Christmas in ABQ

I can't believe the year is almost over. Right now, I'm enjoying some very lazy days in Denver with Damon and Diana. It's been snowing since mid-morning, and I'm happy we don't have anywhere to go.

Last week, we were in ABQ.  We had a great time seeing both families and some friends. I was also delighted by the warm weather--temps in the 50s pretty much the whole time. It was just what I needed. I had lunch one day with my friends and former co-workers from H-town, and another day Mark and I got to see some friends from high school that we hadn't seen in a while. We also had dinner with some very good friends of ours who have the cutest kids we know. It's amazing to see how much they've grown and changed since we saw them in the summer.

Of course, the main event was the family time. We stayed with my parents for the first half of our trip and Mark's parents for the second half. My mom hosted another fantastic mother-daughter tea, and I talked her into letting me make more of my new favorite sugar cookies (I may post some pics of the delicious food later...). We also got to visit some of our favorite local restaurants and eat all of the best holiday desserts. As usual, we enjoyed our Christmas Eve with Mark's family and Christmas day with mine. We were overwhelmed by many generous gifts, and I even managed to surprise Dad with his annual banana bread by wrapping it in a box this year. Despite being there for just over a week, the days sure flew by. I'm thankful for video chat and all the other ways we can stay in touch. (So, mom, don't forget to bring your laptop home every once in a while so we can "see" each other!).

After that wonderful but hectic time in ABQ, it is nice to be sleeping in and taking it easy for a few days now before reality sets in again next week. It's also as good a time as any to fight the cold I seem to have...

Overall, there's nothing like Christmas at home to remind me of all the ways I have been blessed. I'm so thankful for all God's done for us this year, and looking forward to finding out what He has for us in 2011!

A New Priority for the New Year

I'm planning some kind of reflective post about my first semester of teaching full-time, but this isn't it. :-)

In the meantime, I wanted to share about a great idea I came across in a friend's blog. You can read more there (scroll down to the second part of the post), or you can check out the original post from Beth Moore.

The basic idea is that we are committing to memorize 24 scripture verses in 2011, two per month. Everyone participating will choose his/her own verses, which is a neat approach. It's been a really long time since I have made memorization of the Bible a priority, and this method provides both flexibility and accountability. I share Beth's reasoning for recognizing the importance of this spiritual discipline--I need to consciously focus on His Word or I am easily overcome with worry. (This gives me a great idea for my first verse...)

If you're interested in joining me in this project for the new year, post a comment and let me know. I'll be sharing my verses here as I go along.

More snow!

It seems like we've had flurries just about every day since my last post, but on Friday, we finally woke up to a little accumulation (about an inch or two).

Today, it's supposed to snow all day, leaving us with 3-5 inches by tomorrow midday. Mark has a final tomorrow morning, so we're hoping the roads won't be too bad. Otherwise, it's pretty exciting to have more snow! (I especially like sitting on the couch watching it out the window when I don't have anywhere to go. :-) Here's what it looks like now (from the kitchen window):

The semester is almost over; I taught my last two classes on Thursday. Since then, I've been calculating final grades and writing progress reports. (I never had to do the progress reports at UA, so that's a bit different for me). I think that overall, the end of the semester has been much easier for me now that I'm just teaching. In fact, I'm feeling a little guilty about spending my day relaxing today while Mark is working on a final paper. I do have a bit more work to do to wrap things up, and I'd like to at least start thinking about the spring semester before we head back home for the holidays. But I've decided those tasks can wait till Monday. I expect to have my last day in the office on Wednesday, then I'll have a few days to relax and prepare for another trip back to ABQ.

We also had holiday parties for the English department and the Percussion Studio this weekend, so that was kind of fun. And I've been baking cookies like crazy. Here are the pretty sugar cookies I made this weekend (using the same recipes I used for Valentine's). Yum.

First Snow in BG

We woke up this morning to flurries:

They lasted (on and off) all day. Here are some more pics. These ones are looking out my office window.

