Happy Holidays

I'm up early making final preparations for my Ukraine trip, looking forward to three weeks away from work and school.

I've started receiving all kinds of wonderful Christmas cards, and as is usual, this spurs both delight and tremendous guilt. The delight is obvious, and perhaps the guilt is, too--I haven't sent out Christmas cards since about the second or third year we were married... I think around the time that I began working and schooling at the same time. I write a Christmas letter almost every year--I think I even posted it on this blog once--but usually I write it in early November (before finals), and save it until it's closer to the holidays--always a bad idea. When finals hit, I don't have the time to address and mail things, and after finals I'm too burned-out to remember or to care about anything.

Suffice to say that, if you have ever wondered why you haven't received a card from me, I have probably added you to my mental Christmas card list, but it's nothing personal--I haven't sent out a card since about 2003. Many thanks for your lovely cards--I love seeing the card you picked, the photo of your family, and hearing what has been going on in your life for the past year. I look forward to the day when I complete this crazy work/school regimen and have no more excuses left to not send you a card. Perhaps then I will also have more to tell than: "we had a really busy year--me with the work/school, and Alex with the work/travel."

Btw, I am sick of the word "busy..." as I am guessing are most any of you who read this blog. Hmph.

In any case, my thanks to those who are gracious enough to continue sending us cards! I appreciate the time you take to organize and mail them.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah, a great New Year, and any other holidays you're celebrating.

[Crickets Chirping]

Yeah... it's been quite a month.

I've thought a bit about blogging (though primarily on my professional blog), but haven't got around to it. Something about work and school and school and work... and no time to breathe.

Anyway, in this week's news:

• Alex is currently in Kharkov, Ukraine (yes, again... again), and staying a total of two weeks (yes, through Thanksgiving)... and his suitcase is lost.
  
• Despite my neti pot, my sinuses are giving me intense grief. By which I mean pain.
  
• All the Christmas presents have been bought, and arrived in nice brown packages last night. I'm having a little wrapping party by myself tonight, then sticking the presents under the bed until Christmas.
  
• I'm trying to register for spring classes... and facing the likelihood of three evening classes a week--which means getting home around 10pm three nights a week. Geez, can I just live in Denton??
• I'm not really as grumpy as all this sounds. Promise.
• I keep trying to read a chapter or two of a fiction book to put myself to bed, and I can't concentrate on any, even my favorites. The last book I successfully read for fun was A.J. Jacob''s non-fiction "Know It All," about reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. (Oh, and "Freakonomics.") I think my brain doesn't have the energy for escapism--so anyone have fun non-fiction suggestions for the winter break? (So much for reading my new comics--geez.)
• I have been in love with Etsy.com for some time, but finally made my first purchase(s) from it last week. Etsy people are WONDERFUL, and their products are even better in person. My paycheck trembles.
• I've been in NaNoWriMo envy this month--there is no way I could balance the holiday, school, work, and 50,000 words of a novel so I won't even try--but it did spur me to write a lot of notes on mine Monday. The end of the first draft is in sight, people--when I start writing again in earnest in mid-May, I think I can finish it pretty quickly.
  

Happy Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day!

My pirate name is:

Mad Mary Bonney

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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Layin' Low

Believe it or not, our Christmas tree is finally up. No ornaments, but hey the lights are pretty on their own.

Last week was my crazy week of two out-of-town trips and four deadlines: this is my week of playing deep catch-up at work, so I'll still be lying low on the blog-radar. Enjoy your holiday preparations!

Happy Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day!

Arrr, my mateys!
May ye enjoy this day of celebratin' with a pint of grog.

My pirate name is:

Bloody Mary Kidd

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Foto Fun

Thanks to a colleague's gracious sponsorship of my Flickr Pro Account, I've been uploading past photos like mad. Enjoy these tidbits:

New Year's Party 01/07	FDLP in Denver 04/07
HSU BYA Grad Event 05/07	Random Wii Photos
Riverwalk Thanksgiving 11/06	TLA in San Antonio 04/07

And if you putter around long enough on my Flickr page, you'll find more Star Wars photos, library photos, wedding photos, family photos, land photos--and of course plenty of ridiculous photos I've taken of myself (eventually, these will join them). Just because.

....Happy May Day!

By the way, Happy May Day!

And if you're a decade-plus collegiate like myself, then you're just glad that your research paper has been posted, your short reports are submitted, and the midterm is long over.

Happy Commercialized Excuse for Oppressing Singles Day

You can read my personal feelings about Valentine's Day in a previous post--albeit that I've been happily non-single for six years. Still, something about forcing people (particularly, often the male half of the relationship*) into a hastily-planned show of love that may be less than sincere doesn't sit well with me. Then again, perhaps that's just my flu talking.

I'm working from home today--felt much better, then got up and took a shower. Man, do you realize how much energy it takes to get up and stand under water for half an hour? I'm worn out just from getting dressed, then dragging myself and my laptop to the couch.

Okay--sorry, this is my day for griping--but this story about Cleopatra not being such a looker is a little ridiculous. First of all, there's the small matter of whether or not the coin's designer ever saw Cleopatra--much less up close. Second, there's the matter of cultural ideas of beauty being different every decade, much less 32BC versus 2007AD. So regardless of whether to us, "She does look as if she's forgotten to put her teeth in," maybe we ought to just leave a little mystery in the myth of Cleo's beauty.

Immediately upon leaving this morning, Alex burst back inside, shut the door, and pronounced that yes, once again, it was snowing. Again. In Texas. I'm wondering if we mistakenly entered the wrong house sometime around Christmas, if we both took a wrong turn home one day and now we're living in Missouri--because clearly it can't be Texas we live in, not with all this snow we've been having. Bizarre.

And here's Alex's contribution of the day: the uber-helpful error message he received from The Gates Error-O-Matic (or, The Empire Formerly Known As MS):



*For a hilarious illustration of this, listen to this excerpt from this past week's episode of A Prairie Home Companion.