2011, Week 37

It's hard to even think about what I did this week. I finished out the weekend by writing some on the dissertation and then going back to the Plano Balloon Festival for the Saturday afternoon balloon glow. Let me just say, I LOVED being out there with all the balloons. It was so much fun meeting the Bailey's and their friends, experiencing a new adventure, and tasting my first champagne in a toast to my first flight. The rest of the week was mostly work as usual, looking forward to a fun Friday night. To cap off the week, I joined some of my Cypress friends at the Texas Rangers baseball game. The weather was amazing, the fellowship was fun, the Rangers won, the Friday night fireworks were spectacular, and most importantly, the Rangers' win and the Angels' loss meant we clinched the American League West. Woohoo, it's playoff time again - 2nd year in a row!

2011, Week 36

There's not much to say about most of the week. I watched the Bama game vs. Penn State - we won big! I sang with the First Baptist Euless choir for the first time - we sang one of my all-time favorites, "Thou Oh Lord," for the 9/11 commemoration. Most of the week I was looking ahead, waiting for Friday, because I had a very exciting adventure planned - my first hot-air balloon ride! And it. was. amazing! The opportunity was more than I could have expected, and I can't wait for my next chance to fly. (See Barb's Wire for the full story.)

2011, Week 35

In certain ways this week was more of the same - busy, busy at work, preparing for class, etc. But in other ways this week brought change - the best change was cooler, fall-like weather. It was such a relief to have a break from the 100+ degree temps. The nights cooled off considerably and it was finally comfortable enough outside for Brodie and me to resume our long walks along the canal. Ahh... I love fall! Not to mention, college football is back, with a big Bama win in their first game. ROLL TIDE! The Labor Day weekend allowed for some relaxation, some dissertation work, some scrapbooking, and some time hanging out with friends. And in a big step for me, I attended choir practice at First Baptist Euless on wednesday night, trying to see if that might be a place I can fit in. And I really enjoyed it! Now if only I can find a Sunday School class, I might actually have a new church home!

2011, Week 34

Well, it's starting to sound like a broken record, but this was yet another long week of work. I can't wait to the start-of-school projects are finished, hopefully in a week or so. And with 100+ degree days, still, I don't even have the outlet of walking Brodie when I get home. It's just too hot! The weekend was good - I took Brodie to Rebecca's cross country meet Friday night and then Bec spent the night while her family took Katherine to college. Then Saturday I met Rachel and her parents for lunch and did a little shopping before coming home to write write write. I decided to split the current chapter of my dissertation into two chapters (at least for now), which means I'm now in the middle of chapter 3 of 5, which means I'm halfway there! Of course, chapter 2 still needs some work, and I have to go back and do the edits Dr. Wolfe suggested to chapter 1, but hey, it's progress! I didn't get much work done during the week because I spent my evenings preparing for class or grading papers, but I'll get there. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy this long Labor Day weekend and the start of the 2011 college football season - ROLL TIDE!

2011, Week 33

This was another crazy busy week at work - the first full week of school, lots of major projects needing attention, and software training on three different days. Whew! On wednesday it felt like friday, so that made the week even longer. On a bright note, I started teaching the 8th grade New Testament class for the second year in a row, and I feel much more confident and am having a lot more dialogue with the students in class. I think I will enjoy this group of kids. But preparing for class + work + trying to write a dissertation wears me out. I'm so thankful for my sweet puppy who makes me smile and want to play when I come home each afternoon. I love this pic I snapped of me and Brodie and fixed up with a new cellphone app.

2011, Week 32

The big event this week, other than the start of school, was Brodie's birthday (which is really the anniversary of the day I adopted him). Happily, his birthday was on Saturday so I could spend the day with him. What was amazing is that I woke up about 5:00 am to the sound of RAIN! It had been almost 2 months since we'd seen rain, so it was so great to hear! It was still relatively cool when we got up, so I took Brodie on a long walk along the canals - he loved it! I know he's ready for fall so we can resume our walk schedule. That afternoon I took him to PetSmart to pick out a toy (I replaced his favorite froggie) and to Sonic where I treated him to some vanilla ice cream. I know, I spoil him! But hey, the vet said he could stand to gain a couple of pounds, so it didn't hurt. The rest of the weekend was spent writing, and then the week was full of two long days of faculty inservice, New Family Orientation, a LONG day of work on Saturday, the first two days of school, and Convocation. I was SOOOOO ready for the coming weekend!

2011, Week 31

Another crazy busy week. I led a praise team mini-camp with the Cambridge praise team, getting ready for chapel and Convocation. I ran the tax-free book-sale day for all the Cambridge families to purchase books. And I had so many other tasks to complete at work. It was insane! In the evenings, I was so tired that I got nothing done. But in the midst of all the insanity that was wrapped up with work, one of the moms (who also owns a westie) brought Brodie a collar which she made out of a Cambridge tie. It is adorable! And he looks so handsome in it - ready to go cheer on the Lions at the first soccer game.