Finals/Finally

Hi Everyone-
A quick and rather frantic post as I wait for a student to meet with me about her grade.

Sooooo- it's finals week.  On top of 4 classes I need to grade essays/grade finals/enter grades, I've also got a huge report due before next Monday.  No pressure.  Once Monday hits, life will be much slower paced than it is now.  Knock on wood.

That's because I'm moving to another job in the university.  I'm going to have to move offices, which I can't think about right now because I'll burst into tears.  I don't want to leave my beloved office mates. They were the first people to welcome me to Ellensburg and they were my first friends here.  We are all very thoughtful of one another- and we have a great dynamic.  Not something you always see in a big office full of women.  The upside is that I'm moving.....to the LIBRARY!!  Yes, the Library where they keep the books.  I'm excited about that.  Corner office, nice windows. I won't be a librarian (I'm not THAT good), but my new job will entail creating a real online tutoring presence for the university and I'm tied to groups that are also housed in the building.  I'll start after spring break, which is next week. I'll still get to teach, just not as many classes.

I'm also finally getting over my cold and sinus infection.  I went to the doctor this week and she said as much, but that I keep coughing and having a hard time sleeping because my lungs are really weak from the illness.  Since I'm a moderate asthmatic, she insisted I take a round of Prednisone.  Pred makes me edgy and restless. I don't sleep as well. I told her I'd take and I am reluctantly doing so- only because we leave for vacation on Monday and I want to be well.

Vacation- we're going to Louisiana to visit G's family. Well, my family now too. We haven't seen them in person, outside of FaceTime, since we moved to Washington. Lots of things have changed! We will finally get to meet our new niece, HK.

So fair warning: lots of pictures will ensue.  I'll put up more on my Instagram account than I put here and they'll load there first.

Off for more adventures!

Almost There

We're almost there!

Almost spring, 

Almost spring break, 

Almost the end of my big project, 

Almost feeling better. 

I feel like I'm reaching and reaching, and my fingertips are just brushing success.  

I always did like the ends of things. I'm a lover of leaving and a sucker for new beginnings.  

There's something satisfying about closing a good book after you've finished, cleaning up after a delicious meal, and sweet coming home after a long trip.  

I'm leaning forward into spring. 

Diversion!

I have so much grading to do. I need to give guidance to my poor, lost students.  All 103 of them.  I have two weeks left in the quarter before finals week.
I
Am
Tired!

I also have some tres weirdo stuff going on with my family right now. Not the kind of things you share in a blog for everyone to read, but stressful all the same.

So G and I have been cheering ourselves up on the weekends.  We spent a good two weeks looking for things to put into a care package for his family in Louisiana.  Most of them have not yet been to Washington. YET. I'm hoping they do come visit at some point.  I'm sure I've said it at some point, but I got really lucky in the In-Law department. Not just my husband's parents, but his sisters and nieces too.  So I thought as G and I went around our journeys in Washington, we'd buy little trinkets and send them along.

From Walla Walla, we found a magnet and coloring book, with some colorful post cards.  From Prosser- which is in wine country- we went to the Chukar Cherry factory.  It's a locally owned and operated company that makes chocolates, usually with cherries in them.  We tasted lots of them just to make sure we got the right ones.

From a little store we got Aplets and Cotlets. I don't even know where the factory is in Washington, but the candies are sort of Turkish delights with a twist.  The fruits are locally grown and the candy is made here too.  My grandma used to buy them for us, and as she gave them to us she would say "You're the aplet of my eye!"

We decided against sending sweet onions from Walla Walla.  Probably a good call.

We were going to send them a bottle of wine, but uh, we drank it.  And I'm not sure it's legal to send across state lines anyway.

But the care package is also our way of saying..... "There's more where that came from.....!"

Check out my MILs blog for her reaction.

Glad you liked it!

(Now back to grading)

Only Three More Weeks

I hate being sick.

I'm not surprise, but I hate being sick.

I have a little cold, which grew from a little cough last week to what seems today to be a full-blown tempest in a teapot.  Coughing, stuffy nose and I'm tired.  Apparently, just in time for Monday.  At least I got all my grading done yesterday! Today I'm glad I made it through teaching my classes; now I'm sitting and drinking mint tea and grading papers.  I walk to work in the mornings and G and I walk home together at night.  This morning was fine, but tonight is going to be impossible. It's still snowing and cold, and while I like that, it's bad for my lungs.  G volunteered to walk home and come pick me up.

