worry, I slept 13 hours on Wednesday night, and was officially a sloth all day today. And am soaking in the feelings of a well-earned break.
SO on to the Christmas cheer. And Lee and I have a date to go see "A Christmas Carol" with Jim Carrey on Saturday night. I'm pretty excited. And in honor of my month of working from home, I ordered a bunch of "lounging" clothes online today. Some super comfy looking fleece pants and some hoodies, etc. I can't wait for my month of cozyness. But don't worry, I also plan to resume some sort of working out regimen, so no need to plan an intervention.
I watched So You Think You Can Dance on my DVR today, and it was a tragic loss... Legacy was eliminated :( It was painful. I don't want to talk about it. Also, same episode, Mollee got eliminated. And that was pretty painful as well. She wasn't necessarily one of my favorites, but she looked more sad than anyone I think I've ever seen. You know how when little kids get themselves into a sobbing cry and they cry until they're exhausted (she didn't do that), and then once they're tired they just look tragic and every once in a while they do a couple of quick little inhales because they're not quite done crying? That's what she kept doing, those little breaths of her world being crushed. And her face looked pi-ti-ful. So she made me very sad. Anyway, next week is the finale, so I will be sure to report who the winner is. At this point I really think they are all amazing. There are 6 left, but I would be really happy if it were Kathryn (one of my original favorites), Russell, or Jakob. Russell just seems so precious, like he is probably one of the nicest people on the planet. And Jakob might honestly be the best dancer I've ever seen. He's amazing. Here is a broadway dance he did with Mollee this week:
And also, while I'm on the topic, here is a video of another group of dancers called "The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers" that they had on the show I think last week. You need to watch it, they are amazing, I promise it's worth 3 minutes of your time!
You think if I showed up in a beginner's dance class I would get kicked out? Have a great weekend!!
Apparently mid-sentence, but unfortunately this is the best I got!
