Goodbye 2009 / Hello 2010

As has become tradition, here are my resolutions and results from this year and my resolutions for next year.

I hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve and that 2010 is your best year to date!!

Resoultion Recap:

2009 Resolutions:

1. Study hard and pass Comprehensive Exams in May. OK passed the last one in September, but they are passed!!

2. Get back in shape...I am currently at my highest weight ever! This last semester was stressful and I stress eat. Lost quite a bit of the weight, but I'm not sure I'm "in shape" just yet.

3. Spend more time with D and Soxy...at least pay them more attention when we are together. Got better at this, but need to get better still.

4. Work harder at making my students learn how to learn instead of just sharing information. Got better at this, but need to get better still.

5. Spend more time with family and friends--especially those not in my program. Got better at this, but need to get better still.

6. Get to Virginia to meet the newest member of my family...she was born in June and I still haven't met her. Haven't met her yet...I will!!

And now, for my 2010 resolutions:

1. Get back in shape and lose the weight my doctor's are telling me to lose (10 lbs, not too bad). Determined not to have another hospital stay by listening to my doctors.

2. Start, and hopefully finish, my dissertation...it is time to become gainfully employed again.

3. FOCUS (on anything and everything). I need to regain my focus, I have not had much in the latter part of 2009.

4. Spend less time with Facebook. This may be my toughest one as I LOVE Facebook; I may even start blogging on a regular basis again, since that is part of my dissertation!

5. Spend LOTS more time with my family. None of us are getting any younger, and I really do love and like my family. More time definitely with D and Soxy...as they are most important to me.

Loving My New Laptop

My old laptop died suddenly last week. My brother hooked me up with a new HP and I picked it up today. I LOVE my new laptop!!! It is an HP EliteBook 6930! Getting everything set up tonight.

Also, when I went to pick up the laptop I got to meet their new dog, Hank. He is a lover, but he is huge and decided that he and their boxer, Oscar, were going to fight for lap space on me.

Belated Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas! I know we did. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and then stopped by my parents on Christmas morning on the way to D's parents. We spent the night because the wind was so bad we were afraid of what might fly at the car on the drive home.

We had a fabulous time with both families but now I'm glad to be home and relaxing with my family (D and Soxy)

Had a Great Weekend in Chicago!!

I got to meet Chris this weekend! She is as awesome in person, if not moreso, than she is on her site!! If you are not reading Chris, you should be!

Oink Oink!

Today I was vaccinated for H1N1. I am glad I was able to be vaccinated, but not thrilled that I qualified as a high-risk faculty member.

Almost Caught Up

I had no idea how hard it would be to catch up with grading and with my lectures from when I was out sick. It's crazy how far behind I am when someone was covering my classes for me. I will eventually catch up and my students will be back on track. Unfortunately, they have admitted that they didn't study for the midterm and their grades reflected it! I just don't know how to get them to take these classes seriously!!!

Home!

I am finally home...have been for a couple of hours. Soxy was happy to see me! My Mother has decided / volunteered to stay until Friday while I recoup. She's the best!!

Going Home Tomorrow

The procedure worked and I will be going home tomorrow at some point!!

Update...

Just thought I should update here...

I am sitting in a hospital bed waiting for a heart procedure tomorrow. I have been having trouble breathing and it turns out it wasn't my asthma as I originally thought.

I am hoping to be home in a day or two, but we shall see.

If anyone is still reading, I hope you are doing well!

Happy Birthday Soxy!

Four years ago today we went to the Animal Rescue League and brought home the sweetest and most beautiful dog ever...Soxy! Tonight we took her to pick out some toys and treats to celebrate. D took her for a walk earlier today while I was at school. And we brought her back some of our fish from dinner for her to enjoy. Overall I think she had a good day!

I PASSED!!!

I am officially ABD (All But Dissertation)!!!! I have passed my comprehensive exams and move on to the next part of the process.

Still Waiting...

and I'm slowly losing my patience (not that I had much to begin with).

Also, the stress has affected my immune system and I have had the stomach flu since last Wednesday...it is slowly getting better but some foods still don't want to play nicely!!