Here's a couple I took while walking home. (Our apartment complex is the one just here on the right). It was cold outside, especially with the wind. I love my new earmuffs!

It looks like we'll have more of the same tomorrow, and the chance of some accumulating snow by the weekend. Winter, here we come!

Back to BG

We had a great and very busy Thanksgiving back in ABQ. I think I saw most of my readers over the weekend, but I'll post some highlights here anyway.

• Airport security wasn't a big deal. Despite all the hoopla (which we had been following), we avoided both the new scanners and the pat downs by choosing the line for the metal detectors. This worked in both Detroit and ABQ. We waited for 15 minutes in Detroit and about 5 in ABQ to get through the lines. On the way back to BG, both of our flights arrived early. Perhaps the worst part of the trip was having to drive for an hour to get home after the day of flights. (We'll have to get used to that).
• We woke up to a dusting of snow on Thanksgiving morning. I was surprised that our first snow of the year was in ABQ not BG, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Nothing beats the look of snow on the desert plants. 
• The food was great. We had breakfast at Weck's more than once--their green chile is unbeatable. (We successfully brought home some frozen one-serving size containers that Mark's parents had been collecting for us). We also had Dion's. At my family's Thanksgiving meal, I was delighted to eat Dad's smoked turkey, Grandma's dried corn, and Mom's pies. Yum.

Of course, the most important part of the weekend was the quality time with family. It's so good to be back and see everyone, and I'm looking forward to heading home again for Christmas soon.

Now that we're home in BG, we're trying to plow through the last two weeks of the semester. (We've decided, as we do every year, that Thanksgiving falls at a terrible time in the semester for students and teachers). Mark has evening commitments every night this week, and I'm starting to grade the last major assignments of the semester (essay portfolios will come in at the end of the week...). But we know that we will, as we always have, get through.

Pictures

By request, here are pictures of our Christmas decorations. Nothing too extravagant...

Holiday Fever

I can't wait to be home for Thanksgiving, and we've started getting into the Christmas spirit early, too. About a week ago, I started listening to Christmas music (thanks to a rediscovery of Pandora). The city of Bowling Green has started celebrating, too. Last night was the community tree lighting ceremony, and this morning was a holiday parade. We didn't actually go to either (although we thought about it...). Instead, we decorated our own trees at home last night. Mark played Christmas music from his iPod (using the receiver Mark's parents got us when we moved). We had to find new places for our decorations, but everything looks great. It seemed worth it to decorate a bit early since we'll be out of town quite a bit this holiday season. I realized last night that the real fall weather seems to help me feel ready for the holidays. In Tucson, it always seemed like they snuck up on me. Not this year! I'm really excited to head home and see all the family. Plus, I'm having serious food cravings, often centered around green chile.

Other than looking forward to the holidays, I've been planning ahead for the end of the semester. At this point, I'm really starting to feel a difference between my former life as a teacher AND student and life as a full-time teacher. It's a relief to be only worrying about how to get all the final assignments graded on time without having to worry about writing my own final papers. In fact, although I've been strategizing a lot about how to get everything done before leaving town for Thanksgiving, I find myself with more free time today than I've had on this weekend in ages. I've also discovered that I dislike the lack of control that sometimes comes with teaching. For example, I wanted to have a set of essays I collected last week graded and returned before the break. I planned time in my schedule to make that happen. But I have a handful of students who haven't turned their essays in, which means I can't finish my to-do list! I've realized that I have to learn to let things like this go. I can certainly finish the ones I have, return those, and not feel pressure about the others. They made the choice to turn it in late, so they can wait longer to get it back.

Perhaps I should mention that I'm still really enjoying my job and my wonderful colleagues. I do have some great students, and I feel like I have learned a lot from teaching these classes so far. (I've got a list going about what I can do differently next time, too :-). It is so helpful to be able to ask the other instructors questions and share ideas. It's amazing that this semester is almost over, and while I welcome the break, I keep thinking about how much I want to continue to work here next year. With the uncertainty about that, I almost hate to be counting down the days...