****Wait- before I go further, shout out to JOHN in the Academic Resource Commons for reading my blog! Good to see you in the ARC and I look forward to working with you soon.*****

It's been a neat couple of weeks.  For Valentine's day, G got me some chocolates and I got him a vinyl record that he's been wanting.  I waited until Valentine's to get it for him because it's by a group called "My Bloody Valentine".  :-D

We got out of town and headed for Walla Walla for the weekend.  We had restaurant food, went to wine tasting rooms and generally had a good time. I have an astonishingly low tolerance for alcohol these days.  One glass of wine and I can't drive. Two and I'm falling asleep.  We did tastings at 4 tasting rooms and bought a couple of bottles.  After that, I needed a nap. What happened?! I used to be so young!

Oh well, I have more wisdom now- I know not to drink a whole lot and that taxis are not very expensive in Walla Walla.

Lots of cool attractions in Walla Walla.

Anyhoo, we popped over to Dayton on Sunday morning to visit my little family church.  Grey hasn't been there and since that means I hadn't been there in two years, we decided to hop to.  The church has changed since I was last there.  For one thing, there were a ton of people there and it used to be about 1/3 full on a good day. And I was related to just about everyone.  This time, we showed up at 11. I forgot that services start at 10:45. Ah well. We had to sit in the front pew because that was the only space available. There were also more children there, which I like. Except for visitors with children, I was always the youngest one there. Some of the kids got up and sang songs. After church was a soup and salad luncheon and we were invited to go.

The pastor remembered me, and he wandered over during the collection to say hello and meet my husband.  I like him and his wife a whole lot. They've been at the United Brethren Church in Dayton since the early 1990s. That still makes him the new pastor. I remember two pastors before him.  He was very good to my grandparents and took special care with my grandma before she died.

Some things hadn't changed. For one, my Aunt Sarah was there. She'd just had some surgery on her hip and was looking mighty strong. She sort of charges ahead once again, and that's just the way I love my fire-haired aunt.  She's my grandpa's sister, and she's just as stubborn. I loved visiting with her. She and G get along too- not that he's ever not gotten along with people.  It just makes me happy. She bossed us around a bit and told us stories, and re-introduced us to the church.  As it turns out, I'm still related to just about everybody. There is something in me that just wants to help people, so after we ate, I walked around and picked up everybody's plates and refilled coffee. This is the kind of place where they serve homemade pickles and butter on a piece of bread. That's where bread and butter pickles come from, in case you wondered.  There were four homemade soups and probably 10 different types of sandwiches with jello mold desserts and pie and cookies and low sugar options.  Dayton is eventually catching up with the rest of the world.

My Uncle Vernon's chair is still there, in the United Brethren Church, Dayton, Washington

Sarah had G in thrall (she was talking his ear off) and I even had a moment to say hello to my Uncle Vernon's best friend, Morris, and his wife Carol. I like them an awful lot too.  Although, when I saw Carol, I broke out in tears.  I remember how much Grandma loved her and what good friends they were. Once when Carol was sick, Grandma was afraid she wouldn't recover and got a bit teary-eyed herself.  All of this rushed over me as I tried to say polite things.  All that came out was "It's good to see you.  Oh, you remind me of my grandma!" Then I got all sniffy.  She gave me a hug.  I don't know, I'm not much of a cryer, and I certainly don't go around crying in public.  When Pastor Greg came to say goodbye though, I teared up again.  He did too, saying how much my grandparents were loved and how much we miss them.  It was a lovely visit.

My fiery Aunt Sarah. I'm gonna look that good when I'm 90!

Anyway, last week I started feeling a cough coming on, and have had to up my asthma medicine.  This morning and afternoon, it's cough/hack/ick/cough.  I think I'm going to go home and just go to bed. Ride it out. I know what it's from- too much work. I'm overextended, teaching 4 online classes and working for the dean 30 hours a week.

I hate being sick.

Only 3 more weeks, only three more weeks...

Then more adventures!

You can almost see the snow on my hair...

The New Ordinary

I both love and loathe how busy I have been lately.  It's almost 11 p.m. and I gave up grading papers because I just can't muster the enthusiasm to encourage students when I'm this tired.  And my day started early too. I've also had some insomnia lately, so I'm waiting a bit to get sleepy before I go to bed.

So those are the downsides. I'm tired and I don't have enough hours in the day.  My job is stressful and sometimes makes for a much longer week than normal-bleeding sometimes all the way through my weekend.

The upside is that I'm incredibly happy to be doing what I'm doing right now. I know teaching 4 classes is considered an overload here. I've done more. Part of me is like "pssht, y'all don't know what you're talking about".  Then I have to grade 107 papers three to four times in ten weeks. And I go "Oh, yeah. Hmm."

