Four Months

Joe and I have been married now for just over four months.  It’s nearly Christmas, and it doesn’t seem like any time has gone by at all.  Is that good or bad?  I don’t have any previous frame of reference with which to gauge these things.

Joe got us Netflix for the Wii, which is pretty much the best present ever right when going on vacation.  Usually, Winter Break signals a period of manic boredom when I start to clean things with a bucket of bleach and a fresh toothbrush.  Now I can watch nature shows, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, movies, or what have you rather than resort to crawling around on my knees getting high on carpet cleaner fumes.

We had an early Christmas dinner here this evening with my mother, father, and youngest brother in attendance.  I made a duck, with stuffing, taters, green beans, and sweet potatoes, all from scratch.  I love to cook, as long as I have the time and ingredients to do it “right”.  This means that I like to cook twice a year.

Joe opened up one of his presents early – the Samsung Intercept.  He was quite happy, which makes me quite happy.  He doesn’t really need another tiny, shiny screen to stare at, but what can you do?  TOYS!

We are set to leave town for Christmas, visiting Joe’s sister, brother in law, and nephew in Minneapolis.  My MIL bought us the plane tickets for Christmas, which was very kind and thoughtful of her. The weather outside (their house) is frightful, so (hopefully) their fire (will be) so delightful.  Even if their “fire” is just baseboard heating.  I’ve lived in Seattle my whole life.  I really don’t do anything sub 20 degrees very well at all. Except complain.  I can complain at ANY temperature.

The Plague

Here I sit, hoodied and pajama-ed, having succumbed to the plague that has taken down almost every student of mine, not to mention multiple family members, my fiancee, almost all of my friends, and half of my coworkers.  I thought myself immune, like Wolverine.  In a way, I am relieved, as I am usually the first to become sick when such illnesses hit.  Getting sick is like a return to normalcy for me, a reminder than I am not impervious, and that I should take good care of myself.  It does suck, though, being sick.  Joe is great though, and cancelled his plans for the evening to take care of me and buy me popsicles and chicken.

Being sick does come with some perks, aside from chicken, such as having a day off from work, the first I have taken all year.  Kudos to my bosses, who responded promptly to my 4AM email pleading for clemency. I have been relaxing, heavily medicated of course, catching up on TV and homework, drinking what is probably too much green tea, and pumping myself full of expectorant, ibuprofen, and pseudoephedrine.  I will return to work tomorrow, similarly cocktailed up, and hopefully not run out of steam before 8PM when my grad class is over.

May is a horridly stressful month for me, and is proving to be even more so combined with my pursuit of a graduate degree.  End of the year testing, conferences, ABA, finals, and the Birthday of Joe.  I was not really feeling the stress mentally, but I must have been feeling it physically.  Throw in my diet and excessive gymminess, and it makes sense that I got sick.

Technology and Things that are Way Better than Powerpoint

History of High-Stakes Assessment and Special Populations on Prezi

Here is the latest Prezi I made for class. Hope it’s informative.

Something to do with Being Awesome

I am currently applying for a honor through Phi Delta Kappa called Emerging Leaders. I am trying to wrangle up some letters of recommendation, polish up my curriculum vitae, and write some snazzy things about myself. I’d really like the honor, not just because I work hard at my job, but because I LOVE my job, want to move forward with my career, and eventually publish something. If I receive the Emerging Leader Award, I’ll have the chance to publish my thesis in PDK! Fingers crossed. I am not the most qualified person for the award, but I am pretty awesome, and I think some of that will come across in my recommendation letters and personal statements.

Also, homework. Metric butt-tons of it. That’s 3.5 standard butt-tons.

Jogging in the Real World is Tough

I went on my first, non-treadmill run on Saturday.  Up the hill to Phinney (holy crap, was that hard), then going north one black and back down the hill until I got back to the apartment.  It was almost exactly one mile, and boy did I feel it the next day.  My shins were killing me, but my hips felt loose this time – a decided improvement.  Thanks again to Josh for the running shoes!  So far, I’ve lost 14 pounds all told, and I can feel the Levothroid helping already.  I have much more energy in the morning, and I can actually see the scale move.

I’ve been going to the gym in the mornings now, because after I get down with work and grad classes, the only thing I want to do is lie down on the couch and zen out.  The downside, of course, is getting up at 6am.  Blah.

Dress-Mania

My lovely and talented friend Marianne has graciously agreed to hand-sew my wedding dress.  Her excitement outweighs even my own, so I thought I’d put together a little stylebook of the kind of look I’m going for.  Things to remember – it will be purple and black, with possibly a hint of hunter green somewhere in there.  I’m thinking black lace, possibly purple silk dupioni. Tell me what you think, ladies.