Tea Party

Today I had the pleasure of enjoying a formal tea at the The Swan House in Findlay with some of my colleagues. The 4 of us who live in BG carpooled down together (about 25 minutes). While it wasn't as swanky as the Devonshire or St. James in ABQ, it was enjoyable. (It was also about $10 less expensive). The tea was great, and we were able to try as many flavors as we could drink. (I think I had at least 5 different kinds.) They also served a nice selection of finger foods on tiered plates. Again, I don't think the food was quite as good as the tea rooms in ABQ (or as good as my mom's), but it was pretty tasty. I think both mom and mom-in-law might be interested in trying it out next time they are in town. On the way home, the ladies also pointed out a bookstore that is in an old church not too far from the tea house. I thought that might even give Mark and Dad C. something to do if they wanted to get out of town also while the ladies have tea. I brought home a flier so I'll be prepared should anyone want to go.

It did seem a bit strange to be at a tea room without either mom there, since all my previous teas have been with family, but it was really nice to spend some time with these ladies outside of the office. I really have been blessed (again!) to work with such wonderful people. It also got me thinking about family and feeling thankful to be heading home in just a couple of weeks. I miss everyone, and I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time with all of the family over the holidays. I get a little anxious about all the travel, but I know it will be worth it in the end. In fact, I imagine I'll be in mom's living room having tea with her (or perhaps helping to prepare the Thanksgiving meal) at about this time two weeks from now. Can't wait!

First Frost

This morning we scraped ice off our windshield for the first time. I also wore my "winter coat" that I bought years ago in ABQ. I wonder how long I'll last before I decide I can't live without an ankle-length one...For now, though, I'm still trying to be excited about this change of climate. And, I'm thankful that our apartment pays for the heat! :-)

Fall is Flying By...

When I wrote the date on the board today, I couldn't believe that October has essentially come and gone. It's amazing how quickly the days and weeks seem to be passing--we're now more than halfway through the semester. In fact, I only have 5 weeks left with my writing classes (6 weeks with the speaking ones). I just finished grading the second essay, which leaves me with two to go. I think I'll adjust the due dates next time--it seems like a pretty demanding way to end the course. Although there are always little frustrations and problems with teaching, things are going really well overall. Just the other day, I had the wonderful experience of grading an essay in which a student's hard work really paid off. It's so encouraging to be able to see the evidence that they are really learning. I also continue to feel blessed by having a group of collaborative and helpful colleagues.

Besides work, this week I've been thinking a lot about family. My dad had a somewhat major (planned) surgery last week. He's recovering well, and my mom has been great about keeping me updated on how things were going, but it's been hard to be so far away. On the other hand, it's made me thankful to have the family that I do, and the close relationship I have with my family (and my in-laws). I'm also incredibly eager to be back at home for the holidays. I know Thanksgiving will be here before I know it! (Here's hoping I can manage my workload well so that I can be 100% invested in family time for the few days that we'll be back in ABQ).

I don't think there's really much else to report, but it felt like I hadn't posted in a while!

Fall Break in Grand Rapids, MI

When we decided to move to BG, we realized that we'd be living within easy driving distance of Mark's Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbe Jo. So, we made plans to visit over our fall break, and we had a great time! We left BG right after I finished teaching my class at 2:30 on Friday. We had a few problems with traffic and I made a couple of wrong turns, but we arrived there just after 6:30. Then, we had dinner, and spent the evening chatting with Uncle Mike, Aunt Debbe, and Mark's cousin Erin.

On Saturday, they took us to downtown Grand Rapids for Artprize, a huge art contest that takes place at venues all over town. There's no charge to see the artwork, which I thought was really cool. We focused on the downtown area because it had the most concentrated number of displays. It was a really cool event, and we had a blast walking around and seeing the huge variety of pieces.

The contest winners are decided by vote, and anyone can vote. We were there for the closing weekend, so the winners had just recently been announced. We started out at the Art Museum, where the first place artwork was displayed.