Not a diet plan I would recommend, but I've lost 6 pounds since Wednesday.

I Hate Waiting!

My test is over, now I am just waiting for results. They couldn't give us an ETA on when we should have them. I have no patience and hate waiting!!

For me, this is the worst part.

How is everyone doing?

The FINAL Countdown

I am in the final stretch of preparation for my last comprehensive question. Any smart and positive thoughts you can spare on Friday morning from 9-12 EST would be greatly appreciated.

I should be a much more regular poster once this is over.

Happy Labor Day!

Directions and Mice

Well, Thursday definitely went better than Tuesday. I got to campus on time, managed to get my parking pass, and was not a complete disorganized professor come class time. I did forget to copy one form, but it just provided my students a break from homework, so they didn't mind. I took the turnpike and didn't need any help getting to campus, it was like I had just been there yesterday.

However, before I left I took some papers downstairs and there was a little mouse in the windowsill. I am not a fan of mice so I called D to find out what to do. Turns out he was in meeting and the guys got a good laugh, but the lady stuck up for me. When I left for class I couldn't find him and was glad, but I closed the basement door just in case. Turns out I closed the basement door for nothing. When I got home I was standing in the kitchen talking to D on the phone and I saw this little guy crawl right under the door and run into the dining room. I freaked and once again had D tell me what to do. Then I found a chair where I could put my feet up and wait for D to come home and get the mouse.

Soxy tried, but was easilky distracted by the birds outside. Eventually, after D got home and we started looking for the entrypoint, I came upstairs to get something and saw Soxy staring at the coat closet. I opened the door and she got the mouse!

Soxy 1 Mouse 0!

She was rewarded with a treat, a walk, and lots of praise and thanks!

Sense of Direction = 0

I decided to save a little money yesterday and take the Parkway East to PSUGA instead of the turnpike. However, my GPS would not recognize PSUGA (or the longer version) so I didn't know where to turn off of the Parkway. I did remember that when I got off of the turnpike it was my first left, so I got off at the exit that said "Turnpike". Well, that put me onto the turnpike. The gentleman in the booth was nice enough to tell me to turn around at the end of the ticketing area and get back off. However, this really added to my drive-time as I had to wait to give my ticket to the exit gentleman. Then, when the GPS finally recognized the address, it took me about 15 minutes out of my way to get me to campus.

I got to campus 40 minutes later than I thought I would. When I got there I realized my syllabi were not copied for me as I had forgotten to resend them to the school secretary after some required changes by the Administration department. So, with 15 minutes until class I had to run 37 copies of a 5 page syllabus and collate them because the copier doesn't do that. Of course, the copier decided to jam and run out of paper, etc. etc. My students must think I am a complete airhead as I ran into class 2 minutes before it began, completely frazzled, and unorganized. Those of you that know me know I hate to be unorganized. I apologized to the class and promised it would be better on Thursday. I can only hope it is.

I do know that I will be taking the Turnpike from now on!!

First Day of School

I am looking forward to meeting my new students and hoping we can have fun this year! I am not looking forward to the fact that I have been having breathing problems since Friday and they aren't getting any better. This is not a good way to great new students!! I am hoping it calms down as the day goes on as I don't teach until 2:00 today.

Beginning of the End

Today is the beginning of my last week of summer before classes start back up. What will I be doing? Prepping for classes; having meetings at school; doctor's appointments; and studying for my last question. Sounds like a great way to end the summer, doesn't it?

Where is my relaxing? Where is my fun? Don't know, haven't seen it...have you?

New Law for Cleaning...

When scrubbing floors make sure you watch when backing up near doorframes. I am fairly certain I broke my middle toe yesterday when I caught it on the edge of a doorframe. It is purple, swollen, and the part below the knuckle moves in different directions...I'm pretty sure that is one bone.

Break from Reading & Prepping...

I get to clean and do laundry!! Don't you wish you were me?

Busy, Busy, Busy

I am trying to get ready for the Fall semester. I am putting together all of my syllabi and trying to work out the projects and paper topics that I will have my students complete. I am also finalizing my preparation for the final question to become ABD and begin my dissertation. I never realized how busy the end of summer could be!

