A BIG weekend!

I've been a very busy girl since I last updated. On Thursday Jerry and I went up to Grand Rapids Zorbaz (technically it's called Zorbaz on Pokegama) for the ugly sweater party. I'll get some pics up as soon as I get them on my computer. It was an absolute blast!! Jerry won 1st place for ugliest sweater and actually sang karaoke!! It was terrible, but hey-- I'm no Pavarotti. We met Dakota and Rachel up there and, of course, the crew from Grand Rapids was there: Schulte, Kevin, Tara, Missy, Wade (it was his birthday, too), Brandon... and Patrick Engkjer (sp?) made an appearance-- it was great to see him.. OH!! And Belzy surprised us all by making the trip up! I haven't seen her since ZOP closed and I'm so glad she decided to make the trip. There weren't a ton of people there, but it was one of the most fun nights I've had! We were just going crazy and letting loose!

We headed back home Friday afternoon and recovered for the rest of the day. Then, today (Saturday) I graduated!!! I finally earned my master of arts in communication! I was the very first master's student to walk across the stage-- which was pretty cool. Plus I got to wear a Phi Kappa Phi medal so I felt very important. I'm really going to miss all my friends at NDSU and I hope we will all stay in touch. I'll still be back there this spring because I think I'll be teaching one class on Tuesday/Thursday but it won't be the same.

Well, now that I'm no longer a student and not really employed for the time being... that means I get to lay around and complain about stuff... politics, entertainers, sports, my husband (I do that anyway), the weather, other people, the TV, the radio, the food, etc, etc, etc.... In order to do that I have to be really well-rested. So, I am going to take a nap. Goodnight!

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So close to the end!

I am graduating in four days! Finally, after almost 19 years of school, I can finally (I hope) say that I'm done. It feels so good but it's also scary because I have little clue what the next step will be. There are so many things I want to do with my life and figuring out which route to take first is intimidating.

Speaking of being done with school, I just found out today-- the Tuesday of finals week-- that I still have to write another paper. See, I'm enrolled in an independent study with my advisor, and just got a message today saying I need to have my final "research report" in his mailbox this week. WHAT? Research report? It is the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. We've only met for the independent study (which, by the way, I don't even need to graduate) twice and the first time we met he said, "Your goal for the semester is to finish your master's paper." So that's what I've been working on and that's what I finished this semester. I didn't know I needed a separate paper for this independent study course, but he says I need a paper to grade to get the credits. Oh, and to top all this off, my advisor has been in Africa for the vast majority of the semester so it's not possible to just to talk to him in his office to get all this straightened out. Yay.

In other news, I'm sick. Started with a sore throat a few days ago, and now it's a full-blown cold. Stuffy nose, congestion headaches, watery eyes, sore muscles, the whole kit and kaboodle (what does that mean, anyway?). Finals week is definitely not a good time to get sick. While driving into school this morning I was as high as a kite on Dayquil and could hardly keep my eyes open because they're so sensitive to the light (and of course I forgot my sunglasses) and I kept swerving off the road and would find myself either going really fast or really slow. I'm feeling better tonight which is good because I have a lot of grading to get done tomorrow-- plus the departmental holiday party where I'm supposed to be playing Santa. I've been told to bring my Santa hat and sunglasses.... not sure why.

Enjoy the pic of the Santa hat in use. Jerry and I went to take some Christmas pics out on the ice before the big blizzard came, but the light was so bad that none of them turned out. So now we have a bunch of random pictures of us on the ice.

Does anyone watch Dexter on Showtime? The season finale was last night, and although it was a little disappointing, I still love that show. It's just great! Can't wait for the next season. It's one of those shows where at the end of each season you think, "How can they make another season?" But they always do and they're always good!

Well, time to go blow my nose and put myself into a drug-induced coma until the morning. Goodnight!

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On the hunt...

I'm looking for a job. It's one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had to go through... well, maybe not quite, but it really sucks. The job that's at the top of my list is at MSCTC in Detroit Lakes as an academic advisor. I sent my application materials in yesterday so hopefully I'll get an interview and things will go well. We'll see. It's frustrating to have no clue who else is applying because I have no clue what kind of chances I have. I think that I'm definitely qualified for the position, but who knows... maybe some amazing person who already has a ton of advising experience also applied and will whoop my ass. Can I say ass on a blog? Oh, well, I just did... twice.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed about that job. I'll also still be teaching one class at NDSU... I think. There is one section of Media Writing that needs to be covered so I guess I'm teaching it AND also developing it as a hybrid online course so I can also work in D.L. (I HOPE!).