We waited in line for about an hour and a half to see it, and several other top-ten pieces. Thankfully, the line kind of snaked through the museum, so we were able to look at other entries and exhibits along the way.  At the end of the day, Mark and I agreed that the second place artwork, a huge glass mosaic, was actually our favorite.

We also saw this painting, which one of Uncle Mike's students had discovered last week. While I was taking the picture, Uncle Mike was arguing with us about whether or not he really looked like the painting, and a couple walking by took a look and said, "oh, yeah, you do!"

Some of the artwork was displayed in the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Although only the main lobby area was open to people without purchasing a ticket, I still think we can now say we've visited a presidential museum.

Another great venue was the Public Museum, which was our last stop in the afternoon. This one had artwork displayed all throughout, and admission was free. Here's a mermaid made out of toothpicks:

The regular exhibits looked really interesting, but since it was at the end of the afternoon, we didn't really have the energy to look at them closely. I think I had even more fun than I expected to; maybe we'll go back up for it next year!

When we got home, Aunt Debbe Jo and I worked on some beaded jewelry together. I hadn't made anything new in a long time, but I remembered she liked to bead, so I brought mine along in case we'd have time. here's what I made.

That night, Uncle Mike made some great homemade pizza. I also got to meet Mark's cousin Drew and his fiance.

On Sunday, we went to church with Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbe Jo, then we went over to Mark's cousin Mike's house for a family lunch. When we arranged this visit, Mark didn't realize that 4 these 5 cousins were actually living in the area, but I was so glad they were! I hadn't met two of these cousins yet, nor any of the spouses. So that was really fun. Anyway, Mike and Sarah hosted the lunch at their house. We were joined by Erin, Drew and Christie, and Grant, Melissa, and their son Micah. Sarah's family owns an apple orchard in the northern part of the state, and they had just made apple cider on Saturday. She sent us home with a half-gallon of the cider (which we had also sampled with lunch), and a selection of apples. I used a couple of the giant spies to make apple crisp tonight.

On Sunday night, Mark and I went out for dinner at Bennigan's (which we thought had gone out of business, and which we don't have in BG in any case!).

During the whole weekend, we had perfect weather. Also, the leaves were changing, so that was pretty, too. Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbe Jo have a beautiful yard.

We left Grand Rapids around 9am this morning, and stopped at an outlet mall just outside of Ann Arbor on the way home. I actually found a nice pair of khaki pants. (I had been trying to replace my old ones, which are totally worn out, for over a year). The drive home was uneventful, but beautiful, with all the leaves changing colors.

We had such a great trip, and I'm sure we'll go back a few more times while we're living so close by. Of course, it's also nice to be home, especially since we have tomorrow off from school! Then, we'll be just about halfway through the semester. Time sure flies!

Cell Phones in Class

Yesterday in my speaking/listening classes, it seemed like student cell phones were ringing off the hook! Thankfully, this is an unusual occurrence. Fast forward to today. I was in the middle of a lesson about how to organize a compare-contrast essay. Then I hear...MY phone ringing! I am horrified. I fess up right away, and rush over to my bag to silence the ring and turn off the sounds. I apologized at least twice, and told the students something like, "well, I guess you get a free cell phone ring in class." One of them actually said, "I think that's fair" :-) So, when class was over, I listened to the voicemail. It was Mark. He started the message, then said something like, "oh, I hope you weren't in class." I've always hated cell phones ringing in inappropriate places, and I always turn my ringer off before class. I usually double-check, because I'm so paranoid. And, I thought I remembered turning it off, so I was flabbergasted. Of course, it wasn't Mark's fault for calling--it was totally mine. Oh well. Teachers are people, too.

It's been a crazy week. I finished grading the first major assignments for all of my classes. I was observed by the director and assistant director of our program (on two separate days). I'm always tired at the end of the week, but I do love this job!

New Laptop!

