What's a Synonym for Stress?

No, I didn't forget I have a blog, although most of you have stopped reading, and I really don't blame you. Who wants to check in to find the same post every day for weeks on end? It's just that I've been beyond exhausted. Stress wears me out, now. I used to be able to deal with it better, but now I just get all tired and cranky. I earned an "A" in both classes for the semester, so I can rejoice in that. I'm now doing my practicum in cataloging. I realized that I love cataloging and can't wait to graduate and go to work! There are jobs for catalogers everywhere in the world, including the UK, and I'm going to start exploring all the options.

Funny thing is happening with the family back home. Mom and Auntie Linda have been toying with the idea of living together. They're sisters, and great friends, and they have thought they'd be good housemates, so they decided to sell both houses, and the one who sold her house first would move in with the other one and see how it goes. So, Auntie sold her house last month and moved in with my mom. Things were going fine, and then Mom's house sold last week, and they have to be out by the end of this month! Now Auntie and Mom are about to be homeless. They are frantically searching for a suitable vacant abode as I write. Next time I go for a visit, I may be sleeping in a tent! I'll keep you updated on their drama.

Reece is coming up for a visit on Friday. I'm off Monday, so we'll have a long weekend. David is driving him halfway on Friday afternoon and I'm picking him up. David, Dawn, and Emily (she'd better, anyway) will drive halfway up to Columbia on Monday and we'll have lunch and they'll take Reece home with them. I can't wait to spend some time with the boy. He's requested some movies, and he's really excited about getting to spend the weekend in Missouri. He likes visiting here and I'm going to load him down with MU souvenirs while he's here. And kisses.

I've mentioned my favorite blog to you, I know. Well, this post defines me better than I could ever define myself.

I'll be back later this week, and will make it an interesting read, even if I have to make shit up.

A Mother of a Day

Take three minutes and watch. Happy Mother's Day, y'all.

Procrastinating, Again

That huge paper I had due Friday? The professor extended the due date to next Thursday! I am determined, however, to have it turned in by tomorrow night so that I can relax for the next couple of weeks.

My practicum in the MU Library's Cataloging Dept. begins the third week of May and goes until the end of June. I'll be working my job until 2:30 each day, then trotting over to the library to work (learn) until 5:00 each day. I will be pooped by the time it's all over, but I'll have it done! Then, I can relax and simply work full-time until July 25, when I quit, and take a couple of weeks off before coming back to Columbia to train for my assistantship, which starts when classes resume in late August. Sounds like I've got it all planned, huh? And it wasn't easy trying to get all these dates straight. I'm already looking forward to Christmas Break.

It's 8:30 on a Saturday morning and it sounds as if my upstairs neighbors are having a party. An aerobics party that involves throwing really heavy objects on the floor and then running outside. I want to go up there and tell them to shut up, but they don't speak English very well. Plus, I'd have to put on a bra and that's not going to happen today. I need the breathing room so I can write this paper. Which reminds me that I need to go make some more coffee and get to work.

I posted a few more pics on Flickr. There's one of Halen, too. Go look at how cute the babies are.

I Am Ready For This Semester To Be OVER

I have a huge paper due Friday, so naturally I decided to post a blog entry. I think I'd rather paint my apartment, wax my car, and give Abby a bath instead of work on this paper.


How cute is this boy?



You don't get any sweeter than this one, either:



Couple more things:

I am disliking Barack Obama more and more every day. And I didn't like him much to begin with.

I also dislike overly-sensitive people who act like babies.

What about that sick f*ck in Austria? And no one knew about his secret life? For twenty-four years? I can't understand this.

I am stopping all things related to school right now and going to bed so that I can pick up this book where I left off at lunchtime. It's soooo good!

Always Great To Visit Home

Emily made this for me after I shamed her into it. I really was joking when I said that since she hadn't returned any of my calls, e-mails, or texts in like, forEVER, I was expecting a cake when I got to Arkansas. It really was cute, Emily, and very tasty! You little creative turd.

I got the best pics of the niece and nephew, you know, the ones I've mentioned a time or two on this blog. I'll post more pics in a few days. After I recover from the minibreak and get my paper finished.

Whatever It Was, It Worked!

Thanks for all the praying, finger crossing, throwing salt over your left shoulder, chanting, whatever. I got the assistantship! Yay! I start in August and I'll be teaching three classes and working in the MU library at the reference desk. This is the experience I need to get a job when I graduate and that is such a huge relief. Of course, I have to quit my job and I'm going to miss most of my coworkers, but I'm definitely taking a step in the right direction as far as my future is concerned.

Tomorrow, I'm getting my hair cut, then packing my car and heading to Arkansas until Wednesday. Emily's playing in a softball tournament tomorrow and Sunday, and I'll get to spend some time with Reece, too, and Mom, and Auntie Linda, and Bera. Cousin Luann's flying in from Austin and we, along with her adorable sisters Lisa and Janet, are going to Memphis on Tuesday to see Elvis Costello. We sort of love him. I'm going to celebrate all the good stuff that is happening before I have to come back to Missouri and bust my arse to get through my final papers of the semester.

So! That's all I've got now, but be sure and look to the right at my new pics on Flickr. Dawn sent them to me earlier this week. Of course they're of Emily and Reece! Who else?

Saturday Tidbits

Busy week! Lots of school work; only a few more weeks remaining of this semester, which has flown. Still haven't heard if I've gotten the TA position I applied for. According to Sandy, our advisor said it would be a while, so I'm a little on edge about it. I want to know now so I can plan and worry about something else!

This morning I was on campus before 8:00 to take part in National History Day. The state competition was held at MU and I was a judge for the junior high division of performances. I had to watch nine group performances. Of 7th- and 8th-graders. It was great. This year's theme was "Conflict and Compromise in History," and those kids were quite creative. Eight of the performances were about women in history, and several were about how important women were to the Civil War and WWII. I wanted to jump up and down at times because I'm so proud of girls today! They realize that our sex has gotten the shaft for SO LONG and they're not going to let it happen to them. I wish Emily could have seen those kids. She would have loved it, especially since they were her age.

After all that, Dawn and her boyfriend, Tucker, picked me up and we went for a really late lunch. Before I start some kind of family scandal, let me clarify. It was my friend, Dawn, not my sis-in-law who's married to my brother. I wouldn't want to go to lunch with her if she had a boyfriend. So, family, don't get all riled up about that, okay? Anyway, we had a good time over lunch and several cups of coffee. Tucker is a high school English teacher, so naturally I love him. Even if he is a man. Get this: we were talking while looking out the window at the snow. What? Yes! It snowed today. In a way it's good, though, because that delays the fact the I am going to have to get a pedicure. See how I took a bad thing and turned it into a good one? Always upbeat, yessir.

Now, I'm going to put away the computer and read a little for one of my classes, then I'm going to watch a couple of movies. They're piling up and I'm not getting my money's worth from Netflix if I don't watch the movies and return them for more.

I'll be back before the end of next week. Promise.