Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to stop by and say hello!

so...

i apparently either gave away OR left one of my favorite sweaters at my mom's. i hope it's the latter because it's one of my favorites. i do fear that it now is bringing someone else much happiness. i'm hoping not.

i'm heading up to delaware for a few days. my dad is sick and in the hospital and i need to see him. on a less seriously topic, i'm worried about the weather and have already predicted that i will freeze. i had to go through my container of "stuff i'm saving in case i ever get the chance to visit new england again." i thought it would only be useful if i went to new england, but after living down here for three months (officially on Monday!), i've decided that i will, most definitely, freeze in any weather belong 50 degrees. and visiting new england is, most definitely, out of the question. (okay, just kidding there. i have too many loves up there).

please pray for my dad. i'll just leave it at that. thanks.

change in climate

i've decided that if God ever called us back to New England that i would freeze my patootie off. i've finally acclimated to FL weather. this does not mean that i like hot weather, but that i'm getting used to it being hot. i freeze if i'm in the a/c for too long because they keep it so low down here, but i'm getting used to the heat.

of course, one problem with the heat is that i keep forgetting that it's nearly november. i keep thinking it's only september because it's too warm to be october in my mind. time feels different down here.

the first pic of the shows!

the surreal life?

no, not the awful show on vh1 (which i will not admit to or not to seeing...). ever feel like this can't be your life? you can't be so lucky? there's no way that you have the good fortune to be married to your best friend, living in an amazing place and surrounded by wonderful friends? yeah, i feel like that a lot...

WE'RE MARRIED!!!!

i miss mass :-(

the view 2, originally uploaded by the sunshine life.

FL Life lesson #25

It rains in the afternoon. Most afternoons, And not just a little. No, more like a thunderstorm with torrential downpour. Unfortunately, this little afternoon deluge often comes right before I'm supposed to walk to my car with my leather bag. We need the rain, so I hestitate to complain, but seriously, what the heck? Can't a girl catch a break? I'm already dealing with the heat - can't the rain come at a more opportune time (i.e. when I don't have to be out there)???

PS

THREE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sorry!

here's the update!!!

labor day was fun. i went to the beach with ashley. it was "crowded." hahaha. we had a lot of fun. after that, we went over to evan's parents' place for BBQ and some wii action. i won mario party, in case you were wondering, though not by my own doing because i sort of suck.

the rest of the week has been pretty busy at work. they have me on two grants right now. things haven't really kicked into gear yet, so it's a little slower than i think it will normally be. i really like it still. it's so much fun working with the grants team, working with the different groups on campus and getting to know different things about the college. yesterday was our office strategic planning session. we met at my boss's house. after the meeting, we had a BBQ (they cookout a lot down here) with our division VP, my boss and her family and a few others from the college. it was a lot of fun, except when my klutziness came out and i dropped the ketchup bottle. sigh.

i miss the north today. i really wish that i could take the day and go up to NYC. and i know it's not really cold yet, but i'm really going to miss fall jackets, fall scarves, long sleeves, and jeans. i'm not minding the weather down here. it's sunny everyday (even when it rains, it's sunny 10 minutes later...). of all the things i will miss, i know it'll be autumn. so, friends up north, take a lot of pictures of my favorite season!

Amazing.

I've really been struck by this verse in John, chapter six:

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

I am amazed at Peter's declaration of faith. The Christian walk is not an easy one, but, really, where else would I have to go? I can't find peace, love, and words of eternal life in any other Savior. He has the "words of eternal life" that are my reason for peace.

There Is a Reason

Caedmon's Call

Late at night I wonder why
Sometimes I wonder why
Sometimes I'm so tired
I don't even try
Seems everything around me fails
But I hold on to the promise
That there is a reason

Chorus:
Late at night, the darkness makes it hard to see
The history of the saints who've gone in front of me
Through famine, plague and disbelief
His hand was still upon them
Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

He makes all things good
He makes all things good
There's a time to live and a time to die
A time for wonder and to wonder why
Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

I believe in a God who sent His only son
To walk upon this world and give His life for us
With blood and tears on a long, dark night
We know that He believed
That there is a reason
There is a reason

Late at night, the darkness makes it hard to see
The history of the saints who've gone in front of me
Through famine, plague and disbelief
His hand was still upon them
Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

For the lonely nights
And broken hearts
The widow's mite
In the rich man's hand
And the continent
Whose blood becomes a traitor

For the child afraid to close their eyes
The prayers that seem unanswered
There is a reason
There is a reason

Late at night, the darkness makes it hard to see
The history of the saints who've gone in front of me
Through famine, plague and disbelief
His hand was still upon them
Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

life lesson #2

how to know you look too young to work where you do:

*The student help people try to direct you to class FOR HIGH SCHOOL

*The student help people try to direct you to class for COLLEGE

*The guy in the grants accounting office calls you "kiddo"

Ever feel like you can't say the right thing?