I'm writing this on my brand-new laptop! I decided sometime in the summer that it was probably time to update, since I got mine in 2003. A new laptop seemed like a good way to spend my graduation money from the Cooks, but since I wasn't working over the summer I had to wait for some good cash flow before I could make the purchase. That turned out just fine, because it gave us time to look. Mark actually did most of the looking, and he picked out this one for me. It had some features I was looking for, like a built-in webcam and a number pad. Plus, it was on sale for a great price in August when he found it. I couldn't afford it yet, and I was checking the price about once a week. Sure enough, it went back up to the original price ($100 more). Thankfully, buy the time I was ready to buy, it was back on sale! With Mark's Amazon prime, I got it in two days! Although all we've done so far is install anti-virus and a trial office suite, I can certainly tell a difference with the speed. It's great! Of course, it has Windows 7, which I haven't used much prior to this, so I'll have a little learning to do. Mark's planning to get a new desktop, too, but his will be a little pricer, so we're waiting a little longer. (And, his current computer isn't 7 years old already). I guess I might have also been dragging my feet on making my upgrade because Pop-pop bought me my first laptop before I started college. It was pretty top-of-the-line, and it's met my needs for a long time. I think, though, that he would have wanted me to get the new one. I guess having an emotional attachment to a laptop isn't too strange, right?

Football Game

Last night we went to the first BGSU home football game. I was able to get free tickets, and we decided we should check it out. It seemed to be a pretty big deal--tons of tailgaters, a sea of orange school spirit, crazy parking...We actually walked over, to avoid that whole mess, and were there in time to see the pre-game show from the marching band (unfortunately, we weren't on the side they played to). BGSU scored early in the game, and when we left after half time, BGSU still had the lead (they did win--Mark checked later). The halftime show (Bohemian Rhapsody) was entertaining, too, and it was "band day" so a bunch of high school bands came out to play a couple of things all together. The whole thing reminded me of high school--football games, marching band competitions...Although we're not at all into sports, and even though we might not go again, we had a good time. I did take some pics with my phone, so if I figure out how, I'll post them here later.

Out and about

After another crazy week, I was able to get out and do some fun things in the area. Two of my colleagues invited me to join them at the Greek Festival in Toledo on Friday night. There is music and dancing and some other activities, but the main thing is the food. Everything I tried was great! We also got to tour the church, which was beautiful. There were huge stained glass windows and detailed paintings inside. It was fun to spend some time with people outside of the office.

Also this weekend in Bowling Green was the Black Swamp Arts Festival. It seems to be a very popular event, and I actually required 2 of my classes to check it out. I figured it was only fair for me to go, too! :-) Mark's professor was playing with a jazz group on one of the stages there on Saturday morning, so we went to listen to that for a bit, then walked around. We didn't buy anything, but it was a nice atmosphere. Definitely something to check out if you're ever here the second weekend of September.

We also drove up to Toledo on Saturday afternoon to do a little more clothes shopping. I think we've been able to get most of what we'll need until the winter. (Although I'm still looking for a pair of khaki's to replace my worn-out ones...I've been looking for over a year now.) We had lunch at Steak and Shake while we were up there, too.

Otherwise, things are going along as expected. We're busy, but mostly enjoying what we're doing. I've got great students and colleagues, and Mark is really having fun teaching. I do still feel like I haven't gotten my routine figured out, but I think things are working out okay despite my feeling frazzled on a regular basis. I still hope that will pass with time.

Hooray for Long Weekends!

Don't get me wrong--I am absolutely thrilled to have the job teaching. But I've felt behind and stressed since day one, and I'm thankful to have this long weekend to recuperate and hopefully work ahead. I guess it might just be my personality, but I feel uncomfortable if I don't have some idea of what I'll be doing a little down the road; so flying by the seat of my pants is not working for me. (Well, maybe it's not that bad, but I do feel like each day so far has been pretty hectic.) In any case, I think as I go along, it'll get better. And, I do have great students and helpful colleagues, so it's going to be a great semester.

Besides trying to get some rest and get some work done, Mark and I had plans to do some shopping. He got paid yesterday (hooray!) and he's been needing some new clothes. We drove down to the mall in Findlay and got some things there, including a mini-fridge for his office. (That should make sack lunches more appealing). We're also planning to visit some used car lots and start shopping for our next car. Since we sold the Mustang, we'd like to buy something bigger that Mark can use for transporting his equipment.

