So… I officially started my new job yesterday. I am working on a project that is federally funded by the AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) at the FSU College of Medicine. The University and the State have dumped a lot of money into the College of Medicine, so its pretty swank… no tile floors… lots of offices… not nail holes in the walls… lots of the nice heavy furniture. I park in a lot that is between the soccer field and the Med School. And its amazing.
There have been two studies to date that examine post-discharge adverse events. So when someone goes to the hospital and they are discharged, some have negative events. Like they might go home and have an infection, or a heart attack or whatever. This study is going to follow individuals who are discharged to determine if they have a negative event and what factors are associated with them. It’s pretty much amazing. Its only the second study of this kind to be performed in the United States. Plus we have some big timers on the grant, so its possible this might get in some of the bigger journals (like American Journal of Public Health or Journal of the American Medical Association). Frankly, I am going to have a kitten if I am co-author on a paper that gets accepted to JAMA. Because then I will just have to tell all those sociology snobs that think the only place to publish is ARS to kiss my ass. Just sayin…
In any case, I have my own office. I have dual monitors. In reality, that is all I need in life. And you think I am being a nerd, because you have never rocked the dual monitor situation. Once you go to two, you never go back… you can have your email on one side, and your web browser on the other. You can have your email on one side a Word document with the blog post you are writing to your family on the other. Boo yah!! Know what is also awesome? My computer, the network, the internetz are blazing… and, I have the browser I want (google chrome), not IE7, which sucks. I also have new office. Which is also cool… I swear everytime I wanted to do something in MS Office that wasn’t straight typing, I always had to google how to do it because, really? Who still uses Office 1997-2003?
Of course, I am in the honey moon phase of pimping out my office. I have a 7 foot tall bookshelf and lots of space for my files… which means that I can take all the books/binders/articles, etc that I have from when I was evicted from my office in the pop center, which are currently residing in haphazard stacks all over our back porch. I am sure Dave is going to be happy about this.
Showing posts with label academic life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label academic life. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Hey Mama, Hey Nico.
So we have an interesting new development with Nico... he has apparently convinced himself to cry at the drop of a hat. And not likey whiny baby whining... full on, meltdown crying his face off crying. Yes... its pretty exciting. And by that I mean, not at all.
One thing he is doing that is pretty fun is he says, "Hey Nico" kinda randomly. I am trying to turn that into "Hey mama" to which I reply, "Hey Nico."
In the job market report: I asked another professor at FSU to write a letter of recomendation for me. To which she agreed (which was actually a surprise, because I would have told me no.) The reason I asked is that she has known me longer than some of the others I probably could have asked (like profs that served on my dissertation committee). But I think she could speak to my development as a human and as a scholar. But maybe that is the lesson...sometimes some people just need to catch a break. I feel like this is me catching a break.
Right now my list of applications looks like this (this list is based only on positions that have been posted and for which I may qualify):
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (LaCrosse, WI)
Luther College (Decorah, IA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Denison College (Granvile, OH)
Franklin College (Franklin, IN)
U of New Mexico (Albuerqueque, NM).
Know what else is me catching a break? The article I worked on last year with IE (based on the poster we presented at PAA)? Its being made into a TV movie!! Holla! Okay, not really. Its not being made into a TV movie. It is, however, being published by Springer in a text called, "Applied Demography and Public Health." Isn't that sexy? I am resisting the urge to run my happy self to publix for celebratory cupcakes and beer. What? I can't drink beer at work? What if I am a published author? Can I drink beer now? No. Can I interest you in a cupcake?
One thing he is doing that is pretty fun is he says, "Hey Nico" kinda randomly. I am trying to turn that into "Hey mama" to which I reply, "Hey Nico."
In the job market report: I asked another professor at FSU to write a letter of recomendation for me. To which she agreed (which was actually a surprise, because I would have told me no.) The reason I asked is that she has known me longer than some of the others I probably could have asked (like profs that served on my dissertation committee). But I think she could speak to my development as a human and as a scholar. But maybe that is the lesson...sometimes some people just need to catch a break. I feel like this is me catching a break.
Right now my list of applications looks like this (this list is based only on positions that have been posted and for which I may qualify):
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (LaCrosse, WI)
Luther College (Decorah, IA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Denison College (Granvile, OH)
Franklin College (Franklin, IN)
U of New Mexico (Albuerqueque, NM).
Know what else is me catching a break? The article I worked on last year with IE (based on the poster we presented at PAA)? Its being made into a TV movie!! Holla! Okay, not really. Its not being made into a TV movie. It is, however, being published by Springer in a text called, "Applied Demography and Public Health." Isn't that sexy? I am resisting the urge to run my happy self to publix for celebratory cupcakes and beer. What? I can't drink beer at work? What if I am a published author? Can I drink beer now? No. Can I interest you in a cupcake?
Friday, February 25, 2011
State Cup and Nic Cage...
Not much new to report- except that the weekend is almost here. That is pretty exciting. Even more exciting? Dave and I are going on a date. Oh yeah, don't be jealous! We haven't decided what we are going to do, except that we want to try out the Midtown Filling Station- which is a new place to eat. He also mentioned that he might like to see Unknown (Liam Neeson's new movie). I think this is a pretty good idea, because I liked this movie the last time I saw it when it was called Taken. No seriously- can you ever go wrong with Liam Neeson? No, I don't beleive you can... unlike Nicholas Cage. Seriously, I think I am going to have to explain to Nico when gets old enough that he is not named for Nic Cage and that if I could go back and undo something in this life, it would be most of the movies he has made since National Treasure 2 (I do cut him a little slack because I actually liked the National Treasure movies). But seriously? Ghost Rider? Really? Drive Angry? He needs his a$$ kicked.
We got our state cup schedule this week. There were only four women's teams who registered for the tournament, so we go straight to the semifinals (whoot?). The tournament (as it were) is supposed to happen May 14-15 in Auburndale, Florida (about an hour southwest of Orlando- or as my friend Jen insists on referring to it as, "Whorelando.")That is pretty exciting.
That is about it... been trying to push and get a paper done. Its supposed to be a chapter in a book that is going to be published later this year. They want it March 10. Plus then, I have to turn around and put together a poster for PAA, which is in D.C. Am thinking about taking my new camera gear and take a day to have a walk about in D.C. I mean, it's basically my hood.
Have a great weekend.
We got our state cup schedule this week. There were only four women's teams who registered for the tournament, so we go straight to the semifinals (whoot?). The tournament (as it were) is supposed to happen May 14-15 in Auburndale, Florida (about an hour southwest of Orlando- or as my friend Jen insists on referring to it as, "Whorelando.")That is pretty exciting.
That is about it... been trying to push and get a paper done. Its supposed to be a chapter in a book that is going to be published later this year. They want it March 10. Plus then, I have to turn around and put together a poster for PAA, which is in D.C. Am thinking about taking my new camera gear and take a day to have a walk about in D.C. I mean, it's basically my hood.
Have a great weekend.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Picture it: Tallahassee 2011....
The Weekend- is never long enough. Seriously.
I went to campus on Saturday morning to do some analyses and work on some data. Ike and I have a poster at PAA in D.C. at the end of next month? Yikes, it seems really close when one puts it that way. I didnt get to get to all the stuff I wanted to on account of the fact that Nico wouldn't take a nap for Dave. I get home and start to work my magic, but the boy doesn't get to sleep till nearly 3pm. For real, he is usually awake from nap by 230 pm. Off the chain!
We went over to Mike and Margot Bender's house for dinner. They are pretty much a couple living our life in an alternate plain- he is in the press corps, she is working on a PhD at FSU (in communications). They have been married maybe a couple of years, but lived together for several before making it official. They are currently pregnant (with a girl). Good people. Nico was pretty okay- got into EVERYTHING. But was overall pretty well behaved. Since Nico doesn't often have blowouts, I have gotten OUT of the habit of carrying a change of clothes for him everywhere. Well, he was in a cloth diaper, and managed to soak through to his pants, so he spent most of the evening in just a shirt and a diaper. Seriously, how redneck is that?
We also started BBUSC this week. Sundays are basically just pickup sessions. We had a pretty good turnout. We are in the process of putting together a tournament team for a Tallahassee tournament in March, which means that I don't really get much of a break from the highschool and club seasons. But, it is what it is, I guess. So after soccer on Sunday, we rode back into town, grabbed some noms for the ball game and settled in to watch commercials. I really could have cared less for the actual outcome of the game. I know that I should cheer for the Steelers because Uncle Rock has been a lifelong fan. But, I am ideologically opposed to rapists, so I was left to cheer for the Packers.
In other news, I bought a camera this weekend.
So that is that. I ordered the camera from Amazon the other day. In one sense, I am pretty excited. I can finally get Ma Bishop off my back :) Now, all I have to do to win Daughter of the Year is to take Dave and Nico on the Amazing Race and WIN (while beating Cheerleaders). Take that, Nicole!!