My work for the Dean of Student Success is also highly interesting.  It involves travel, meetings with the research folks, meetings with the committee I'm working on, writing, meetings with students, writing, research and literature reviews and more meetings.  I really think my office hours, when I meet with students, is my stress relief.

I got to have sushi for the first time in what seems like two years.  I love it.  G does not. I can't bring myself to drag him to a sushi counter where he will have a miserable time.  I invited out a former student (now friend) whose husband also does not like sushi and we had a great meal at Oyama in Ellensburg.  The chef drew pictures on our food and carved a carrot slice into the shape of a bunny for garnish.  He even made us a little appetizer and said it would help with digestion.

The food was delicious!

So if I work pretty hard, I can also take time to connect with my "kind and very understanding husband who knows that I'm a workaholic but I can't help it that I love what I do and overextend myself so he's putting  up with me".    The new mantra is that this only for another 5 weeks.

Mantra: as in "It's only 5 more weeks. It's only 5 more weeks. It's only 5 more weeks. It's only 5 more weeks."

I'm sad and happy for my friend Kim.  She was the first friend I made here in Ellensburg.  She's the manager of the office where I work.  She has literally thrown herself in front of students who try to get in to see people without appointments and she does a great job of managing people, resources and time.  She got a new job on campus and yesterday was her last day.  So I'm happy for her and sad for me. We'll still be friends outside of work- we are making an appointment for early morning coffee on Tuesday mornings- but I'll miss her constancy in my daily routine and her ready smile and our silly chats with Joy, the other amazing lady (counselor, advocate, and case manager) who offices next to me.

For now, this is the new normal. Lots of work with periods of rest and periods of insomnia from stress.  Lately it's been sleepless and I won't lie; I'm tired.  But it will get better.  Five more weeks.

In the meantime, Happy Valentine's Day. I brought chocolate and candy and gifts for students and a few sweet people I know on campus.  This weekend, we're getting away for a little romantic trip.  Not really for Valentine's day, but because we have a 3 day weekend.

Peace out.

Catch Up!

Has it really been a month since I've written anything? And here it is, 9:35 on a weeknight. My bedtime is at 10, so I'm giving myself 20 minutes to type like crazy. Here's a quick catch up:

I'm teaching classes (4) and working for the Dean of Student Success.  I really like both things I'm doing but I need about 20 more hours in my week to make it work better.  Always, always busy. But the time flies by like nothing and I look up and it's time to go home.  Mostly because G gets done at 5 and walks over to my office to get me so we can walk home together. I like that.

It's getting lighter every evening.  It was pitch dark by 4:15 last month. Now we walk home as the sun sets. Something else I like.  But it's coooooold.  Like tonight it's -1 Fahrenheit.  Not like Celsius or anything. Like a negative number.  It would be more fun if there was snow. But hardly any precipitation in the valley means that it's just freezing and windy.  Still, it's snowy in the hills and we continue to add on snow pack.  That's important so that the world doesn't catch on fire next summer.

I got a fitbit! I love it. It's a small little dealybopper.  That's the technical term, dealybopper.

It sort of clips onto the center of my bra and does all sorts of recording.  I've got steps in a day, miles traveled, how many minutes I was "highly active", how many calories I've burned, and how many flights of stairs I've climbed that day. At night, I slip it into a little wristband and it tracks my sleep.

Now, my daytime activities are good. Between walking to and from work and working out so much, I average about 7 miles a day.  That's awesome.  I make it a point to climb at least 20 flights of stairs a day and burn at least 2100 calories.  All of those things are fun to keep track of.  Here's the bad part though: My sleep cycles are bad.  I get up several times a night and am a restless sleeper.  It's worse when Eleanor doesn't feel good because I'm up and checking on her several times a night.  I call it just being a worrywart.  I guess the other term is hyper vigilance.  Love the fitbit though.

Eleanor isn't feeling well again.  It's the cold.  She usually sleeps by my feet but ends up wanting to snuggle to keep warm.  Sure, I can snuggle at 2:47 a.m.  Not a problem. And again at 4. Ok.  Now, how do I get back to sleep?

I was invited to the men's basket ball game at CWU last Saturday for Faculty Appreciation night.  One of my students says that I have made a difference in his life so I, along with seven or eight other professors, were pulled onto the court at halftime and recognized.  They even gave me a tee shirt.  My student- a freshman- not only got to play, but he made both of his free throws. I was really proud of him.  He's a good kid.