In other news, we finally had some work done in the apartment that we'd been waiting for. They repaired the siding by our back door. In the bathroom, we got a curved shower rod, so our shower is now extra roomy instead of extra narrow. And, we got a brand new toilet. The bathroom's really taken a step up!

A Hectic Start

Well, the first week is halfway over, and it's been crazy so far! We're both really happy to be doing what we're doing, but it's always difficult to re-adjust to the busy school schedule after having the summer off.

I've met all of my students, and I'm starting to get to know them. It's really fun to be back in the classroom, although I'm still a little overwhelmed by figuring out the new classes. Thankfully, everyone in the program is really helpful, and I enjoy working with them. I am, however, looking forward to next week, when I hope to feel more settled in. Overall, other than being tired, it's going pretty well.

Here it comes!

Yep, the beginning of the school year is just around the corner. And I'm thrilled to be working full time in the ESL Program. I'll be teaching 4 classes, and since I just got hired a few days ago, I've been pretty busy trying to get ready. I feel like there's a long way to go before Monday, but I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end. On that note, I ought to get back to work, but I wanted to share the good news!

One month later...

We moved in one month ago today! On one hand, its hard to believe we've been here that long; on the other, we feel pretty at home here already. I haven't written much because there isn't much to report. We've enjoyed having our cable TV to help keep us entertained in our abundant leisure time (we're hooked on HGTV's "House Hunters"). I've pretty much adjusted to doing laundry at the laundromat. We've been walking most evenings (and really enjoying the cooler weather!).

Last week, I helped with placement testing for the ESL program on campus and had a great time. I get to go back for more on Monday, which is great. Mark has signed up for classes and will have orientation next week; so for him, this is the last weekend of summer.

This afternoon, we drove up to Toledo to go to Target, Best Buy, and Steak-and-Shake. We had a gift card for Target, which we used to buy some new bath towels. At Best Buy, we browsed for laptops because I've finally decided it's time for me to get a new one. I've had mine for 7 years, and it's really too slow to handle today's internet. I'll probably wait another month or so, but we thought it would be a good time to start shopping around.

I imagine we'll have lots more to post once school starts!

Apartment Pics

Here's our new place! Our floor plan is the mirror image of the model we saw, so our hallway is on the right and everything else branches off to the left. Here's our living room, from the dining room.

The living room from the opposite direction, looking from the hallway towards the dining room. This shows our nice new couch, chair, and curtains well (thanks again Mom and Dad G!). It was pretty fun to pick out our own new furniture, and we love it. We've decided it's a really good thing we both have the same favorite color! :-)

Here's a closer look at the chair. We might still move the lamps around a bit, but this layout seems to work pretty well.

This is a close up of the fabric on the chair. The pattern came out well, but you can't tell how pretty the colors are. It's a nice match to the couch and curtains, and worth the wait (it arrived on Monday).

Here's how Mark likes to use the chair. It gives him a good close-up view of the video games on the PS3.

Along the cutout in the hallway we have our books. Also, notice the super cute desk on the right, another gift from my parents. I haven't had a desk since I lived in the dorm, so I'm still getting used to having it. It is really nice to have, though!

Here's the kitchen and dining room. We got a new stove and fridge (although we had to ask for them). Notice the curio cabinet in the right corner of the dining room.

From the dining room. I also switched the microwave and toaster oven around, so the microwave is between the stove and fridge now. We're still using a bookshelf for a pantry, but I changed up the curtain.

We got a great deal on this furniture for our screened porch. We're supposed to get new siding, but it hasn't happened yet.

This is the view looking out to the side from the porch. (The view straight out the window is the parking lot).

Our bedroom, with new curtains.

Mark's room still needs some work, but otherwise, we're all settled!

Oh, and the bathroom. We're enjoying the double sinks.

Sorry for taking so long to get these posted. We're enjoying our new home, and thanks again to all of you who helped make it happen.