Update from Arkansas

Gosh, this is fun. I'm lounging in my new sleep pants, which I bought yesterday. They have little black dogs embroidered on them and they are flannel and it's 20 degrees here, so they're a welcome layer of warmth. I guess I brought the cold weather with me, because it's never this cold in Arkansas! I'd planned to sleep really late today, but they're building a dormitory across the street from my brother's faculty house, which is where I'm staying, and I could hear all sorts of construction noise at 7:30, so I woke up and now I can't go back to sleep.

I only saw Emily and Reece for a few minutes yesterday, but Emily's playing in a basketball tournament today, so I'll get to kiss on Reece during the game, then I'm going to hang out with them for the remainder of the day, I think. Reece has grown about two feet in the last month and when I went in to see them yesterday, he was in the kitchen making pancakes. I tell ya, he's an exceptional 10-year-old boy.

Mom and I went shopping yesterday. It wasn't as crazy as I'd anticipated, but we avoided the mall, which I'm sure was the worst place to be. Oh, and we went to church yesterday! I hardly ever go, but there's an Anglican church here in my hometown, so we went. It makes me miss church, but I never go in Columbia. I think it's because I don't like going alone and I haven't felt like putting down roots there. Plus I'm lazy. That's primarily the reason.

Had a late dinner last night with my old friend, Sherry. We reconnected last year after a very long time of no communication and it's as if we picked up where we left off. She was the best friend I ever had and I have missed her for such a long time. So glad she's back in my life.

Here's something a friend sent me. It'll make you happy:

Here She Is With That Boy, Again

Can you believe she's this grown up?




I'm leaving tomorrow for Arkansas for a couple of weeks. Can't wait to see that "little" girl and her darling brother. Even though both Emily and Reece get better and more fun with every year, I wish they were still babies and I could rock them and give them a bottle and they'd stay put and not be old enough to date. I bet their parents agree with me.

Serenity Now, Insanity Later

Papers - DONE!

Grades - POSTED!

Time off - FIVE WEEKS!

What on earth am I going to do with all this time off?

There's snow on the ground, but the roads are pretty clear. I love living where it snows yet I can still get out and drive.

Sandy is coming over tonight to eat dinner and watch a movie with me. That's good incentive to actually clean house, which needs to be done in the worst way.

I'm halfway finished with the third book in the Twilight series. I have to read the series for Teen Lit class for next semester, but I probably would have read them anyway, just to see what all the fuss is about. Emily and I saw the Twilight movie twice over Thanksgiving. I wasn't thrilled with the second book, but the third one has some interesting Native American folklore in it, which I think is great for teens to read. Maybe it'll inspire some of them.

I started THIS BOOK a couple of days ago. It's been on my list for a very long time and I found it in the reshelving area at the MU library last week and grabbed it. I think it's being made into a movie now, so I wanted to read it before I see the movie. I have four or five books I want to read over the holiday, so I'll keep you posted on those. I was also thinking of doing my own Best Books I've Read in 2008.

The dusty furniture is calling out to me. Must go clean!

Into the Mystic

Although I don't remember when I've ever been as ill as I have been this week, I'm feeling much better, thank you. Not that anyone, besides my mother, has bothered to call or e-mail to see how I was doing. That's okay. Santa will remember.

I'm now faced with this awful paper that I have to finish by Monday night and I'm nowhere near completion of the thing. So, so, SO sick of writing papers on topics that are of no interest to me whatsoever. I want to write fiction!

One of my favorite movies is "Once" and I took the DVD home over Thanksgiving so Emily could watch it and I think she liked it. My brother, Don, liked it, too, and I left it with him so his girlfriend could watch it. If you haven't seen it, well, DO! It's a wonderful movie that's full of beautiful music and such remarkable chemistry between the two lead actors. Anyway, here's something Don sent me this morning:

Why Now?

Sunday afternoon, all aimed at getting my huge paper, due the 15th, started, I began feeling sick. And I mean SICK. Some stomach virus or food poisoning took over and I was violently ill from Sunday afternoon until yesterday around 5 p.m. For two days I've been trying to drink one bottle of soda and hoping to keep it down. Bleh. Now, I'm feeling like I've been run over by a truck. All I can do it lie here and I can't do a bit of work. I missed two shifts at work and canceled Monday's class and am only hoping that I feel like going to teach tomorrow since it's the last class for the semester. It figures that when I've got all this work to do, I'd get sick as a mutt. And, after I turn in my paper and my grades early next week, I'll have five weeks off, of which I will not be sick and will probably get bored! The timing is always wrong.

Just had to vent. Now, watch this and laugh and I'll be back in a few days, all chipper and ready to post some sarcasm: