2008 is just around the corner

i'm back in my apartment after a great time at my parent's house for christmas. it was really nice to catch up with family and to indulge in a lot of really delicious food. won't be waiting for new year's resolutions to get back to the gym. :) i'm also happy that i was able to celebrate a few of my favorite holiday traditions: eating at red lobster with dennis, watching a christmas story with my parents and aunt deb and uncle jon (after going to mass and being grateful for not being in the "party room"), and eating a fantastic cheese ball and singing along to Holiday Inn with dennis and my parents. after a lot of fun, it is nice to be back home. i'm wrapping up my time at the retail gig which is wonderful and will have plenty of time to plan for next semester, pack my apartment again, and just be.

i'm going to be moving during the month of january into new digs that are closer to work and less expensive. and i predict many good times will be had with my new roommates. i'm excited to make them dinner and see how the dynamic is tomorrow night. i have to admit that many nights when going to bed at mom and dad's my thoughts were on moving out of my current apartment, and the thought of it made me a bit sad. granted, i won't miss the stupid mouse infestation that seems to be never-ended or the HUGE utility bill that i have for the month. but this place is really my dream apartment. i know i'm making a great decision about moving and i'm excited about it, but it will be sad to leave at the same time. i think for the first time in a long time, i lived in a place that really felt like home...my home. so part of me really doesn't want to go. but the rest of me is anxious to pack up and get rid of stuff again (anyone want to buy a couch?) and try something new.

hopefully there will be much clarity in the new year about a few things. :) i can't believe how fast 2007 went. seriously...it's almost over! how did that happen?

oh yeah...it's snowing again. :P

found!!

so last march-ish, i lost my aggie ring. i wasn't even sure when i lost it, in terms of the exact moment it was missing, though i did have a time frame. i was hopeful that when i packed up all my worldly possessions to move to iowa it would be discovered, but no such luck. it's been in the back of my mind since it went missing and i've remained ever hopeful that i would just come across it in some random box or something. (or that mike would find it at his house if/when he moves.) i even made one last ditch search for it before graduation last weekend (which i still have to blog about.)

earlier this week one of my pilot pens fell between my car seat and the console. it was bugging me that it was down there, because i was worried the cold temps would make it crack open and spill black ink everywhere. so after picking up some stuff from wal-greens on the way out of town on thursday, i made it my mission to get that pen out of there. it was nicely wedged between wacky seat parts and i ended up getting out of my seat and moving it forward in an attempt to free it from tangles of spiraled wire and just...stuff. at some point in the battle i looked down in to the seat crevasse and saw a gold crest shining back up at me. i instantly knew what it was, but that did not stop me from literally shrieking with joy! i've probably looked in my car 50 times for it, and then, 9 months later, there it is. maybe it was waiting for me to finally finish my degree to reveal itself.

that was a great way to start my christmas holiday. it feels great to have it back on my finger where it belongs! :)

liquid streets

tonight has been a fun night despite the very cold and snowy/icy/sleety whether that preceded it. i met my friend brad at his office which is about two blocks from my house so we could go have a few beers and a little food. you'd think that in two blocks i could manage to keep myself warm and not covered in snow and, well, dampness. (i hate the word damp...sorry for that.) that was not the case. after going down my front steps which were mysteriously shoveled off (thanks for that!) i saw some footsteps in the snowbank next to the street. "walk in the footsteps and you'll be fine" i thought to myself. and fine i was...until that last step which was unexpectedly deep. up to my knee deep. not a good start. already wish my new boots were here. i slip and slide across the slushy street and have quite a big slip on the sidewalk once i get to it, but manage to not fall down. just a little snow to brush off my jeans...nothing to worry about. then...it happened. liquid street. i see a slushy puddle and decide to just lightly leap through it. it was not a puddle. it was more like a small slushy lake. and the more i leaped (leapt?) the more icy slush went in my shoes and up my pant legs. after traversing slushy lake, i get across the street and seriously wonder if i should wring out my socks before going into brad's office. i decided against it though i did take one shoe off to see if water would flow out of it. (it didn't...it was thoroughly soaked into the shoe. lucky for me and my feet, brad drove us to the restaurant and we had a really fun time chatting and drinking beer. so fun i didn't even think about my frozen feet until i got back home. first thing on my agenda was taking off those shoes and changing my socks. all is good now. :D

actually...might need my slippers too. "D

snow

it's snowing more. booo!!

i get to graduate in a week where it's warm. sa-weet!

i discovered that delicious sushi exists in dubuque, iowa tonight. i got to enjoy it with a new friend and great conversation. just what i needed.

now, hopefully the snow will stop.

hooray!

some of you are getting this in the mail, but due to limited resources i couldn't send them out to everyone. :) i'm excited to be participating in the ceremony next weekend. it will be nice to commemorate my work as a graduate student by walking across that stage and getting hooded. :) and i get to see friends and family and enjoy warm texas weather!

gifts of cash and beer will be accepted (especially cash...hee hee!) i thought about registering for this event, but decided against it. :D

thanks friends for all of your support and guidance through this process. very much appreciated!!

hugs,
dr. kate

crabby day

do you ever have a crabby day for no specific reason? nothing really happened today to make me crabby. in fact, it was a pretty laid-back day in general. it mostly involved cleaning, grading, and watching tv. nothing to complain about. and yet, i'm in a mood. maybe it's a sign that i have too much on my mind. or that i'm worried about money, as seems to be a constant. or could be just missing people. hard to tell. whatever the deal is, i think i'm going to eat a snack, finish my graduation announcements, and go to bed.

oh the weather outside is friggin' frightful

today iowa was graced with snow, ice, sleet, and rain. in fact, it was precipitating from 10:00 a.m. until right now. this has caused big trouble for some in the midwest. fortunately, dubuque was not hit as hard as other communities. the roads were a mess i headed to work and were somewhat better by the time i left. if it gets colder though, i am guessing it will get very, very icy. lucky for me i don't have to go anywhere tomorrow. the plan is a lot of grading and cleaning. (gotta say i'd rather be where mike is about now.)

surprisingly, there were a lot of people out and about tonight. maybe i was in the south and southwest too long, but had i not been scheduled to work, i would have stayed on the couch. (i don't know if i mentioned it before, but i'm working part-time in retail again.) the store i'm at (subtle hint...the same one i was working at in the summer>) is certainly not one that i would consider an essential destination on a day like today. and yet, we actually did have customers. the road are shitty, the parking lot is worse, it was raining and cold, but still people needed to buy air freshner and christmas ornaments?! it baffles me. there is nothing...seriously nothing, that people would need to buy today. people are weird.

my real job is also going pretty well. we have two weeks left for the semester, which is great. i'm looking forward to some down town. feel like i need a break and have a lot to figure out as of late.

i meant to write after thanksgiving, but got too busy. it was good to see my family, if not a bit stressful. hopefully christmas will be less tense. :D

okay, more later.