How are you doing?

Good Friends & Cheescake!

Today I met my friend for a late lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Our lunch was to celebrate her dissertation being approved and her new job at Notre Dame. I am so happy for her and all of her accomplishments! She is one of the people who helped pull me through the first year of the program and kept me moving forward.

I will miss her being right across town, but we will definitely keep in touch via email and I'm sure she will be back to visit. She leaves Sunday for Indiana.

Good Luck Amanda! You will be missed around Pittsburgh.

Family Reunion Update

Had a blast as always! It was great weather this year as I didn't have to hide in the room because of the heat. Even though I had a migraine part of the time, I didn't let that stop me much. D had to put up with some serious health issues with me on Friday night. Luckily all was better by Saturday!

Friday was a fabulous dinner with everyone eating about the same time...we couldn't get anywhere to take our reservation, so we did the best we could.

Saturday was the golf tournament, the talent show, and the performance. It was fabulous as always. Then Saturday night we all got pizza and ate under the pavillion. After that the kids went to Adventureland and D and I followed shortly afterwards.

When we all met back at the pavillion, the "younger" crowd wanted to go out and so did I. I was the oldest one with our group at the bar that night, but I had a blast. My younger cousins are a lot of fun.

I had a great time, as always, at the reunion and it was great to see everyone.

Here is a photo of all the girls from the reunion...

Vacation / Family Reunion Tomorrow

We leave tomorrow, early afternoon for my family reunion in Ohio. I can't wait to see everyone! Today, however, I am cleaning, doing laundry, and packing. My parents are coming to dog-sit for us so I need to make sure the house is very clean as my Dad can be nicknamed "Mr. Clean". Now if I could just get this migraine to go away so I could work, it would be great.

Also, this is being posted from D's computer because for some reason yesterday my laptop decided to "lose" it's IP address and won't rediscover it. Waiting for tech support, i.e. my brother, to call and see if he can help as he tried last night via phone with no luck.

Winning Photo

Thanks for all who voted, both here and on Facebook. The winning photo was:

Anniversary Photo Selection Help

Hi everyone,

I am posting the three photos which turned out halfway decent for our fourth anniversary picture, please vote as I can't decide which one to print. Not sure why the pictures aren't lining up nicely, but please vote anyway. Thanks!

Picture #1:





Picture #2:




Picture #3:

Please place your vote in comments and I will post the winner in a couple of days.

Can't Believe...

that I posted a Fourth of July post everywhere but on my own blog. I hope everyone had a happy and safe fourth of July.

We had some friends from D's MBA program over for a cookout and then watched some fireworks.

We have yet to celebrate our anniversary with dinner, but are hoping to do that this evening...every year we try to go back to the restaurant where we had our wedding luncheon.

Yesterday we converted the closet in our home office into a desktop and storage. D is working in the area right now. Later I hope to snap a picture to post. Also, I still need to take our annual photo for the "wedding/anniversary" album that Beth was nice enough to buy us for our wedding. Every year, on or near our anniversary, we take a picture of our "family" and it has already been fun to see the changes over the years (OK...not the changes to my waistline, but the changes in us as a couple).

Happy Anniversary D!

Dear D,

Four years ago we became husband and wife, something I never thought I would do after the first debacle. I am so happy that we found each other and that I took a chance on love again.

I cannot imagine life without you in it. You are my best friend and my one true love. Every day I fall more in love with you. Even though we have our moments, I do realize it's not all champagne and roses, I wouldn't want to go through those moments with anyone else.

Thank you for allowing me to take chances and chase my dreams. However, the most important prayer was answered the day I met you. I found my soulmate that day and can't imagine life with anyone else.

Love you forever +2 weeks,
K

Awesome Weekend!

Yesterday I spent the day with friends at the Cheesecake Factory for a baby shower (NOT mine). We had a lot of fun. Then Don took me out to dinner for my birthday.

Today, we cleaned out the office closet so that we can turn it into a desk and storage. We bought the laminate for the desktop and the melamine for a second shelf. Then I got to play with the circular saw!! It was fun. While we were working it was raining and when we looked up...this is what we saw!