Other than that, things are going along quite nicely.  I enjoy winter and don't think it's long enough. I love the frozen look of the ground and imagine the roots of all living things snug in their dirt, hibernating until the sun wakes them gently in a few weeks.  Sleep well, because soon spring will come like a lion or a lamb, and the world will bloom.

I have news on the employment front, but I can't say anything yet. Nothing that wouldn't jinx things outright. I'll keep you posted.  In the meantime, I am hoping that G and I can go to Louisiana for Spring Break to see his family. We'll get to meet our niece Haylee Kate for the first time. I can't wait!

Ugh, it's almost 10.  Gotta go.  Back soon!

Random 5 Friday

Ok, let's see. Today's Random 5 Friday are going to be lots of fun.

1. Classes resume on Monday!  I'm simultaneously teaching three in person classes and one online.  I've set up forums for both on a new learning platform.  Our old one is Blackboard. Kinda clunky but familiar.  The new one, Canvas, is going to be instituted anyway so I might as well get used to it.  I like teaching online, believe it or not.  I always learn new things.
You do a whole lot of work up front, but mostly the students run the classes and I pitch in for discussions, grading and structuring the forums.  It works well with my style.  Also, I can teach in my jammies.

Credit: learningau.wordpress.com 

2. I'm on a health kick. In my twenties, I was overweight and had fallen into a sedentary lifestyle. I ate meat and fast food too often.  I started making resolutions.  The first was to lose some weight. I did that.  The next year was to get into good enough shape to teach aerobics classes.  Done. The next year I became certified as a personal trainer.  Then I ran half marathons in subsequent years, got my black belt in Kempo karate and earned a master's degree. Yeah, I'm goal oriented.   In the last few years, I haven't made any New Year's resolutions, other than to continue on with good health and to act morally and behave like a decent human being to others.  But this year, I do resolve to return to running more. I can't do half marathons anymore. My joints complain and I don't want to feel pain.  But I can do 5k races with relative ease, so I'm going to commit to doing at least 3 races this year.
Ok, there, I said it.  Can't go back on it now! I think the first one is in May. Heck, maybe all three are in May! But the first one is the Bloomsday run. Also, don't you want to see me looking like this more often:

3. My sister and nephew came to visit us on New Year's Day.  I always love visiting with my sister.  She's the one we went to spend Thanksgiving with this year.  Whenever she feels too crazy, she takes a break and comes to visit.  I'm glad she brought my nephew, because he's a sweet kid. However, last September he turned 13 and I'm not really sure how it happened, but he's a teenager now.  Fortunately, he's a health conscious kid too. When we ate lunch yesterday, he ordered a salad with his sandwich instead of french fries and talked to him mom about not eating greasy food anymore, keeping salad in the house and avoiding sugar.  I am also continually impressed with my sister's skills as a mom.  She's just so patient.  Sometimes my nephew says that he'd like to come live with G and me.  I say "No, you really don't want that.  Your mom loves you a whole lot more than I do and you get away with much more there than you would here."  He gets to do motorcross and travel with his dad for big races.  His dad is the pit boss for a stock car racing team and now that he's 13, he can go help in the pits.  

It always makes me sad to see them leave. The good part is that now we live in Washington, it's a 4 hour drive. It used to be a 6 hour plane ride and a rental car. :) 

Awesome people

4. I went to the dentist today. I have a temporary crown now and the dentist also removed a 12-year-old root tip from having my wisdom teeth pulled in 2001.  He's baffled as to why they left that in there. It never healed and I never thought I could change that.  But he got out a tiny, tiny spade looking tool and dug it into my jaw.  I almost fainted and I'm glad I was laying down.  I was very brave. I also am really resistant to anesthetic so it took either 4 or 5 shots to numb me up. Now, six hours later, I am almost back to normal and it's painful. Owie. Owie. Medic! G says he'll take good care of me tonight. 

News flash: I am a big baby at the dentist.  I have a high paint tolerance- I once broke my arm and didn't know it until a few years later.  But I can't take dental work. And dental work with needles? Nightmare. 

5. I've been painting again. I do like it. I like to find ideas and incorporate them into projects. I put up a picture of one project on Instagram.  You can find my photos here. My sister-in-law asked for something for her daughter's first birthday.  I can do that- or at least I'll try.  I'm going to spend some time this weekend as follows: Tonight I'm resting. The rest of the time, I'll look for a good project worth of a beautiful southern princess.  I'll also do some editing on my friend Janis' latest book (she's a wonderful writer!) and maybe even catch a movie with G and my friend Kim who I barely have seen in the last month.  And running. And finishing syllabi for Monday. 

Have a great weekend!