2011, Week 42

This week I was SO hoping to see the Rangers win their first World Series. Unfortunately, didn't happen... They played hard, and they played well, but they lost. :( Texas also had its first real cold-snap this week - it was fabulous! And somehow, my tomato plant got confused about what season it is. I now have 13 tomatos in various sizes. I just hope they survive until they ripen.

2011, Week 41

The weather this was pretty much amazing! We had our first few really cool nights - fall finally arrived! Yay! Most of the week was same ol' same ol', but Dr. Wolfe was out of town so I did get to catch up on some projects at work that I don't normally have time for when he's there. My evenings were spent enjoying the weather and watching the World Series. On Thursday I got to join the 6th grade class on a field trip to the Dallas Arboretum - it was GORGEOUS! And then Friday was the Cambridge fall break, so Rachel and I took our annual trip to the State Fair. We ran into Missi and Taryn there, and had a great time enjoying the beautiful day, seeing the sites, petting animals, eating fried food, riding a (painful) ride, and listening to Randy Travis in concert. What a fabulous day!

2011, Week 40

Not much exciting to say about this week. I was supposed to go to Six Flags with some friends on Sunday, but the rain curse continues - of course, north Texas's first really rainy day in months fell on a day I had outside plans. That's okay, I took advantage of the time to do some dissertation work, and made it through Jeremiah. Progress is slow, but it is progress nonetheless. Other big events of the week were Cambridge's accreditation review, which we've been working toward for over a year. And the Texas Rangers are playing in the American League Championship Series, so I watched a lot of baseball this week.

2011, Week 39

The highlight of this week was a visit from my Aunt Kathy. She lives in Georgia, but had to come to the metroplex for a conference. And what do you know - her hotel was only about 10 minutes from my apartment! She and her friend Karen came over as soon as they arrived on Friday afternoon, and after introducing them to Brodie and giving them the grand tour, we headed out to the Texas State Fair. They were impressed with how large the fair was, and I even convinced Kathy to ride the ferris wheel with me, but we all agreed that the fair was a money pit. We had a great time though. On Saturday I took them to experience a more Texan environment - the Ft. Worth Stockyards. We enjoyed a lunch of Riscky's barbeque and then wandered around checking out all the western gifts and apparel and enjoying the fun atmosphere. The fact that it was a gorgeous day made it even better. That night my cousin Colton (Kathy's son) drove in from Lubbock, so we just hung out, visited, and watched Bama drown the Florida Gators. And I even got to meet them all for lunch on Sunday before Colton headed back out west and Kathy had to attend meetings at the conference. It was so good to see my aunt and cousin again and to show them around my home. But seeing them made me really ready for the holidays when I get to be around even more family. It won't be long!

2011, Week 38

This week I spent even more time with the Cambridge students than usual. This week was the All-School Retreat, where all the faculty and students go to a retreat center and enjoy a time of non-academic fun and fellowship. We went to Sky Ranch, a Christian retreat center, where we created skits, played flag football and dodge ball, worshipped, competed in a mega relay, and enjoyed one another's company. On Wednesday night we played a fun game where everyone dresses in camo and black, and the students have to make their way across the campus to the meeting center without getting caught by one of the faculty. The faculty were stationed throughout the woods and around campus, trying to catch the students with their flashlights. It was a blast. The day after the retreat, the students and faculty went to two separate sites for community service. 6th-10th grades did a tremendous amount of work at a large local thrift store, while the juniors and seniors served lunch to soldiers at the DFW USO. I got to participate in the USO project, and it was so touching to see all those soldiers enjoying one last meal with their families before departing for who knows how long. Weeks like this really make me thankful to work with such a great group of students at such a service-oriented school.

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.)