I like the bodice of this one, as well as the skirt.

The sweatheart neckline and material are fabulous.

Holy hotness, Batman.

The super-tiny-waist dress

Not too much lace, just enough

Though on some cap-sleeves, add some lace, and now you're talking

Cleavage, ahoy!

Salon of Shame pt. 1

Oh dear lord. I found my high-school diary from my senior year.  I can’t not share some of the strange, hormone-induced ramblings.

5.30.01

The girl in front of my is afraid of people with Tourette’s Syndrome.

5.31.01

We just had an intruder alert drill. “Cluster behind the file cabinets. It’s harder for the bullets to penetrate them.”

7.19.01

I am sitting in the doctor’s office lobby.  There is a small lab puppy who resides here to keep the nurses company.  I feel that this may consistitute a health violation. He is trying to eat a plant that serves as decor in the waiting room.  Now the puppy is trying to eat my water bottle.  My purse.  Sit, puppy.  Sit.  I have now been informed the puppy’s name is Elvis.

Lie down, Elvis.

Asian man staring at me.

Elvis eating plant.

Asian man is wearing a grey-green suit with navy socks. It bothers me for some reason.  He leaves, and now I am alone.  Just me and Elvis.

7.20.01

Everything seems dingy and all blurred together today. Everything is dusty, and God just ran his fingers over it, just to make sure.

I like to watch the duct-tape Jesus hanging from the rear view mirror.  I made him, and a little crucifix for him to hang on.  He lives in Justin’s car now, shaking lightly in sync with the engine, holding on for dear life when Justin takes a 15 mph turn at sixty.

Jesus doesn’t like it when we take his life in our hands.

3.30.02

I had a dream in which I fell in love with a young, curly-haired genius. The dream spanned several years, from college (when I didn’t like him and stole his credit card to spite him) to an architectural expo where I gave it back in a touchingly funny and timelessly romantic scene.  Though, in hindsight, stealing one’s credit card only to return it years later is hardly romantic.

Later in the dream, we escaped death by climbing up the walls, and I discovered a calculator program that would categorize people by what flavor of lube they enjoyed most.

5.10.02

I met a man the other day with a sidewalk-staring gaze,

His sour-dour face was one which smiles could never phase.

I asked him for the time and he replied, “Why does it matter? Go buy a watch instead of bugging me with idle chatter.”

My brain began to clatter with harsh words and moral strife,

So I blocked his way and demanded his say on why he hated life.

His eyes locked mine with a soulless stare, a never-ending pit.

“I hate life,” he said ice-coldly, “because I’m living it.”

5.27.02

Loneliness is an empty threat to someone who has never had an oportunity to synchronize their heartbeat with the nervous ticking of a wristwatch.

Poor Little Lappy

Just thought I would share the Seattle Weekly blog post about the Monday mayhem that ensued at karaoke last week. They talk about me!

Snappy Dragon and the Perils of Caring Too Much

Joe and I ate dinner at Judy Fu’s (which was delicious) but all the whie I just kept thinking, “Man, I am burned out!”  I have been waking up extra early each day to go to the gym, which will finally start showing some results now that my recently diagnosed thyroid problems are being taken care of.  I feel like I’m constantly running – to the gym, to work, to school.  I never eat lunch anymore – I spread it out into snacks throughout the day that don’t require actual sitting.  And here I am, trying to figure out wedding stuff.  I don’t know if I can hack it.  The wedding is a ways away, and I like to think about it, but maybe I shouldn’t.  Maybe I should throw it on the back burner for a while and just go day-by-day. Unfortunately, going day-by-day has often resulted in things sneaking up on me and then me freaking out and rushing around all over again.

At least I got to eat some kick-ass noodles.

Long time, no see.

Well, some doin’s have been a transpiring in Shilohville lately, and I feel the need to expel some of my brain sludge to make room for more, well, brain sludge. After four years, Joe has proposed to me and we are now engaged to be married. We are tentatively setting a date around the month of August, in 2011. The wedding and reception will be taking place in Anacortes complete with karaoke and various other wacky madness. We have a tight budget, but with our Army of Crafty Friends, I think we’ll be able to pull something together that will be quite brimming with awesomeness.

The proposal was an emotional affair. He proposed atop a large hill at Rosario Beach in Deception Pass State park, and I surprisingly cried, seeing that I am not much for happy tears. What I wasn’t at all prepared for was the surprise engagement party awaiting us at the local Anacortes bowling alley, complete with all of my local friends. Talk about cognitive dissonance. My brain basically melted, and I cried like a baby.

Shock and Awe

Joe Smooches

Showing the Bling

Designed by the man himself

Oh dear readers, be prepared for the deluge of wedding madness that will ensue.