It was so cool to see a double rainbow right above our neighborhood. We went for a walk after that but didn't see the pot of gold.

Annoyed with the Media!

A great actress and upstanding citizen passed away this morning--Farah Fawcett. Yet, Michael Jackson, with all his questionable behaviors and freakishness, is the one who is getting the attention for dying today.

What has this world and the media come to when we can't even recognize the "normal" people because the "freaks" have taken the stage!?!?

Wastin' Away Again...

Listening to Margaritaville radio since I didn't get tickets to tonight's concert.

So wish I was there...sounds like a fabulous show with a lot of the classics and favorites.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all fathers and those who play the rule of a father in anyone's life!

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals...

LET'S GO PENS!!! Bring Lord Stanley Home

LET'S GO PENS!!!

Taking it back to Detroit on Friday!! Take this same game and skill and you will bring the Stanley Cup home!!!

Nothing New...Nothing Happening

Hi all...

I haven't posted in a while but that's because absolutely nothing is happening with me. I have the summer off from teaching. I am working on my last question and little projects around the house. Nothing worth writing about.

What is going on with you?

So Sad

Our neighbors' three-year old daughter passed away on Friday evening. She had been fighting a terminal disease, Dyskeratosis Congenita, her entire life. She was a strong little girl and put up one heck of a fight. You can read about her here. Any donations are welcome as this family hopes to help others as they struggle with this illness.

May God Bless and keep you Sophia. I am glad that your struggles are over and you are at peace. May God be with your family as they struggle with your loss and miss you, especially your parents and your brother and sister.

Incompetence Annoys Me...

I cleaned my house today for the first time since I told my cleaning lady that I wouldn't need her for the summer since I'm not teaching. OMG...there were things that I don't think have been dusted in months...maybe years! No wonder my allergies have been sky-high lately, the dust was unbelievable!

Definitely won't be calling her back for the next semester, I will figure out how to clean it myself or find someone else. Unbelievable that someone would charge so much for such a shitty job.

Exam Update...

I got good news, and not so good news:

I passed 3 out of 4 questions

I will retake the 4th question in September

This is both the good news and the not so good news as I have all summer to prepare for one question (good news); I passed three questions on the first try (good news); I didn't pass all 4 questions on the first try (bad news) but, I have a second shot and better direction at that 4th question...gonna kick butt and take names come September!!

Happy Memorial Day!

Thank you to all the men & women who have fought for our freedom!! And, a special thanks to those and their families who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could be free!

God Bless America & God Bless our Troops! THANK YOU!

Patience? I don't have no stinkin' patience!!

So, my exams ended on Saturday around 4:30. Now comes the waiting for the results. Originally, they told us we would know on Friday...only 3 days away, but then they realized it was a holiday weekend. Now we don't find out until Tuesday afternoon if we passed the exams or not.

Patience? What's that?!? I cannot believe that we have to wait over a holiday weekend for our results...I'm dying here! Trying to keep my mind off of it, but it's tough!

EXAMS TOMORROW!

If anyone is still out there I would appreciate prayers, happy thoughts, encouragement, etc...as I sit for my PhD. exams tomorrow!

I will keep you posted on the results and should be back to blogging regularly by Monday!

Taking a Blogging Break--Exams Looming!

Hi all,

I am back from Orlando well-rested and, at the same time stressed, I have realized that my Comprehensive Exams are now very close (May 15-16) so I will be taking a break from both blogging and reading blogs until after my exams are over...I would appreciate any smart and good luck vibes you can spare around those dates. I will be back mid-May...

Busy, Busy, Busy...

*Why does my title remind me of the magician from 'Frosty the Snowman'?*

I am trying my best to keep on top of things, and unfortunately, my blog has suffered. However, I thought I'd take a quick break and say hello to anyone who might still be reading.

D and I leave Monday morning for 4 days in Orlando...we have no plans, except to hopefully see the Shuttle launch...we are just hoping to relax and reconnect as our schedules (and my prepping for examns) does not give us much time with each other.

I will hopefully be disconnected while we are there so there will be a post when we return.