I went to campus on Saturday morning to do some analyses and work on some data. Ike and I have a poster at PAA in D.C. at the end of next month? Yikes, it seems really close when one puts it that way. I didnt get to get to all the stuff I wanted to on account of the fact that Nico wouldn't take a nap for Dave. I get home and start to work my magic, but the boy doesn't get to sleep till nearly 3pm. For real, he is usually awake from nap by 230 pm. Off the chain!
We went over to Mike and Margot Bender's house for dinner. They are pretty much a couple living our life in an alternate plain- he is in the press corps, she is working on a PhD at FSU (in communications). They have been married maybe a couple of years, but lived together for several before making it official. They are currently pregnant (with a girl). Good people. Nico was pretty okay- got into EVERYTHING. But was overall pretty well behaved. Since Nico doesn't often have blowouts, I have gotten OUT of the habit of carrying a change of clothes for him everywhere. Well, he was in a cloth diaper, and managed to soak through to his pants, so he spent most of the evening in just a shirt and a diaper. Seriously, how redneck is that?
We also started BBUSC this week. Sundays are basically just pickup sessions. We had a pretty good turnout. We are in the process of putting together a tournament team for a Tallahassee tournament in March, which means that I don't really get much of a break from the highschool and club seasons. But, it is what it is, I guess. So after soccer on Sunday, we rode back into town, grabbed some noms for the ball game and settled in to watch commercials. I really could have cared less for the actual outcome of the game. I know that I should cheer for the Steelers because Uncle Rock has been a lifelong fan. But, I am ideologically opposed to rapists, so I was left to cheer for the Packers.
In other news, I bought a camera this weekend.
So that is that. I ordered the camera from Amazon the other day. In one sense, I am pretty excited. I can finally get Ma Bishop off my back :) Now, all I have to do to win Daughter of the Year is to take Dave and Nico on the Amazing Race and WIN (while beating Cheerleaders). Take that, Nicole!!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Great week!!
Oh happy day!! Such a great week, thus far!!
It started last week when I graduated. And just a shade under a decade, alright... yeah... it was pretty cool. I was sort of nonplussed about the whole thing. To me, the real accomplishment was defending- back in October. Plus I am a sociologist, so there is the whole social construction of ceremony thing. I didn't really "get it" until I was walking into the Civic Center, passed 1800 other graduates... it was pretty cool.
Here I am with my Yoda/dissertation advisor/mentor, Ike. This was before the ceremony. I dont know how many of you know (or better yet care), but for PhDs, they call you onto stage and your advisor puts the hood on you (its the blue thing he is wearing around his neck). It hangs down your back and is symbolic of the university and discipline where you recieved your PhD.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep my hood or gown. Apparently I only rented them for the ceremony (which is kind of BS, I think). In the event that I end up as faculty at a university, I will have to probably order the get up, so that I can walk at graduation.
One sort of surprising thing, was that my Dad came to my graduation. Surprising because he was sort of surprised too. He came up to Wakulla to go hunting with a buddy. When he realized that he was so close to Tallahassee, he realized that he could come to graduation... which was pretty cool. Definitely out of the blue, but nice. Mom and JJ watched the graduation webcast (and drank wine!!)
We cleaned the house this weekend. My mom was due to come up to deliver Christmas gifts, plus help with Childcare this week (Nico is out of daycare till Jan 4). So far we've had a pretty good time cooking and doing crafts in the evenings. She and Nico have been having a blast during the day. Nico isn't being rotten the whole time, although yesterday he was on a tear when I got home. For some reason, he seemed intent on being destructive, for the sake of being destructive. Usually he happens to destroy on accident, like he tears up something because he is interested in it... yesterday he was just tearing stuff off of shelves and tables and just throwing it on the floor just because. ROTTEN.
Our two games got canceled this week, on account of other teams not wanting to get their asses handed to themselves in the cold. Which is kind of a bummer- since we were looking forward to the wins (is that cocky to say?) Also, a WHS student commited suicide over the weekend, so a bunch of the soccer girls are taking it kind of hard (I guess they all knew her). It would have been nice to have the distraction of games, to help get their minds off all that.
Since we aren't practicing, Mom and I are going to go to Joanns with Nico, plus get some frozen yogurt and maybe some cupcakes today (yeah, how do you like me now?). I am looking forward to tying up some loose ends with shopping this weekend- looking forward to spending time in the line at the post office next week. Woo hoo!!
All for now!
It started last week when I graduated. And just a shade under a decade, alright... yeah... it was pretty cool. I was sort of nonplussed about the whole thing. To me, the real accomplishment was defending- back in October. Plus I am a sociologist, so there is the whole social construction of ceremony thing. I didn't really "get it" until I was walking into the Civic Center, passed 1800 other graduates... it was pretty cool.
Here I am with my Yoda/dissertation advisor/mentor, Ike. This was before the ceremony. I dont know how many of you know (or better yet care), but for PhDs, they call you onto stage and your advisor puts the hood on you (its the blue thing he is wearing around his neck). It hangs down your back and is symbolic of the university and discipline where you recieved your PhD.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep my hood or gown. Apparently I only rented them for the ceremony (which is kind of BS, I think). In the event that I end up as faculty at a university, I will have to probably order the get up, so that I can walk at graduation.
One sort of surprising thing, was that my Dad came to my graduation. Surprising because he was sort of surprised too. He came up to Wakulla to go hunting with a buddy. When he realized that he was so close to Tallahassee, he realized that he could come to graduation... which was pretty cool. Definitely out of the blue, but nice. Mom and JJ watched the graduation webcast (and drank wine!!)
We cleaned the house this weekend. My mom was due to come up to deliver Christmas gifts, plus help with Childcare this week (Nico is out of daycare till Jan 4). So far we've had a pretty good time cooking and doing crafts in the evenings. She and Nico have been having a blast during the day. Nico isn't being rotten the whole time, although yesterday he was on a tear when I got home. For some reason, he seemed intent on being destructive, for the sake of being destructive. Usually he happens to destroy on accident, like he tears up something because he is interested in it... yesterday he was just tearing stuff off of shelves and tables and just throwing it on the floor just because. ROTTEN.
Our two games got canceled this week, on account of other teams not wanting to get their asses handed to themselves in the cold. Which is kind of a bummer- since we were looking forward to the wins (is that cocky to say?) Also, a WHS student commited suicide over the weekend, so a bunch of the soccer girls are taking it kind of hard (I guess they all knew her). It would have been nice to have the distraction of games, to help get their minds off all that.
Since we aren't practicing, Mom and I are going to go to Joanns with Nico, plus get some frozen yogurt and maybe some cupcakes today (yeah, how do you like me now?). I am looking forward to tying up some loose ends with shopping this weekend- looking forward to spending time in the line at the post office next week. Woo hoo!!
All for now!
Monday, October 11, 2010
A long drive and some pumpkins...
So- we had a brilliant weekend around here.
My conference in Tennessee went well. Its the regional demography conference... and reminded me how awesome research and being an academic is. One of my academic idols was there- came to the session I was in. If you dont consider me, it was largely a gathering of authors from IE's mortality reading list. I still get nervous as hell in front of a crowd. I turned into Klutzo McKlutzerson when I stood up for my presentation. They had set up the laptop and projector on a table about five feet away from the podium. Which forced me to stand in front of the screen sort of... so I get up there and am like, "Let me just set this up the way it should be"- thinking I would move the laptop and stand by the podium... turns out the cord wasnt long enough and I stepped on the power cord and practically tripped myself onto the table. And it pretty much went downhill from there. It's weird because I definitely felt more comfortable last year... this year I was definitely rocking that "I'm nervous and my mouth is dry" voice- which I totally hate.
In any case, I got some good feedback, which was the point.
On the way back, I stopped off in Athens for lunch with RLSM who I was roommates with in college. She has a boy who is about 2 and a new baby. We got the chance to catch up and it was a lot of fun. After I left Athens, I took the back way down to Cleveland, which I have never done. Despite living in Cleveland for almost 4 years, I had no idea that there was so much farm land in the surrounding area. With windows down and good music on the ipod, it was a nice drive.
I caught some of the Lee women's soccer game. They are a completely different team from hte one I played on all those years ago. Its amazing... they play with such purpose, such speed and pace. And they all seemed to be those tough girls you can't take the ball from. You know, in reality, there is one of those on any team... a girl who can hang onto the ball despite the fact that you're hacking her... well, this team had 10 girls on the pitch like that. Deadly on fast breaks and set pieces. They were fun to watch.
I got home early on Sunday and Nico was glad to see me. He's into actual hugging now. Like before, he'd just sort of put is hands on your shoulders and his head on your neck... now its actual hugging. And he was very smiley. It was awesome!! I also had some great mail when I came home, including a pumpkin shirt for Nico from Nicody and EmmeMax. Turns out Dave put it on my desk not realizing there was a pen without a cap on it (who leaves an uncapped pen laying about?) So Nico had red ink on the neck of his shirt before he even had a chance to wear it. Not to be swayed, we put the shirt on him anyways and went out for some fun. Some of the ink came off on his neck and now it looks like he burned the hell out of himself with a curling iron or something. Hopefully his school wont call DCF.
We had a great lunch at Rays (love that place) and hit up the pumpkin patch. I was hoping to get some good pictures of us as a family (since I have so few). Nico wasn't so much a fan... sure he thought the pumpkins were cool... for about 5 minutes. After that, he spent most of his time tearing everything up and trying to get away. We got some little pumpkins to decorate with stickers and a big guy to carve. Which we did last night and by we, I mean me... because Nico wasn't pulling his weight (per usual) and the smell of pumpkins is not on Dave's list of great smells. Nico is a little scared of the jack o lattern's face- which is weird because I purposely tried not to make a scary face.
Will try to post video and pics later... or not. Tryouts start today and I see me getting my a$$ kicked for the next week :(
All for now.
My conference in Tennessee went well. Its the regional demography conference... and reminded me how awesome research and being an academic is. One of my academic idols was there- came to the session I was in. If you dont consider me, it was largely a gathering of authors from IE's mortality reading list. I still get nervous as hell in front of a crowd. I turned into Klutzo McKlutzerson when I stood up for my presentation. They had set up the laptop and projector on a table about five feet away from the podium. Which forced me to stand in front of the screen sort of... so I get up there and am like, "Let me just set this up the way it should be"- thinking I would move the laptop and stand by the podium... turns out the cord wasnt long enough and I stepped on the power cord and practically tripped myself onto the table. And it pretty much went downhill from there. It's weird because I definitely felt more comfortable last year... this year I was definitely rocking that "I'm nervous and my mouth is dry" voice- which I totally hate.
In any case, I got some good feedback, which was the point.
On the way back, I stopped off in Athens for lunch with RLSM who I was roommates with in college. She has a boy who is about 2 and a new baby. We got the chance to catch up and it was a lot of fun. After I left Athens, I took the back way down to Cleveland, which I have never done. Despite living in Cleveland for almost 4 years, I had no idea that there was so much farm land in the surrounding area. With windows down and good music on the ipod, it was a nice drive.
I caught some of the Lee women's soccer game. They are a completely different team from hte one I played on all those years ago. Its amazing... they play with such purpose, such speed and pace. And they all seemed to be those tough girls you can't take the ball from. You know, in reality, there is one of those on any team... a girl who can hang onto the ball despite the fact that you're hacking her... well, this team had 10 girls on the pitch like that. Deadly on fast breaks and set pieces. They were fun to watch.
I got home early on Sunday and Nico was glad to see me. He's into actual hugging now. Like before, he'd just sort of put is hands on your shoulders and his head on your neck... now its actual hugging. And he was very smiley. It was awesome!! I also had some great mail when I came home, including a pumpkin shirt for Nico from Nicody and EmmeMax. Turns out Dave put it on my desk not realizing there was a pen without a cap on it (who leaves an uncapped pen laying about?) So Nico had red ink on the neck of his shirt before he even had a chance to wear it. Not to be swayed, we put the shirt on him anyways and went out for some fun. Some of the ink came off on his neck and now it looks like he burned the hell out of himself with a curling iron or something. Hopefully his school wont call DCF.
We had a great lunch at Rays (love that place) and hit up the pumpkin patch. I was hoping to get some good pictures of us as a family (since I have so few). Nico wasn't so much a fan... sure he thought the pumpkins were cool... for about 5 minutes. After that, he spent most of his time tearing everything up and trying to get away. We got some little pumpkins to decorate with stickers and a big guy to carve. Which we did last night and by we, I mean me... because Nico wasn't pulling his weight (per usual) and the smell of pumpkins is not on Dave's list of great smells. Nico is a little scared of the jack o lattern's face- which is weird because I purposely tried not to make a scary face.
Will try to post video and pics later... or not. Tryouts start today and I see me getting my a$$ kicked for the next week :(
All for now.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Headed to the BIG 4-2-3!!
Seriously, can't you just eat this guy up? He is pretty much adorable.
So my birthday is next week... I know, you're pretty excited too!! It is, afterall, a national holiday. NiCody and MaxEmme sent me an early gift earlier this week:
It's a canvas with one of the pictures from the Jake Moore photoshoot. I love it because Nico looks mischevious. He looks like he knows he has to be good this very second, but is thinking, "Ma, as soon as you put me down I am tearing everything up! It. Is. On!" It is a very cool gift and I am very happy with it!!
Headed to Knoxville today for the Southern Demographic Conference. We had originally talked about the whole Bishop-Royse fam going... but when you factor in the fact that there is practice tonight (and Saturday), dealing with the dogs, etc. its easier if I just run up to Knoxville and come home. Speaking of which, yeah!! Knoxville! The Big 4-2-3!! My old stompin' grounds!! I am going to slide by Clevegas on the way back to check out a Lee womens soccer game. BTW- for those of you who don't get the Lee Magazine- did you know that my alma matter is the repeat NAIA Championship team? Yeah, totally. They won the NAIA title in 2008 and 2009. For those of you who dont know what NAIA is, its basically another athletic association. There is a lot of variability in the teams... some amazing and crazy awesome teams (like Birmingham Southern and Berry) some middle of the road teams (like US) and some terrible teams (like Trevecca Nazarene). In any case, the rules about eligibility are a little different in NAIA, so we tended to have a LOT of foreign players (including the year we played against Milligan, whose Mercy Akide and Flo ____________ were on a break from their National Team duty with Nigeria followng the world cup to single handedly beat us 12-0. Thankfully, only 5 of those were on me...). In any case, two years after I left, our coach switched to the boys side and they got a great coach for the women... who put the time, the effort, the recruiting into making Lee a top notch program. 6 years later, National Champs!!
So I am going to miss the boys. Knowing my luck, Dave and Nico are going to be doing lots of funs this weekend! They always wait till I am either out of town or working to do fun stuff...
All for now!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Rotten
So- I passed my doctoral defense on Friday. It is a strange feeling indeed. No, I didn't run amok tearing up the town. Dave and I had talked about doing something on Saturday afternoon/evening, but the tentative plans I made with the sitter fell through. So we just hung out with Nico this weekend. Friday night involved partaking in the seemingly endless supply of german beer that is in our fridge (HoffBrau) and pizza. Mmmmm. I think we were in bed by 1000 pm :( sadface.
I think I am still in shock over the whole thing... so I will wait to describe it more eloquently until I have some perspective... maybe when I walk. Or not. :)
We went to Savi's birthday party on Saturday. She just turned one and is a total ham. Their place has an open floor plan, where one, could if one were so inclined run a big circle around the kitchen, living room and foyer. Know what is awesomeness? A whole line of little kids doing this... which one dorky adult (me). After we left the party, Nico and I did a couple of errands and headed home. I stayed up late sewing and watching bad movies on Netflix. Sunday was pretty low key with Dave and Nico going to IHOP for morning noms. Seriously, the boy cant get enough of pancakes. For real. After eating 3 blueberry pancakes at IHOP he was trying to get some of my regular pancakes for second breakfast. I know!! Just like Uncle Billy!!
When we were at Target on Friday getting birthday gifts for Savi- I could not resist a toy piano for Nico. See, there is this company that makes toys that I love... they are Made in America and are great colors. Made out of recycled materials. We have set of cars and a play cell phone for Nico. I have ben eyeing this piano for a couple of months now... and finally broke down and got it... its one of those toys that Dave and I will probably get more use out of than Nico will... it even has a microphone... its pretty much amazing. And like most toys we get, Nico is a lot more interested in the box than the actual toy. So we spent some time playing music on Sunday. Nico is basically the next J.S. Bach. For real. Dont be jealous.
Late yesterday afternoon, Dave went to play soccer. After a brief stop at the yogurt place, we went to watch. While Daddy did get shelled, Nico tore everything up. He was trying to get onto the field and basically get into EVERYTHING. Here is is pretending to be good for a minute:
Those are the shorts I made him (blue and red crabs). They are still weird in the waist band... which is okay, since they are kind of play shorts at this point. So I wasnt terribly annoyed when he decided to sit in a puddle by the water fountain. What a hot mess!!
I think I am still in shock over the whole thing... so I will wait to describe it more eloquently until I have some perspective... maybe when I walk. Or not. :)
We went to Savi's birthday party on Saturday. She just turned one and is a total ham. Their place has an open floor plan, where one, could if one were so inclined run a big circle around the kitchen, living room and foyer. Know what is awesomeness? A whole line of little kids doing this... which one dorky adult (me). After we left the party, Nico and I did a couple of errands and headed home. I stayed up late sewing and watching bad movies on Netflix. Sunday was pretty low key with Dave and Nico going to IHOP for morning noms. Seriously, the boy cant get enough of pancakes. For real. After eating 3 blueberry pancakes at IHOP he was trying to get some of my regular pancakes for second breakfast. I know!! Just like Uncle Billy!!
When we were at Target on Friday getting birthday gifts for Savi- I could not resist a toy piano for Nico. See, there is this company that makes toys that I love... they are Made in America and are great colors. Made out of recycled materials. We have set of cars and a play cell phone for Nico. I have ben eyeing this piano for a couple of months now... and finally broke down and got it... its one of those toys that Dave and I will probably get more use out of than Nico will... it even has a microphone... its pretty much amazing. And like most toys we get, Nico is a lot more interested in the box than the actual toy. So we spent some time playing music on Sunday. Nico is basically the next J.S. Bach. For real. Dont be jealous.
Late yesterday afternoon, Dave went to play soccer. After a brief stop at the yogurt place, we went to watch. While Daddy did get shelled, Nico tore everything up. He was trying to get onto the field and basically get into EVERYTHING. Here is is pretending to be good for a minute:
Those are the shorts I made him (blue and red crabs). They are still weird in the waist band... which is okay, since they are kind of play shorts at this point. So I wasnt terribly annoyed when he decided to sit in a puddle by the water fountain. What a hot mess!!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
I Heart Three Day Weekends
You guys know that scene in just about any Disney film, where the protagonist, some lithe teenager with perfect features and dainty feet dances in the meadow with birds singing and butterflies alighting on her shoulders? I felt like that this weekend. For real...
So it started last week when a routine email to our department register person uncovered a slight, er... make that a WHAT THE HELL kind of problem. You see, the University requires that if you plan to graduate, that you not only register to graduate but hand in a bunch of paperwork... before the end of the second week of the semester. MILKA-WHAT? So, despite the fact that I have seen this email every semester for the last emails (the one that includes information on all the sh*t that needs to be done to graduate), guess who didn't think that applied to her this year? Yeah, that would be me. So, luckily, I was able to sneak onto campus on Friday and do said paperwork. Mostly it was just a form and a copy of my IRB re-up. So... I guess it has begun. I guess am going to be graduating this December? Weird... WHAT??
So, if that weren't weird enough, I submitted the dissertation to my committee. Yes, you did just read that right... TO THE COMMITTEE. Milka-what? Guess what? I am even asking them to pick out defense dates. WHAT? Yes, actual, bonafide defense dates. Where in, I go and present to them my research and attempt to convince them that it is time for them to let me go. Its not them, its me...
Or as someone posted on my facebook page:
Ha!!
So, I did that on Saturday morning, which meant that I was free for the whole weekend... mostly. I did have to do some school stuff... but for the most part, I had some funs this weekend with my favorite boys. And while it was great (we went to CrepeVine, we hung out at the house relaxing, etc.) I was looking forward to doing some writing and the next steps. They say that that when you are a researcher, you should always have three papers in progress... one where you are working on sorting the ideas out, figuring out uhow to do the data analysis, etc. another, which is where you are doing active writing and re-writing. And a third that is either under review or under revision. I realized that this is me right now... and that it would be great to have about 8-10 hours to tackle some of this...
So it started last week when a routine email to our department register person uncovered a slight, er... make that a WHAT THE HELL kind of problem. You see, the University requires that if you plan to graduate, that you not only register to graduate but hand in a bunch of paperwork... before the end of the second week of the semester. MILKA-WHAT? So, despite the fact that I have seen this email every semester for the last emails (the one that includes information on all the sh*t that needs to be done to graduate), guess who didn't think that applied to her this year? Yeah, that would be me. So, luckily, I was able to sneak onto campus on Friday and do said paperwork. Mostly it was just a form and a copy of my IRB re-up. So... I guess it has begun. I guess am going to be graduating this December? Weird... WHAT??
So, if that weren't weird enough, I submitted the dissertation to my committee. Yes, you did just read that right... TO THE COMMITTEE. Milka-what? Guess what? I am even asking them to pick out defense dates. WHAT? Yes, actual, bonafide defense dates. Where in, I go and present to them my research and attempt to convince them that it is time for them to let me go. Its not them, its me...
Or as someone posted on my facebook page:
So, I did that on Saturday morning, which meant that I was free for the whole weekend... mostly. I did have to do some school stuff... but for the most part, I had some funs this weekend with my favorite boys. And while it was great (we went to CrepeVine, we hung out at the house relaxing, etc.) I was looking forward to doing some writing and the next steps. They say that that when you are a researcher, you should always have three papers in progress... one where you are working on sorting the ideas out, figuring out uhow to do the data analysis, etc. another, which is where you are doing active writing and re-writing. And a third that is either under review or under revision. I realized that this is me right now... and that it would be great to have about 8-10 hours to tackle some of this...
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Stickmouth
So things around here have been off the hook!!
One thing happened was that Gordon the Good got a stick stuck in the roof of his mouth. Cross ways. And we couldnt get it out. It was so bad that he was literally trying to scrape it out of his mouth and bleeding.
So Dave took him to the animal hospital... and was gone for about 15 months. He came back quickly because it took the docs about 20 seconds to get the stick out. And they didnt charge us. Weird.
And...I got sick.
Milka-what? I know, I couldn't believe it either. Because. I. Dont. Get. Sick. EVER. I cant figure out yet if it was food poisoning or sick...if that can tell you anything about my symptoms. I dont think it was anything I ate... however, I did try an Activia yogurt for the first time (they were on sale) the day I started feeling like death (about 12 hours before symptoms set in). In which case, I am going to film my own Activia challenge... called, "The first person that punches Jamie Lee Curtis in the face gets a cookie from me."
It was so bad, I atually went home from work on Tuesday and stayed out on Wednesday. Milka-what? I know... I dont miss work for being sick- probably because I am tough... like my Dad- navy man tough.
Crazy. In any case, I started to feel better yesterday afternoon- and made it into campus to do some writing on the dissertation (still trying to meet my deadline of sending off a complete first draft of the whole thing by the time family comes into town. Between the manic writing session and some time last night, I got ten pages done yesterday. I have two sections left on chapter 5 plus a conclusion and I am good to go (keeping fingers crossed).
The only bad thing about yesterday was that Nico was asleep when I got home. He woke up briefly around 11, but Dave got him. And he didnt wake up till after I left today. So, I've been more than 24 hours without any Nico snuggles :(
Speaking of which, he is doing the greatest thing lately. I am trying to condition him to pick up after himself... which means that when he is done tearing up books or toys or whatever, he should put them away. I fully dont expect him to be able to do this on his own yet... like, I better put these books away before I move on to these blocks. But if I sing the "clean up song" he should know to start putting the things away.
In any case, I never really learned the clean up song when I was a preschool teacher (because I taught the older kids). And basically it went like this, "Alright you monster beasts!! Lets get these toys cleaned up so we can have some snacks!!" Which worked perfectly well. So the "clean up song" goes something like:
"Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up, clean up, do your share."
There is more, but I only know this one line.
Nico recognizes it though... and takes it as his cue to start clapping. He is not interested in helping put the books up on the shelf, or the toys back in the bucket. But he will clap encouragement for you as you're putting the things away. I am going to try to get a video of it this weekend.
Also, where are we on pointy birthday hats for babies? I dont think it is a good idea- it just seems like an eye-pokey hazard. Maybe they are too little?
One thing happened was that Gordon the Good got a stick stuck in the roof of his mouth. Cross ways. And we couldnt get it out. It was so bad that he was literally trying to scrape it out of his mouth and bleeding.
So Dave took him to the animal hospital... and was gone for about 15 months. He came back quickly because it took the docs about 20 seconds to get the stick out. And they didnt charge us. Weird.
And...I got sick.
Milka-what? I know, I couldn't believe it either. Because. I. Dont. Get. Sick. EVER. I cant figure out yet if it was food poisoning or sick...if that can tell you anything about my symptoms. I dont think it was anything I ate... however, I did try an Activia yogurt for the first time (they were on sale) the day I started feeling like death (about 12 hours before symptoms set in). In which case, I am going to film my own Activia challenge... called, "The first person that punches Jamie Lee Curtis in the face gets a cookie from me."
It was so bad, I atually went home from work on Tuesday and stayed out on Wednesday. Milka-what? I know... I dont miss work for being sick- probably because I am tough... like my Dad- navy man tough.
Crazy. In any case, I started to feel better yesterday afternoon- and made it into campus to do some writing on the dissertation (still trying to meet my deadline of sending off a complete first draft of the whole thing by the time family comes into town. Between the manic writing session and some time last night, I got ten pages done yesterday. I have two sections left on chapter 5 plus a conclusion and I am good to go (keeping fingers crossed).
The only bad thing about yesterday was that Nico was asleep when I got home. He woke up briefly around 11, but Dave got him. And he didnt wake up till after I left today. So, I've been more than 24 hours without any Nico snuggles :(
Speaking of which, he is doing the greatest thing lately. I am trying to condition him to pick up after himself... which means that when he is done tearing up books or toys or whatever, he should put them away. I fully dont expect him to be able to do this on his own yet... like, I better put these books away before I move on to these blocks. But if I sing the "clean up song" he should know to start putting the things away.