I do a lot.

florida life lesson, part 1

i woke up early this morning so i decided to go for a run (down here, apparently, you either run/walk in the early morning or around/after dusk unless you're a die hard or just stupid). i got out around 7:10am, but by the time i made it up to the parkway with the walk/run/bike trail, i could hardly breathe. it's like breathing water down here. i made it probably a 1/2-3/4 of a mile and then had to turn back because i knew i wasn't going to be able to keep going.

in short, any tips for breathing in the florida humidity would be greatly appreciated.

necessary update

sorry, folks. i didn't mean for this to take so long to do. here's my update.

i successfully passed my master's thesis defense. of course, two members of my committee made me hurry because they had emergencies to get through. i'm so grateful that they came, but shocked because they probably shouldn't have shown. there were a lot of people there to support me, which made me feel amazing.

i successfully turned in said thesis. though, i haven't heard from the grad school. i have to follow up because i want those two little letters after my name.

i successfully managed to pack my "relocube" but only with the help of my dearest friends in massachusetts. we had to play "packing tetris" with the boxes, but it worked out with some creative packing.

i successfully drove down to FL on saturday with blair. it was a 16 hour drive and it was long, but we made it by 10:30pm. yay.

i start my new job tomorrow, so more updates to follow....

things you'll only hear in florida, part 1

walking out of publix, a guy behind me says, "Wow, it's cooled off."

it was 88 degrees and still pretty darn humid.

whoops!

i will update soon. promise!

oh man

i hope i don't suck on friday...

pretty much the way it is.

the woes of moving.

so, a lot of my stuff is packed up. i've managed to get most of it into assorted boxes (including a huge wardrobe box). i hope it all fits into the "relocube." we'll see. it might take careful strategy. i've got a lot of friends coming to help me pack it so it should work out.

anna (and i) ordered boxes for moving. the problem was that we weren't sure of the size and ordered too many large boxes. now we have many, many large boxes and i hope they fit into my truck. i mean, we have MANY MANY large boxes.

anna and i managed to be mad at each other yesterday without really blowing up at the other. it's actually been like this for a while. one day, we'll just get grouchy or annoyed and walk around with our attitudes. yesterday was particularly bad. we walked around the house doing different things, but being pissy at the other person. it ended with me going to bed and anna staying up packing/moving stuff around. i came home from work this afternoon and we both apologized and laughed at it. now, it's just funny. moving makes people crazy. period.

she moves out tomorrow and i'll pack the truck on sunday. i can't believe almost a year has gone by. she's been a great friend and an amazing roommate. i'll miss her.

in other news, i've finished my presentation -- i think. my mom comes up on wednesday and we'll probably do the last minute run around/packing. hopefully it goes ok. keep your fingers crossed for friday!

Miss Zoe

Most of the things associated with moving have been exciting: being near Evan again, the house, being done with school, getting a new job. One of the less fun thing was taking Zoe to live with her new family today.

We (Zoe and I) spent the day together. I annoyed the heck out of her over the last few days. I kept picking her up and petting her or petting her while she was sleeping or otherwise just bugging her. She clearly didn't know what was going on. I just knew I was going to miss her so much. So I bugged her.

She's been such a good cat. We went through some hard times together. Well, I went through the hard time (I think the hardest time she might have faced was when I forgot to feed her). She was always there. In any event, she's been one of the best things in my life. I know she's gone to a good home. I could not ask for a better place for Zoe to be. I can't imagine having taken her to live in anyone else's care.

I will miss her so much. Good luck in your new home, sweetie.

so funny...

Redheads protest Wendy's logo.

and

Best Buy overloaded with cult-like look-alikes.

taking a break...

i have been practicing my defense. i've got most of it in the powerpoint and now it's just a matter of repetition to ensure that it comes off flawlessly. i don't want anyone to accuse me of having my committee go easy on me or, worse, be slaughtered during the Q&A after the presentation. i just need to keep going over it. i don't know if powerpoint on a PC has this, but my version of powerpoint (you know, the better MAC version) has a "presenter's tools" which shows the slide, the upcoming slide(s), and the notes underneath, so you get everything right in front of you as you present. OH! and the timer as well. the timer is the best feature because it's hard to keep track of your time as your speaking and i need to keep my talk under 20 minutes. i'm trying to get it closer to 17-18 minutes, but it's really hard and i'm winded afterwards.

