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!