In any case, I never really learned the clean up song when I was a preschool teacher (because I taught the older kids). And basically it went like this, "Alright you monster beasts!! Lets get these toys cleaned up so we can have some snacks!!" Which worked perfectly well. So the "clean up song" goes something like:
"Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up, clean up, do your share."
There is more, but I only know this one line.
Nico recognizes it though... and takes it as his cue to start clapping. He is not interested in helping put the books up on the shelf, or the toys back in the bucket. But he will clap encouragement for you as you're putting the things away. I am going to try to get a video of it this weekend.
Also, where are we on pointy birthday hats for babies? I dont think it is a good idea- it just seems like an eye-pokey hazard. Maybe they are too little?
Friday, July 30, 2010
No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed!!
So, Nico was home sick yesterday (was running a fever at the end of school on Wednesday). We kept him home yesterday (which included burning up the sick day I was planning to take the Friday before Nico's brithday which was to be the time for pulling things together for his party). This is actually better because now I will stay up late all next week and be a MEGA BEAST by Friday morning, which Dave loves :)
Seriously: how cute are juicy little baby legs jumping on the bed? Can't you just eat those legs up? I tell you what- put a little BBQ sauce on them...
I tried doing the "Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" song with Nico, complete with the gestures. He looked uncconvinced at my singing abilities. He will learn!!
Speaking of learning: he is conquering signs... he seems to know the sign for MORE (put your finger and thumb together on each hand, now point the hands towards each other and make the fingers touch. I think its pretty awesome. He may know the sign for MILK but we're not quite sure, because it've very similar to how he waves goodbye. So either he is saying that he would like some milk or he is saying good bye... so who knows?
The THE ALL-TIME FUNNIEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TOME AS A PARENT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT. So we get home from soccer and Dave takes care of the shower situation with Nico and gets in the shower himself. I take Nico and dry him off and kind of let him hangout in the bathoom with us, while I am talking to Dave about soccer. Nico is pretty content trying to get in the cabinent and jumping on the scale (he isn't wearing a diaper at this point- because I figured he would like to be naked for a while, and not have a diaper on... because, well diapers can get OLD I imagine). When Dave gets out of the shower, I go to pick up Nico and see that he has, indeed peed on the scale. Which I think is funny. What I didn't notice was that he also went #2 on the scale... I thought it was a piece of electical tape or sock or something. Dave actually noticed it first...Our kid basically said, "This scale is good.... FOR ME TO POOP ON!!" Yeah, that is special!! I have to admit- I laughed about that for a good 10 minutes, even as I was cleaning POOP OFF OF A SCALE. Seriously, who does that? And in case you were wondering, Yes, I did learn my lesson: which is to make sure the business ends of babies are covered up...ALWAYS.
Not much new to report- I lost my damn mind a little bit last week. I ended up on Fabric.com when they were having a huge sale on some high end quilting fabrics. Seriously, they were practically giving the fabric away. What was I going to do? And it was free shipping on orders over 35.00? I could have ordered only 5 dollars worth of fabric, but it would have seemed like I was throwing money away. Oh well, what are you going to do?
Have a new iphone app that I am currently in love with...called "tap, tap, tap". It is a camera app that lets you edit photos. A sample:
The dissertation is going... I am hoping to get some QT with it tonight, tomorrow afternoon and Sunday, basically finishing off chapter 5... then its just writing what I think is the hardest part (the conclusion). I have set for myself the deadline of getting it to Ike by next Friday. You would think I would be a little more concerned with the fact that it's a week away and I am still a good 20 pages from the finish. Yay for realistic goal setting!!
All for now- hope you have a great weekend!!
Seriously: how cute are juicy little baby legs jumping on the bed? Can't you just eat those legs up? I tell you what- put a little BBQ sauce on them...
I tried doing the "Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" song with Nico, complete with the gestures. He looked uncconvinced at my singing abilities. He will learn!!
Speaking of learning: he is conquering signs... he seems to know the sign for MORE (put your finger and thumb together on each hand, now point the hands towards each other and make the fingers touch. I think its pretty awesome. He may know the sign for MILK but we're not quite sure, because it've very similar to how he waves goodbye. So either he is saying that he would like some milk or he is saying good bye... so who knows?
The THE ALL-TIME FUNNIEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TOME AS A PARENT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT. So we get home from soccer and Dave takes care of the shower situation with Nico and gets in the shower himself. I take Nico and dry him off and kind of let him hangout in the bathoom with us, while I am talking to Dave about soccer. Nico is pretty content trying to get in the cabinent and jumping on the scale (he isn't wearing a diaper at this point- because I figured he would like to be naked for a while, and not have a diaper on... because, well diapers can get OLD I imagine). When Dave gets out of the shower, I go to pick up Nico and see that he has, indeed peed on the scale. Which I think is funny. What I didn't notice was that he also went #2 on the scale... I thought it was a piece of electical tape or sock or something. Dave actually noticed it first...Our kid basically said, "This scale is good.... FOR ME TO POOP ON!!" Yeah, that is special!! I have to admit- I laughed about that for a good 10 minutes, even as I was cleaning POOP OFF OF A SCALE. Seriously, who does that? And in case you were wondering, Yes, I did learn my lesson: which is to make sure the business ends of babies are covered up...ALWAYS.
Not much new to report- I lost my damn mind a little bit last week. I ended up on Fabric.com when they were having a huge sale on some high end quilting fabrics. Seriously, they were practically giving the fabric away. What was I going to do? And it was free shipping on orders over 35.00? I could have ordered only 5 dollars worth of fabric, but it would have seemed like I was throwing money away. Oh well, what are you going to do?
Have a new iphone app that I am currently in love with...called "tap, tap, tap". It is a camera app that lets you edit photos. A sample:
All for now- hope you have a great weekend!!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Talky McTalk...
Sorry I have been so MIA lately. I was lamenting to Dave how I just feel like I dont have time for anything these days (being a good TA, finishing Dissertation, being a good Mom, coaching stuff, trying to keep the house from looking like homeless gypsies live here) when it occurred to me that maybe my priorities are a little out of whack. So rather than complaining about not having enough time in the day, I have decided I need to scale back blogging for a while. Because even the quick posts take 15-30 minutes out of my day, that I could be mopping the kitchen floor with. Also, our life isn't terribly exciting right now... not having exciting news to report+daily commitment to blog= inner monologue becoming outer monologue (and lets be real, its never good when that happens).
In any case, we had a pretty fun weekend.
The girls scrimmaged on Saturday against the U14 boys Wakulla TOF team. Technically it is a coed team that several of our girls play on. We had Froddo in goal (who wasnt there the last time, when we lost 5-1). We also had Dave's coworker's sons Sam and Kai. Sam has been playing with us on Thursday nights (during our fitness/pickup nights). With his help we tied 2-2 (he had an assist and a goal). I am glad that we started letting him play with us- he's a good kid, and I think he gets a lot out of it.
We also went to a wedding this weekend. One of our former players (class of 2008) got married to her high school sweetheart. So we went down to Woodville for the wedding. Nico decided that he was going to be a Talky McTalk during the wedding ceremony, so I ended up watching most of it from the nursery at the church. I went to Old Navy on Saturday looking for something to wear to the wedding and lost my damn mind. I normally dont lose my mind clothes shopping because I hate it so much. But there was a plethora of cute clothes for Nico.
Seriously, I had been lamenting the fact that Nico is so big now- there are no cute boy clothes in the 12-18 month range at my go-to store (Target). But now that I have seen what Old Navy has to offer, I might be a convert. Will try to get some pics up of Nico in some of his new clothes soon.
He is off the chain!! Walks really well if you hold one of his hands. Still likes tearing the kitchen up. Still likes doors. Right now he is fascinated with the green bottle of garnier mouse that is under my bathroom sink. Can't believe that he will be one in two weeks.
We went over to UKK's house on Sunday and played with her daughter Savi. Nico played well with her... which I guess isn't that big of a surprise- given that he goes to daycare and socializes all day with other kids (speaking of which, his little school girl friend is coming to his birthday party). I think with Savi in the mix now, it's a little bit like this:
Got some good dissertation work in this weekend. I am getting close to the end. It feels so weird... I wonder if I will have seperation anxiety when I finally defend it. I wonder if when Nico and Dave go off to have awesome Dad and Boy time (like when they go have delicious breakfasts at Jim and Milt's or IHOP without me), if I will just sit in my chair and stare blankly at he computer. Lost. Wondering what it is that I should be doing...
In any case, we had a pretty fun weekend.
The girls scrimmaged on Saturday against the U14 boys Wakulla TOF team. Technically it is a coed team that several of our girls play on. We had Froddo in goal (who wasnt there the last time, when we lost 5-1). We also had Dave's coworker's sons Sam and Kai. Sam has been playing with us on Thursday nights (during our fitness/pickup nights). With his help we tied 2-2 (he had an assist and a goal). I am glad that we started letting him play with us- he's a good kid, and I think he gets a lot out of it.