i had a BBQ with my dear friend sylvia and her daughter yesterday. it was fun. they've been so kind to me while i've lived up here. sylvia and i stopped by a farm stand on the way back from bernardston and we ran into a few of her friends. it was nice to meet them and she bragged about me.

i can't believe it's been two years. i remember when i packed up for massachusetts. it was so scary and i was so nervous. the two years just flew by. i know that this move prepared me to be able to move to FL, which is a much bigger move in many respects. it's further from my family, i'll be in a new role, i'm starting a real job (with good people, but a lot of work!), and going to a new church (which is very different than any of the churches i've gone to). the best thing about this scary new step is having my best friend in the world be part of it. :-)


(sorry for the cheese)

odds and ends

1. I'm getting better at doing stuff by myself. Of course. Now that I'm going to have my someone around more often. It would have been a helpful thing to learn to do two years ago.

2. Related to that point, treat yourself and go see Hairspray. John Travolta as a woman isn't at all convincing, but it is entertaining. And the music is good. It's all around fun. It's probably good that I'm able to do the first item on the list because I don't think I could have convinced Evan to see Hairspray, or I wouldn't have wanted to see the movie that would have been on the end of the bargain...

3. 30 years to PhD. Maybe I can do it after all

4. Speaking of PhDs, Pile Higher and Deeper has been doing the the grad school version of GREASE. Haha. You can totally hear it work out. Now, only if it came with a soundtrack...

an update

Sorry about the lack of updates. I didn't think anyone read this anymore, but was corrected the other day. My sincere apologies.

I just finished and submitted my final draft of my thesis. By final I don't really mean final because I'm sure there will corrections to make after my defense. Speaking of the defense, having to do one after finishing the written part of my paper is AWFUL. I just want to be done. I just want them to say, "Hello! You've done amazing work. Here's your masters. Now, go to Florida." Instead, I'm fiddling with Powerpoint (and I'd rather use Keynote, but don't want to pay for it) trying to make some coherent 20 minute talk. My paper is 56 pages long. Squeezing that to 20 minutes is less than pleasant. My mom and Evan are coming up for the defense which makes me exceedingly happy. My committee isn't awful, but there is at least one unfriendly face and one smartie so I'm relieved to have happy smiling people there. Oh, and my good friend Laura is coming back from GA just for me. Talk about making someone feel special.

In other events, "we" settle on the house this afternoon. By "we" I mean Evan. I can't be down there and my name will be changing so it's really just him today. Goooooo settlement. We picked out the colors for the house when I visited and we picked out furniture. It's not what I had envisioned for furniture, but it's grown on me.

I move in four weeks. I'm really excited. Blair is driving down with me. I'm thinking about getting a book on tape (probably the first Harry Potter). If you have any suggestions, let me know.

Back to working on the presentation of death.

know what's "messed" up?

reading literature on how americans don't take enough vacation and how the longest vacation most take is a long weekend. that's all i've taken since january. man, that's totally screwed up. i was in a totally crappy mood after reading that.

it's completely and totally ironic that i work so many hours (long, irregular hours, i might add) on a project that is supposed to look at the "processes influencing the hours and schedules americans work." give me the $200k grant and i'll tell you why: I WORK FOR TWO WORKAHOLIC OCD PROFESSORS. there, i said it.

that's all.

i have a passport!!!

now the U.S. will let me back into the country after the honeymoon - hooray!

oh, those guys at rivalfish.com

so clever.

they've come up with a list of look-alikes. one for sports and one for products

my rock and the EMT

so this is what an EMT (the one that people warned me would ask me out) said today when i was pseudo-interviewing him...

EMT: I have no life because of school.
Me: Oh, I know that feeling.
EMT: You must not know it too well because that's quite a rock on your finger.

nine weeks!

nine weeks, nine week, nine weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the lesson from grad school

My adviser begins most conversations about my paper with, "I read this and thought, I can't believe she's leaving." Our most recent conversation (20 minutes ago) was peppered with this comment. She said that my paper was defensible, but it's good that I plan to write two more drafts. If was the first time that my paper actually had PAGES without marks or only one mark on it! I need to add more data and then move a few things around, but it should be done soon! And it won't be a crappy paper. In fact, Naomi wants to publish it. In Gender and Society. No, I'm not kidding. Gender and Society (for you non-sociologist, non-gender people: this is a big deal).

I am waiting on one more person to confirm my defense date, but it looks like I will be ready for that day!