Happy Thoughts and Prayers Requested

D's grandmother, who is very much my grandmother also, is in the hospital recovering from a fall and reulting hip surgery for a broken hip. She came through the surgery OK, but she is 88 years old and sharp as a tack...and stubborn as an ox. She is planning on going back home when she gets released from the hospital. She lives in a 2-story home by herself...D's dad has been working on creating a bedroom downstairs for Grandmother and it is coming along beautifully...albeit slowly since both boys work and can only help on the weekends.

Thoughts and prayers are requested that Grandmother makes a full recovery and that D's Dad doesn't collapse from exhaustion from trying to get the room complete before Grandmother comes home. Also, prayers for D's Mom who has been running back and forth from the hospital to her house for much needed sleep for almost a month now. I can't imagine having a sick mother and trying to take care herself, as she has also been sick during this time.

Crazy Busy...Need Post Topics

Hello to any readers I have left. I am crazy busy this semester and can't imagine that anyone wants to read about my prep for exams or my classes that I am teaching. However, that's all I seem to think about.

So, that's where you come in. Please ask me any questions that you would like...within reason...and I will answer them here on TherapyFailed. This way you will get my mind thinking about fun blogging topics instead of papers, exams, and lectures.

New Meme from Beth

Beth set up this "interview" on her site and I decided to play along.

1. Remember the movie Brewster's Millions? That happens to you, except on a smaller scale. You receive a million dollars that you must spend in 30 days. However, you cannot have any assets to show for the money at the end of the month (and you can't buy something and then destroy it), you cannot waste the money, you cannot give it away, and you cannot tell anyone what you are doing. How do you ditch the dough in a month or less?

Travel! I would see the entire world one city at a time...Around the World in 30 days, not 80.

2. You are locked in a toy store overnight, with no way out until it reopens in the morning. What do you play with all night?

Better question would be what don't I play with! I would either play video games or Barbies...I'm just a big kid when it comes to Barbie!

3. If you could have a dinner party with any three famous people, living or dead, you would be wasting your supernatural powers on hosting dinner parties. What would you do instead?

Feed the world so that, at least for one night, no one would be hungry.

4. What's the best thing since sliced bread? Now, sliced bread ain't all that impressive, so what's the best mediocre, hum-drum improvement or advancement that has made modern life just ever so slightly more convenient for humanity, along the lines of saving yourself five seconds every time you want a piece of bread.

Along the lines of sliced bread, I will say the orange peeler. It is this nifty little device that makes it so you don't break a nail or get orange skin gook all over your hands while peeling it. Not sure it saves a lot of time...but it is a useful, hum-drum advancement.

5. What's your best quality? The response to this question must be a simple declarative statement. You may elaborate on that statement, provided that your elaboration does not include the words "but," "however," or "although," or any other hedging, equivocating, back-sliding, gerrymandering (which is not at all appropriate in this context, but I think it should be, don't you?) or any other type of backing down from the simple declarative statement with which you began your response.

My best quality is that I will go out of my way to help other people.

Please leave a comment if you are going to play along, so I can visit your blog...or just leave a comment.

And the GREATEST Team in the NFL is...

The Pittsburgh STEELERS!!!

Welcome to Sixburgh everyone! It was a helluva hard-fought game, but the Steelers came out victorious!!

Can't wait to see how many students are in class tomorrow.

I Have the BEST Husband

As I am crunching on some projects, D has been taking very good care of me. Today he made breakfast...yum, homemade waffles and helped with dinner...pasta in a red clam sauce and a salad.

I am getting psyched for the game tomorrow night. Knowing the Steelers will bring home the Lombardi trophy because:

Vacation Trip Planned!!

D and I have booked a 4 day/3 night trip to Orlando, FL! I am so excited. We haven't been on a trip alone since our honeymoon. Over Spring Break D & I will be in Orlando, FL. I can't wait. It will be a nice break before I sit for exams. Hopefully, this trip will help keep my stress levels lower than they might be if I stayed home and studied for all of Spring Break. I get 4 whole days of my baby's attention! YAY!!

Getting Ready...

I am getting everything done that I need to get done early today so that I can watch as Barack Obama is sworn in as our President! I am so excited for change and to watch history as it happens.