We also went to a wedding this weekend. One of our former players (class of 2008) got married to her high school sweetheart. So we went down to Woodville for the wedding. Nico decided that he was going to be a Talky McTalk during the wedding ceremony, so I ended up watching most of it from the nursery at the church. I went to Old Navy on Saturday looking for something to wear to the wedding and lost my damn mind. I normally dont lose my mind clothes shopping because I hate it so much. But there was a plethora of cute clothes for Nico.
Seriously, I had been lamenting the fact that Nico is so big now- there are no cute boy clothes in the 12-18 month range at my go-to store (Target). But now that I have seen what Old Navy has to offer, I might be a convert. Will try to get some pics up of Nico in some of his new clothes soon.
He is off the chain!! Walks really well if you hold one of his hands. Still likes tearing the kitchen up. Still likes doors. Right now he is fascinated with the green bottle of garnier mouse that is under my bathroom sink. Can't believe that he will be one in two weeks.
We went over to UKK's house on Sunday and played with her daughter Savi. Nico played well with her... which I guess isn't that big of a surprise- given that he goes to daycare and socializes all day with other kids (speaking of which, his little school girl friend is coming to his birthday party). I think with Savi in the mix now, it's a little bit like this:
Got some good dissertation work in this weekend. I am getting close to the end. It feels so weird... I wonder if I will have seperation anxiety when I finally defend it. I wonder if when Nico and Dave go off to have awesome Dad and Boy time (like when they go have delicious breakfasts at Jim and Milt's or IHOP without me), if I will just sit in my chair and stare blankly at he computer. Lost. Wondering what it is that I should be doing...
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Dunkin his own self under!
Today was a great day!! We had BBUSC this morning... and it was hot. The bank clock at Wakulla bank said it was 104 degrees. BARF. Again- adding to the case for living somewhere on the coast.
When we got home this afternoon, Nico caught a nap and we showered, to head up to Miller's to watch the US game. Which was disappointing, if you are a huge US fan. But if you're not, it is pretty much par for the course.
When we got back from Miller's, I filled up Nico's pool. Dont know if I mentioned it or not, but my mom sent Nico an early birthday present: an inflatable pool. Its pretty awesome... you blow it up and then fill it with water. If I sit in it, it comes up to about my shoulders, which is perfect height for Nico to cruise around- and I dont have to worry about him bumping his face if he falls down or runs into the side.
I had to get finger printed yesterday, so I took part of my lunch and stopped by the house on the way to the office to get the pool set up. I got it up and ready to go and then the skies opened up and it was like Noah's time up in here! Which was a shame, because the reason I took the time to do it mid-afternoon is that I wanted to let the water get a little warmer for Nico. So we ended up skipping it yesterday and trying again today. I will admit the water was a little cool for my liking- but we got in just before dinner. And he loves it. LOVES LOVES LOVES it. He was a little nervous at first... but once he figured out that he could cruise around, holding onto the side, he was off!! At one point, he actually took 3 steps away from me towards the side, mostly unassisted (just my hand on his bum for balance). Yeah... it was awesome. Even better, is that he gets his face wet (mostly on accident), and he is starting to realize that its okay.... unlike before when I took him in the pool or in the ocean and dunked us under, in his pool he is responsible for his own self... so if it happens, it happens... and hopefully he doesnt think I am trying to drown him.
So that is about all I got for now. He has had a real hard time settling tonight. Seems like he has been waking up every 45 minutes or so. :( It hasnt been too bad, because I have been up late doing data stuff and whatnot. But I am getting ready to go to bed and that nonsense needs to stop.
Doing some data work in the morning... hopefully, I will catch some England v. Germany in the morning.
More later.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Turning into a blueberry...
I think that we actually have a valid case for fear that Nico might turn into a blueberry. That kid loves blueberries. CANNOT.GET.ENOUGH. Still eating anything you dont staple down (except for peas). Loves pasta and noodles and yogurt.
Today was the first day that I have gotten him when he didnt look genuinely happy to see me. He was outside by a picnic table holding onto it and cruising. I think he was kind of annoyed that I was there. :)
So Dave has a work thing down in Sarasota this week. This entailed staying on the beach near Sarasota. And well... given that I am currently awaiting approval for a job, I guess Nico and I were just going to have to come down and keep him company. Like my dad always said, "It's hard work, but someone has to do it."
Earlier this week, I was toting soccer girls up to Thomasville to go to soccer camp. Which meant that Dave was originally going to drive down tonight and me follow with Nico tomorrow afternoon. But then our senior GK stepped up and offered to tote the girls, letting me off the hook. Which meant that the nice and easy and relaxed packing that I was going to do tonight, got bumped up to: lets find the biggest bag we have and just start putting stuff in it. Consequently, it is entirely possible that I have 25 t-shirts and no shorts or that I pulled a DiPonio. Sounds about right to me.
We almost got in a wreck tonight when Dave was in the backseat with Nico. "Sail Away" by STYX came on and he started singing it a la Cartman (from Southpark). It was HILARIOUS!! Tears were running down my face...
In any case, Granny You is coming up on Friday. We are going to finish one of Nico's birthday gifts (shhhhhhh, dont tell him...it is a quilt). Then Grandma and Grandpa Royse are coming on Saturday morning with Aunt Rosie. I hope to do some swims and some runs while we are here. The Marianna Tri is a little less than three weeks away and I have yet to do any swims at all... let alone open water swims. Good thing I am not trying to win!! Also hoping to get do some edits on the old dissertation. Yesterday I set up chapter 5 runs... lots of gllamm (which take forever to run). I am hoping that I will have some beautimous log files waiting for me when I get back. Next week writing (hardcore) with the hopes of getting it to committee by about July 7 so they can have it for a month before I want to defend it (crosses fingers).
So that is all... will check in with you all later. Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Monday, May 31, 2010
One fell down and bumped his head...
I dont think that we could have fit anymore into this weekend. It was off the chain!!
We started with graduation on Friday night. The "Sensational Seven" walked on Friday night. It was pretty cool. This is the second graduation that we've gone to... I cant remember what we did for the first one, but I was in Africa when Lizzie and Melissa's class graduated in 2008. Last night was pretty cool... Wakulla county did not disappoint- everyone was there. The stadium was packed (weird).
Our assistant coach JW came up with a trailer to help us move on Saturday... Dave and I had that swagger because we had already moved a bunch of stuff. So when JW offered to make a third run with the trailer we passed it up, thinking "we got this." That is false. Turns out, that we still have 2 solid days of moving ahead of us. What could we be moving you ask? I dont know... things like an under the bed tupperware container labeled "Very Important". What is in there is anyone's guess. But it seems important? So Dave's friend JF came over to help provide muscle. Actual moving was short lived on Saturday though, because chatting around hotdogs grilling turned into Dave and Jessi being done early for the day.
Cue Sunday... more of the same. Turns out moving is a pain in the ass. Not only do you have to move, but you also have to clean
So Sunday finally gives way to Monday and it looks like progress is being made. So Dave makes a run for the new house and I am left with Nico. Now you may begin to feel bad for him, because he spent most of the weekend in his "case". His "case" is a backpack that has a little stand on it, so you can take him off your back and set him on the ground- so he is kind of standing up ("case" is actually short for Nico's pack that comes in the case... I think its funny to talk about him being in a case). Anyways, I set him down on the floor in the hallway to fetch a bottle for him... when I hear this horrible loud crash. I run into the hallway and find that he has pulled a dustbuster vacuum off of the shelf that is 5 feet over his head. Now, I dont know if it actually hit him, but he was screaming his face off. I figured that if it had actually hit him he would have been holding his head or something... and there was no blood or cuts or anything. So maybe it just scared the hell out of him. So I give him his bottle and he goes to sleep... BTW reason #4567 that babies are awesome:
Sleeping with their legs drawn up under them and their bottoms in the air. I love it. So adorable. I digress. So then I put Nico in his case and put him on my back and we're walking around the house. Now, mind you, having a kid in that thing=not being able to do MUCH. Generally, they aren't good for leaning over or being lithe and agile. But I can clean okay... especially if I sit next to him. Anyways... I am walking around the house trying to find stuff I can do when I venture into one of the back (now clean) bedrooms. While I knew that Dave had cleaned the floor with the oil soap stuff, I was not aware of the slippery nature of this stuff.... and thus slipped and fell, as my mother would say, "a$$ over teakettle." With Nico in his case on my back. Thankfully he was okay... but wow. You would think that that would be it for the day... you would be wrong my friend.
So I go to do some work outside and I set Nico in his case on the ground, which is slightly uneven. I am walking around, shoveling or something when he starts to pitch a little bit of a fit... and promptly flips over on the ground. He didnt cry or anything, I think he was a little stunned.
In any case, as you can see by about 2pm, he was over moving. If you are thinking, "hey! I recognize that guy!" You would be mistaken- that is not Dirk Kuyt, the scrappy midfielder that plays for Liverpool and Holland. This is actually a picture of Nico. I know... with that fair skin and fair hair, they look very similar :)
So this afternoon, we took a break from the moving (and damaging Nico) to drive down to Wakulla. One of our seniors signed her letter of intent with Johnson and Wales University to play ball. It's pretty exciting... takes our number of kids going to college to play ball to 2 this year and 4 total (not counting a softball player who is going this year). It was really great to be there to witness her signing... I think it will definitely be good for her.