So on Thursday I decided it was time to put the Christmas tree up so Jerry and I hauled it downstairs. First of all, last year, Jerry and Kyle were in charge of putting the tree away and I've learned to never let that happen unsupervised ever again! The tree wasn't in its box (yes, it's artificial-- we have cats people!!) but rather smashed into a tiny spare bedroom closet so when we tried to get it out some branches were caught on the door and bent back. Then, when we got the tree downstairs, I noticed we were missing the stand. So I searched high and low and in my search for the stand, I realized the vast majority of the ornaments were missing. Eventually, I found the stand, the tree rug thingy, and all of our missing ornaments not-so-gently shoved in the closet under the stairs! Agh!! Jerry denies that it was him that put them there, and I know I didn't do that, so we'll just blame Kyle. He's our scapegoat.

Then I had this whole ridiculous battle getting the lights to work on the tree. I went into town to get some light-battling gear, and by the time I got home Jerry had them all working. And he said he had them working in less that five minutes. uh... I am not a handywoman!

Once I get the tree decorated I'll post a picture. But for now I have speeches to grade! yay... not excited.

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And so begins the holiday feeding frenzy...

Well, another Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had my family to our house again this year--- fun and good food but a lot of work. I think maybe next year we'll make someone else do all the cooking. We had the traditional menu: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls (that were shaped like stars), pumpkin pie, and then my mom made a little bit of mashed sweet potatoes. Oh, and Jerry made sweet potato chips-- really good!

I can see that I'm getting heavier already. I know that I need to stop eating so much and choose better things to eat, but it's so hard. For example, I have 1/2 a pumpkin pie in the fridge that Jerry won't eat. So, either I throw the whole thing in the garbage or I'll wind up eating it on my own. I know I should just throw it but I really want to eat it!! It's just so frustrating and it's hard for me to fight the cravings! AGH!!

It was a really busy week so I didn't get to the gym as much as I would have liked... and now that it's holiday season there are going to be a billion more people at the gym. I'll have to be sure to go as early as possible and beat the others who get off of work between 4 and 6. I haven't started lifting weights yet... still just doing the elliptical and then leaving. Sometimes I'll do some crunches and stretches. Overall, I think I'm a pretty ineffective exerciser. Oh well. At least I try a little bit.

On another note, my thesis was accepted and all I have to do now is make final copies and turn them into the grad school! YAY!! I'll graduate on December 20 with my M.A. in communication. Now comes the challenge of finding a job. I've been looking different places but haven't found anything really amazing yet. I think young people nowadays (myself included) go through school thinking that after graduation the most perfect job will just fall into their laps. I've come to realize that the perfect job may be years away. As long as I can find something that I don't hate and that pays reasonably well, I'll be happy.

My goal for this next week is to work out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; eat less and better foods; and submit my application materials to three different places. Oh, and to put the Christmas tree up! That will be the best part of the week, for sure!

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Lunch and 5Ks

I weighed myself the other day and I've gained 10 pounds since June. YUCK. I just feel gross and heavy and want to make it stop. I've been having such a bad sweet tooth lately. I always feel like I want to bake... and I LOVE baking so it's hard to NOT do something I really like. Normally when I bake I bring the goods to school and share with the office, but lately I've been keeping the goods at home and eating them myself. Well, this really only happened once but it was bad! I ate an entire Better Than Sex Cake by myself!!

Anyway, I'm trying to get back on track with my eating and activity. I've gone to the Y twice this week and will go again tomorrow (I think). I've started eating better breakfast foods but it's hard to get lunch and dinner under control. Jerry doesn't like to eat at home and I'm easily convinced to go to Zorbaz, Lakeside, or the Fireside. Even if it's just for lunch I find it hard to eat a lunch-sized meal. Today, for example, we went to Zorbaz and I ate almost an entire order of spaghetti plus half a pint of Blue Moon. I normally wouldn't have the beer but Jerry's doing this World Beer Tour thing and I help out sometimes.

When I was at the Y yesterday I saw Dakota and she asked me if I wanted to do the Jingle Bell Run with her and a couple other people. I think it would be fun and it would be something I've never done before but I really don't think I could do it. When it comes to running/jogging I'm so slow and tire so easily. I could go on the elliptical for hours but the treadmill just kills me. I've been around running and marathons and races my whole life (my mom is a marathon runner) but I've never been able to participate in them because I'm so slow. I was thinking I could just speed-walk it... but is that too embarrassing? Speed-walking? That's what moms and old people do. I can't speed-walk... can I? Maybe I could convince Jerry to do it with me...

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