Chris has a beautiful letter to President-elect Obama regarding some suggestions for running his presidency. You should definitely go check it out. It is some wise advice from a young father.

Besides the historicity of this moment, I am looking forward to many eloquent speeches from President-elect Obama to use as examples in my communication courses. He is a well-spoken man with the charisma to draw you in to his speeches.

Welcome to a new day America!

PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!

Soxy can't wait! She knows the Steelers are bringing home a 6-pack!!



Here are some Steelers Fight Songs to get everyone psyched!!

Pain Clinic Revisited...

(as much as I hate to take Soxy off of the top of my posts)

Today I went back to the Pain Clinic for more nerve-blocking shots. However, today they completed the procedure on 3 nerves: right occipital, left occiptial, and lower left occipital. Prior to this, I had only had 1 injection each time...today it was three. I came home and slept for about 3 hours before waking up to prepare my lectures for tomorrow. I really hope these work as I need to be 100% focused and alert for this semester, both teaching and preparing for exams. Fingers crossed and happy thoughts that this time it worked requested.

Ask and You Shall Receive...Soxy Pictures

De-Lurking Day

(Image "borrowed" from Dackel Princess...so stop over and de-lurk there also!)

Hi Everyone.

Once a year a whole handful of bloggers I know get together and we have a day we call De-Lurking Day.

This is a day when we ask everyone who may be reading our blogs to comment. Just say hi, guten tag, bonjour, hola, ciao, or well, you get the idea.

We all love to get comments, and more than anything we love to know from what part of the world you are commenting from.

So don’t be shy, join the fun and De-Lurk!

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged by Vito for 2 memes...the first one is:

The first tag is to open my photo folder to you all. Here are the official rules:

1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.
3. Post it on your blog and tell the story that goes with the picture.
4. Tag 5 other glorious peoples to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog tellin’ them ’bout it.



This picture is from my Godson's baptism. The priest was explaining the entire process and exactly what was going to happen to both families. It is a unique process in that everyone can follow along, even those that aren't Catholic. I was so proud to be asked to be Frankie's Godmother.

The second meme is:

In the second meme, Uncle Vito wants me to share 7 random things about myself. Here they are:

1. I am German, but hate sauerkraut.
2. I cannot imagine my life without D.
3. I have been dealing with migraines since a car accident in 1998/1999...I really can't remember.
4. My first dog was a Beagle mix named Sox. My second dog is a Lab/Border Collie mix named Soxy...the second was rescued and was already named when we rescued her.
5. I have worn glasses or contacts since I was 2 years old.
6. My favorite drink is still a Jack and Coke...even though I hardly drink anymore.
7. My dissertation topic is going to be about Interpersonal Relationships and the Internet...blogging, online dating, gaming, email, and business relationships...I will be a royal pain in the butt with questions and surveys for all of my online friends.

I am now supposed to tag 7 people to do this meme...but leave me a comment if you would like to play along. :-)


Ok, so I am going to pass both of these on to the following:

Update After Doctor's Appointment

Thank goodness the news from the doctor was not terrible. This seems to be a recurring theme of occipital nerve damage. Only this time it isn't just one side, as it has been in the past...I am waiting for the Pain Clinic to call me back to see what they feel my next steps should be.

As the pain was radiating through my head from the top of my spine, I was afraid my brain stem injury was getting worse and would require a surgery that several surgeons have refused to do at my "young" age...they've told my I'd have to be at least 80 and unable to move before they'd try it. So I'm just glad it's the same-old same-old, even though I hate this and don't want anymore nerve injections.

A Little Nervous

I never made it down to the treadmill the last two days. The headache and meds have screwed up my stomach and I just don't feel great. I have been a bit 'off-balance' and don't think that's a good condition to be walking on a treadmill.

I finally see my doctor tomorrow at 9:00 am. I am hoping for a quick and effective diagnosis to get rid of this. However, I am not holding my breath. This is not anything that I have felt before. I don't like where the origin seems to be as it leads to a larger, preexisting problem. Prayers and happy thoughts requested. Usually I don't sweat doctor's appointments, but I'm terrified of what I'm going to hear tomorrow.