Tonight we pretty much wrapped up the moving... we have a couple of outdoor items and some cleaning stuff at the new house. So we are running by in the morning to get it. We absolutely adore the new house. Nico's room feels like it is about twice the size of the old one. I feel like grabbing Nico's arm and leg and spinning him around helicopter style around his room- that is how big it is.
Also contemplating all the fun stuff to do to the house... have bought a gallon of light blue paint. Essentially, I am going to make like many Bishop women before and paint anything that doesnt get away fast enough. First up is Nico's changing table and a shelf for his room (whoot). This new house is cool because it kind of rambles around in a compact way... if that makes sense... when you come in the front door you can make an immediate left and go to the living room, dining room, kitchen area as well as the "Florida Room" (<---deserves it's own tangent somewhere). Or you could go straight, get to Nico's room and the office... or make an immediate right and get to our room. In any case, the house is bigger and ramblier than the old house, so it is entirely possible for your husband to come back with dinner and scare the pee out of you because you were walking out of your infant son's pitch dark nursery room and didnt see him in the hall nor hear him come home. Not that that happened to me or anything... but I digress.
So to sum: we have moved. Nico survived (mostly). I am jumpy now. Awesome.
On an unrelated matter- I feel bad for his teachers tomorrow. As a preschool teacher, I always liked the parents who were realistic about their kids... there were many a time when a parent would bring a kid in full-on meltdown mode and just set them on the floor in the middle of the room and say, "I'm sorry. He is out of control today." It was refreshing- especially compared to other parents who thought that a kid misbehaving was my fault... that the problem was clearly with me. So I am trying to be the former. I am trying to be real about my kid....he is probably going to be off the chain this week... he hasnt been sleeping well (new room). Plus he didnt get to bed until late (tonight). Which likely means: OFF THE CHAIN. Sorry Megan and Caitlin. My bad.
I have had my machine running stata for the last couple of days... and I am not sure what to think. I am getting results that are either, "HOLY CRAP!! THIS IS SUCH A GAME CHANGER!! GIVE JESSI BISHOP-ROYSE A PHD NOW. SHE IS AMAZING" OR "really? how is this new? or important? or worth a phd? kick her to the curb, stat."
Yay!! Research!!
Also, if you haven't done so, you might want to follow the blog, because starting tomorrow... you will not be able to read....LH- I know you are anti because you can't remember the password for the google account you started for that NCAA basketball bracket 5 years ago... and that you have successfully managed to avoid facebook for this long. But seriously, this is bordering on foolishness now. Heart. (Yes, I did just call you out... :)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
In the D-F-Dub
Had a really fantastic last couple of days.
I want to go on the record: I have a problem. Sometimes when I am doing something out of the ordinary (like traveling), I like to, because I am crazy, know when I am leaving... weeks in advance- because our life needs weeks notice for things out of the ordinary. The thing is, that sometimes I am so convinced of something that I dont bother to check on the minute details. For example, I was so convinced that my flight left Tallahassee for Dallas at 4:55 pm Wednesday, that I didnt bother to check it... in the run up to PAA. I knew I was leaving 4:55 pm like I know my social security number. Imagine my shock and dismay when I couldnt check into the flight in Tallahassee at 4:10 because the flight had already closed. Wha-What? It takes 10 minutes to go through security under the worst of circumstances in Tallahassee... so what is with this situation? Apparently the flight was actually scheduled for 425... and since the world doesnt revolve around me and my schedule, the flight actually left at 425. So that was annoying... I got rebooked for the next day- and can say that I actually had a positive experience with American Airlines. I know... weird.
In any case, I got in on Thursday and had to automatically go straight to the hotel because the conference was in full swing. I <3 PAA. I really do. They take nerdery to a whole other level there. Its so intellectually interesting to see sessions where people present their research... on topics that range from Asian Population Data to Marriage and Unions to the Census (BTW, Quote of the Conference: "The 2010 Census: Easier than your girlfriend and Faster than your boyfriend!" Whoot!!)
.jpg)
My poster went well- had a great conversation with someone from Austin about it. May have been insightful for my dissertation... which was the point of going.
I didnt get too spend much time with the Bishop-Bains... but oh! How adorable Maddox and Emme are. Maddox was so excited when he saw me that he couldnt talk...he started like five different thoughts all at once, spinning them out one after another without completing the prior one. He is so talkative and just really good. We had a conversation about these little mini oreo cookies that are covered in chocolate whereby he proclaimed them to be a "choking hazard." Awesome.
And Emme is just so juicy... she is starting to get the "eyebrows of judgement" where she looks at you with her eyebrows raised like, "Dude, what are you doing? You're an idiot!"
Nicole and Cody amaze me with their house... they have done a lot of the big ticket items (updating kitchen, remodeling bathrooms, etc.) It was really cool to see all the effort all over the house.
I had lunch with JCD on Friday... it was great to catch up. She seems to be doing well at her job... I think it wont be long till she is running the whole show. She seems to be pretty happy with the job. Going to and from lunch, I got a little foot tour of the Downtown area (I even got to take the DART around Dallas for a bit -rather than trying to drive in downtown with the interstates and the interchanges (BARF!)). It is funny, I have been to Dallas several times and this was the first time I rode the DART!
.jpg)
I flew back with no problems (BTW- I love not having connections- its pretty rad).
Saturday was pretty cool- Dave, Nico and I hit up the Springtime Arts festival in downtown and even got out to the Meadows to see several of our girls play CSA (Capital City Soccer League). I had no idea so many of them were playing. Its great to see!
Then Sunday, I went for a bike ride with LRM on the St. Marks Bike trail. We parked at the bottom and did 6 miles out and back, followed by lunch at the Riverside. It is training for the Muddy Buddy down in Orlando (a bike/running race complete with a wade through mud at the end). I made it back in time for Dave to go play soccer. Nico and I chilled at the house... till he got too cranky.... then he had to get an attitude readjustment (a forced nap).
When he woke up we drove out to the Meadows to see Dave play. Altogether a pretty great weekend!
I leave you with this:
Isn't he adorable?!!
I want to go on the record: I have a problem. Sometimes when I am doing something out of the ordinary (like traveling), I like to, because I am crazy, know when I am leaving... weeks in advance- because our life needs weeks notice for things out of the ordinary. The thing is, that sometimes I am so convinced of something that I dont bother to check on the minute details. For example, I was so convinced that my flight left Tallahassee for Dallas at 4:55 pm Wednesday, that I didnt bother to check it... in the run up to PAA. I knew I was leaving 4:55 pm like I know my social security number. Imagine my shock and dismay when I couldnt check into the flight in Tallahassee at 4:10 because the flight had already closed. Wha-What? It takes 10 minutes to go through security under the worst of circumstances in Tallahassee... so what is with this situation? Apparently the flight was actually scheduled for 425... and since the world doesnt revolve around me and my schedule, the flight actually left at 425. So that was annoying... I got rebooked for the next day- and can say that I actually had a positive experience with American Airlines. I know... weird.
In any case, I got in on Thursday and had to automatically go straight to the hotel because the conference was in full swing. I <3 PAA. I really do. They take nerdery to a whole other level there. Its so intellectually interesting to see sessions where people present their research... on topics that range from Asian Population Data to Marriage and Unions to the Census (BTW, Quote of the Conference: "The 2010 Census: Easier than your girlfriend and Faster than your boyfriend!" Whoot!!)
.jpg)
I didnt get too spend much time with the Bishop-Bains... but oh! How adorable Maddox and Emme are. Maddox was so excited when he saw me that he couldnt talk...he started like five different thoughts all at once, spinning them out one after another without completing the prior one. He is so talkative and just really good. We had a conversation about these little mini oreo cookies that are covered in chocolate whereby he proclaimed them to be a "choking hazard." Awesome.
And Emme is just so juicy... she is starting to get the "eyebrows of judgement" where she looks at you with her eyebrows raised like, "Dude, what are you doing? You're an idiot!"
Nicole and Cody amaze me with their house... they have done a lot of the big ticket items (updating kitchen, remodeling bathrooms, etc.) It was really cool to see all the effort all over the house.
I had lunch with JCD on Friday... it was great to catch up. She seems to be doing well at her job... I think it wont be long till she is running the whole show. She seems to be pretty happy with the job. Going to and from lunch, I got a little foot tour of the Downtown area (I even got to take the DART around Dallas for a bit -rather than trying to drive in downtown with the interstates and the interchanges (BARF!)). It is funny, I have been to Dallas several times and this was the first time I rode the DART!
.jpg)
I flew back with no problems (BTW- I love not having connections- its pretty rad).
Saturday was pretty cool- Dave, Nico and I hit up the Springtime Arts festival in downtown and even got out to the Meadows to see several of our girls play CSA (Capital City Soccer League). I had no idea so many of them were playing. Its great to see!