After talking about my paper, Naomi looked at me and said, "I am amazed that you were able to push this paper out so quickly. And it's good!" I smiled. She then looked at me, "You know, you could do this career." It was awesome to hear, because I doubt that I'm good at this all the time. And I doubt that I could be successful at it. Maybe in a few years, after I've gotten my life priorities straight and don't have to worry about academia eating my life away or my workaholism I might come back. I just don't want this to be the definition of my life. I love sociology. I love it. But this can't be the only thing that defines me. I have enjoyed having more free time and more time for hanging out with people and actually enjoying life. During the school year, I don't have that. It might turn out that I come back. I might come back for my Ph.D. I might not. I know, now, that my success as a person is not in those three little letters after my name. If that was the only lesson I learned in grad school, these two stressful, expensive years will have been well-worth it. (Fortunately, I got my money's worth and learned a ton on top of all of this...)

Updates

I had my last official class of graduate school on Monday. After I turn in my paper this weekend, I will be done with the semester. I'm revising the second draft of my thesis and hope to turn it into my committee this weekend as well (it's actually the same paper). Five weeks until I go home to Delaware. Eleven weeks and I'll defend. I have 12 more weeks of work. And 19 more weeks before the wedding :-).

It's so weird to think that in 12 weeks I will be done with graduate school (at least for now?). I'm very ready for the next chapter in my life. So many good things are in the works, I can't wait.

three months from today!

three months from today! three months from today!

hooray, hooray, hooray!

um...

somehow i should get extra credit for talking to a professor while he's wearing biker shorts. oh, yes. biker shorts.

ew.

money should grow on trees

(pouts)

anyone going to DE anytime soon? i want to pick up my bike so i'm not paying $3.50 for a gallon of gas to drive to campus....

well said, well said

http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2007/05/will_an_air_mar.html

it's official

i move august 9-11. watch out FL. another northerner is invading.

i start my job (oooh! i have a job!) on august 15.

hahaha.

"you can't put a bra on a dog and call it a camel"

ethical debate....

i don't want to get involved in this ethical debate but i find it interesting that the mother said that she want her son to die "naturally, the way God intended." nevermind the fact that he wouldn't be alive except for man's intervention with life support. ok, so i guess i entered the debate. i don't think that life support should be taken away because she's poor, but i do think that it's not a good idea to keep someone alive who won't have a chance at living a happy, full life (whatever that might mean...). it's a hard to choice to make for your son, but sometimes the better choice is let him go, knowing that he won't suffer anymore. i don't mean to sound unsympathetic. i know it's a tough choice and one that i hope that i never have to make. i hope that they will make the best choice for that child.

UMass is smiling...

...because it's not cold out!

it's amazing how happy people get when it's finally warm out. i saw some trees budding today. looks like it's all a-go for springtime!!!!!!!!

really?

sometimes people annoy the heck out of me.

faithful to me (j. knapp)

All the chisels I've dulled carving idols of stone
That have crumbled like sand beneath the waves
I've recklessly built all my dreams in the sand
Just to watch them wash away

Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To One who sees past all I see
Reaching out my weary hand, I pray that You'd understand
You're the one One Who's faithful to me

All the pennies I've wasted in my wishing well
I have thrown like stones to the sea
I have cast my lots, dropped my guard, searched aimlessly
For a faith to be faithful to me

Through another day, another trial, another chance to reconcile
To One Who sees past all I see
Reaching out my weary hand, I pray that You'd understand
You're the only One Who's faithful to me

i'm trying to collect happy thoughts

i've been very negative lately and so i'm trying to think more positively. my poor mom, officemate and matron of honor have been dealing with the pity life-is-so-hard-for-carla-let's-all-cry parties. i'm going to try to stop. i have a great life and will have a better one once i move to FL and get hitched!

so, anyway, if you have any suggestions for thinking happy, let me know!

my current strategy: gratitude journal. it's...day two and i haven't seen any immediate results, but i'm going to stick with it. let's go gratitude!!!!

celebrity gossip

i've stopped reading the celebrity gossip pages (it was a bad habit, i think), but today i remembered why i read them. my friends don't update their blogs often enough to entertain me during my 5-10 minute breaks. c'mon people get a life. or make stuff up.

I'M BORED OVER HERE!!!!!!!

too much time on my hands...

...and not enough brain power to do serious work. this is what you get:

*the semester ends in 1 month, 20 days. or 51 days. or 1224 hours. or 73,440 minutes. or 4,406,400 seconds.

*my lease is up in 4 months, 27 days. or 149 days. or 3576 hours. or 214,560 minutes. or 12,873,600 seconds.

*we get married in 6 months, one day. or 185 days. or 4440 hours. or 266,400 minutes. or 15,984,000 seconds.