When he woke up we drove out to the Meadows to see Dave play. Altogether a pretty great weekend!
I leave you with this:
Isn't he adorable?!!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Mental Bandwidth 4
Things I am thinking about tonight:
1. Look at the cute sweater my mom made!! Yes, this is from the "Oooh, I wish I could knit, how I would love to make sweaters for my baby" scam. Doesn't my mom rule? You cant see them, but there are turtle buttons on the sweater.
.jpg)
2. Floored about the jogging stroller I bought on CraigsList today. I had been lamenting the stroller I bought before Nico came- its kind of cheap and rickety. This one is pretty pimp. Am looking forward to trying it out (maybe tomorrow).
3. OMG!! LOST TOMORROW!! I DIE.
On the upside...while I am slightly ashamed to admit it (because I think it makes me a bad American), I did join the facebook group to move the state of the Union from tomorrow night (and theoretically pre-empt Lost) to another night. This is proof that facebook groups DO work. Its not that I dont care... its just that, well, its the beginning of the end. And I have a hard enough time following along without missing half of it because my homeboy decided he wanted to talk to America and get his haters off his back. In any case, I am hoping for a strong finish...something that blows my mind.... not like the Sopranos- which I got and ultimately was like, Ok. But not anything weak like the Wire- or Seinfield.
24 is on tonight. Meh.
4. In case anyone was going to do this: dont make corn bread muffins in muffin papers. EPIC FAIL. I guess I will be throwing away 10 tomorrow.
5. I bought one of those round knitting looms today with the hopes of making Nico some hats... he has exactly three right now, and I couldnt find any this morning. Am wondering if this actually counts as knitting.
6. Making some progress on my data for my dissertation. I am running exactly one day behind schedule right now. Foresee that extending to two days tomorrow. But my boss okayed me for half days one day a week so that I can work on it... whoot!! That's Dr. Bishop-Royse to you! I didnt spend 8 years in evil graduate school to be Mrs, Thank you very much!
7. So while most people would agree that this kid looks mostly like his Dad, there are moments when I think he looks like me... mostly of pictures of me when I was little.
8. Playing soccer on Thursday against the FSU club team. Should be awesome. And by awesome I mean sucky. Likely going to get my a$$ handed to me. So I got that going for me. BARF.
1. Look at the cute sweater my mom made!! Yes, this is from the "Oooh, I wish I could knit, how I would love to make sweaters for my baby" scam. Doesn't my mom rule? You cant see them, but there are turtle buttons on the sweater.
.jpg)
2. Floored about the jogging stroller I bought on CraigsList today. I had been lamenting the stroller I bought before Nico came- its kind of cheap and rickety. This one is pretty pimp. Am looking forward to trying it out (maybe tomorrow).
3. OMG!! LOST TOMORROW!! I DIE.
On the upside...while I am slightly ashamed to admit it (because I think it makes me a bad American), I did join the facebook group to move the state of the Union from tomorrow night (and theoretically pre-empt Lost) to another night. This is proof that facebook groups DO work. Its not that I dont care... its just that, well, its the beginning of the end. And I have a hard enough time following along without missing half of it because my homeboy decided he wanted to talk to America and get his haters off his back. In any case, I am hoping for a strong finish...something that blows my mind.... not like the Sopranos- which I got and ultimately was like, Ok. But not anything weak like the Wire- or Seinfield.
24 is on tonight. Meh.
4. In case anyone was going to do this: dont make corn bread muffins in muffin papers. EPIC FAIL. I guess I will be throwing away 10 tomorrow.
5. I bought one of those round knitting looms today with the hopes of making Nico some hats... he has exactly three right now, and I couldnt find any this morning. Am wondering if this actually counts as knitting.
6. Making some progress on my data for my dissertation. I am running exactly one day behind schedule right now. Foresee that extending to two days tomorrow. But my boss okayed me for half days one day a week so that I can work on it... whoot!! That's Dr. Bishop-Royse to you! I didnt spend 8 years in evil graduate school to be Mrs, Thank you very much!
7. So while most people would agree that this kid looks mostly like his Dad, there are moments when I think he looks like me... mostly of pictures of me when I was little.
8. Playing soccer on Thursday against the FSU club team. Should be awesome. And by awesome I mean sucky. Likely going to get my a$$ handed to me. So I got that going for me. BARF.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Great News!!
So we got some *very* good news today. When I suspected that I might be pregnant, just about the first thing I did (aside from scheduling prenatal care), was go to the FSU Childcare center and enroll my fetus. Backstory: when I first moved to Tallahassee, I taught preschool at this place up on the north side of town. I had the privledge of working with two women who are amazing (JL and SC). JL taught the 4 year olds, I taught the 5s and SC taught everywhere. It was one of those amazingly fun jobs, where I would go to work at 7am, and it would be 3pm before I knew it... then it was time to go out and play, come in and clean up, and go home. It was awesome. I think that there was a gentle rivalry among us (and the other teachers) over who could have the cutest projects, the nicest rooms and the best art. The place was better for it. Our center had a reputation of sending kids to kindergarten ready to be successful (we fed into two "A" schools on the northside).
In any case, shortly after I quit to do grad school full time, JL and SC ended up at the FSU Childcare center. Its FSU's "research" based daycare/preschool. I always knew that if the time came for us to put our kid in a daycare/preschool setting and we were still in the 850- that taking them to JL and SC would be almost as good as me staying home with him. That is how amazing they are.
So, imagine my concern when I got the wait-list number of 157. Bummer... so I resigned myself to the fact that Nico might be 8 or 9 years old by the time it was time for him to go. I checked his status about a month ago and he was 85. Bummer still. Then today I got an email saying that they are ready to enroll him. Isn't that awesome?
We can start in the spring- and it probably wont be full-time full-time. I am going to try to arrange a schedule of tutoring that is more hours there, so I dont have to get a job-job. Which means that Nico will go there for a couple hours a day to start. Since soccer will still be going on, I will need to pick him and head down to practice, so he'll likely be gone by about 100. I think its pretty much the perfect situation. I know I will probably meltdown the first day I leave him there- but I think its for the better. He will get to be around other kids... so far his most consistent companion is that little dude that sits in the backseat with him when we drive down to Wakulla, who he can only see when he looks into the mirror :)
So that is definitely good news. Knowing that he is going to be in good hands there takes a load off my mind...I was definitely thinking that by the time I got a job-job in Tally-nasty that I would have to just stick him in whichever place will take him- envisioning the kinds of horror stories that only former preschool teachers can come up with.
Other good news is that Dave has tomorrow off. The girls and I decided to practice tomorrow- so he will get to go. When we get home, I have to do something with my office space. Its pretty much a disaster area. I also need to finish his nursery... we have pretty much everything set up in there- changing table, crib, book cases. I need to hang a shelf and maybe hang some picture frames. Its rapidly becoming my favorite room in the house- mostly because its so clean!
Project de-stuff the house is going full speed ahead. Looking to get rid of another 10 "larger" items this week... then Dave and I dont have to have a nomad cleaning strategy (moving stuff around the house).
In any case, shortly after I quit to do grad school full time, JL and SC ended up at the FSU Childcare center. Its FSU's "research" based daycare/preschool. I always knew that if the time came for us to put our kid in a daycare/preschool setting and we were still in the 850- that taking them to JL and SC would be almost as good as me staying home with him. That is how amazing they are.
So, imagine my concern when I got the wait-list number of 157. Bummer... so I resigned myself to the fact that Nico might be 8 or 9 years old by the time it was time for him to go. I checked his status about a month ago and he was 85. Bummer still. Then today I got an email saying that they are ready to enroll him. Isn't that awesome?
We can start in the spring- and it probably wont be full-time full-time. I am going to try to arrange a schedule of tutoring that is more hours there, so I dont have to get a job-job. Which means that Nico will go there for a couple hours a day to start. Since soccer will still be going on, I will need to pick him and head down to practice, so he'll likely be gone by about 100. I think its pretty much the perfect situation. I know I will probably meltdown the first day I leave him there- but I think its for the better. He will get to be around other kids... so far his most consistent companion is that little dude that sits in the backseat with him when we drive down to Wakulla, who he can only see when he looks into the mirror :)
So that is definitely good news. Knowing that he is going to be in good hands there takes a load off my mind...I was definitely thinking that by the time I got a job-job in Tally-nasty that I would have to just stick him in whichever place will take him- envisioning the kinds of horror stories that only former preschool teachers can come up with.
Other good news is that Dave has tomorrow off. The girls and I decided to practice tomorrow- so he will get to go. When we get home, I have to do something with my office space. Its pretty much a disaster area. I also need to finish his nursery... we have pretty much everything set up in there- changing table, crib, book cases. I need to hang a shelf and maybe hang some picture frames. Its rapidly becoming my favorite room in the house- mostly because its so clean!
Project de-stuff the house is going full speed ahead. Looking to get rid of another 10 "larger" items this week... then Dave and I dont have to have a nomad cleaning strategy (moving stuff around the house).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)