*and Christmas is in 8 months, 27 days. or 272 days. or 6528 hours. or 391,680 minutes. or 23,500,800. (i added christmas so it didn't seem like the wedding was so far away...).

Joshua Michael

In tribute of Joshua Michael
b. March 22, 2007
Laid to rest March 27, 2007

"Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Matthew 9:14

a rough few days...

it's been a rough few days. i went home last weekend for wedding errands and to see my family. it was nice to see them, but a tough visit home. i drove home through the snow storm, nearly getting into an awful accident. it took me 6 hours (better than my friend MJ who was in her car for close to 8 or 9...).

two arguments with my folks and some devastating news from my brother and i'm back in MA.

yesterday, i made my bridesmaids buy dresses that are horribly expensive (and they will never wear again...) and have been dealing with the guilt from that. additional problem: the dresses will be coming in very close to the wedding date.

today, i found out that my brother and sister-in-law lost their baby. blair was 18 weeks along when they found some problems on friday. Joshua Michael, 11 oz and the size of blair's hand, was born this afternoon. they're considering a service. please keep them in your prayers.

the sun better come out soon, because this girl could use some good news.

stupid drivers...

so i'm on my way home from interviewing today and on I-91, some jerk decides that the traffic isn't moving fast enough for him. he ducks and weaves, and bobs and changes lanes a hundred times, with about 50% of those lane changes being "risky" at best. we're driving along and there is a cop holding a radar gun so the hotshot decides to get over one lane quickly. it was a VERY close call. so close, in fact, that the officer nearly broke his neck following the car with his eyes.

the guy gets off at my exit and stops at the gas station. it was one of those times that i wish i could pull over, pull the jerk out of the car and say, "look, you're not the king/queen of the road. surprisingly it was not paved for your use only. you're acting like a jackass. knock it off."

oh well.

brr!

it's so bleeping cold that the CT river has frozen over. i've never seen this before, actually, and it's kind of creepy. the picture above isn't the CT river, it's actually from this town. it's too cold for me to get out of my car to take a picture of the river. but i want to remind some people, you know, the ones that live say south of Jacksonville, FL, that some places get a real winter ;-).

So long status quo...

Brave (n. nordeman)

The gate is wide
The road is paved in moderation
The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in
Welcome to the middle ground
You're safe and sound and
Until now it's where I've been

'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything
But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I am small
And I speak when I'm spoken to
But I am willing to risk it all
I say Your name
Just Your name and I'm ready to jump
Even ready to fall...

Why did I take this vow of compromise?
Why did I try to keep it all inside?

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

I've never known a fire that didn't begin with a flame
Every storm will start with just a drop of rain
But if you believe in me
That changes everything
So long, I'm gone

So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
I wanna be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave
Brave, brave

oh biden

unless he was banking on the KKK/super racist vote, i think delaware sen. biden (d) can kiss his presidential hopes goodbye. it's not like he really had a great chance to begin with, but he really shot his chances to heck...

i think i've told everyone that i needed to tell...

but if i didn't tell you yet, im really sorry. i can't hold in the excitement anymore:


I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!

best line in a comic strip...

therapist: what about these sven and angus fellows bothers you?
faye: they both such jackasses! but they're HOT jackasses. and my lady downstairs hasn't had any action in a REALLY long time.
therapist: have you tried self-stimulation?
faye: oh yeah. i also drink seltzer when i want soda, eat rice crackers when i want chocolate, and listen to blue grass when i want death metal. i am getting a freaky' popeye arm. my right hand filed a RESTRAINING ORDER. I AM JUST A TINY BIT BORED WITH IT.

22 January 2007

HECK YES!

as seen on 896

seen on a truck that passed by me on the road: "serving DE NJ PA and Israel." Yeah, the tri-state area and the promised land are tight and geographically neighbors.

2007

happy new year! it's 2007 and i'll probably write 2006 on my checks for at least four months and a 2003 might pop up in july, because sometimes it just happens.

it was a quiet celebration this year: facial and pedicure at home while watching invincible until the ball dropped. i didn't make a resolution - is that bad luck? i don't know what to resolve. i should eat better and exercise more (i went through pics from high school...boy, is that motivation!), but that's a little too cliche. so no resolution.

i have to say, i'm not looking forward to the gym resolvers over the month of january. those bastards take up every piece of gym equipment.

my first public act of 2007 was going to the movies by myself. this was a big thing for me because i hate going anywhere aside from shopping and coffee shops alone. i want to eat out alone at least once this year. that might take a little more effort but hopefully i'll try it.