Where have we been?

I know it's been over a month. I will tell our story and welcome suggestions for improving the situation. Kirk has been dealing with the sewer. We had to put an entirely new line in. This involved many obstacles that required many phone calls. Now it is all done, including a move of our washer and dryer up into our kitchen, and maybe Kirk will be back blogging soon.

I have been sick since before the last post. Never anything serious, but just there, underlying all that I do. The last two weeks especially have been a struggle between not being able to sleep at night because I'm tense about the 15 page paper that is due and not concentrating well during the day because I'm tired and sick. I now officially have a sinus infection and I'm on my second round of antibiotics.

That paper is due tomorrow at midnight. I have an outline, a bibliograpy, and six pages of text written. The task ahead seems impossible, but I also live for the fact that I only have to make it through 14 more hours before I can collapse on my bed and sleep peacefully (for a few hours before the boys jump up on the bed.) In the midst of my stress/sick conundrum, I have tried to think about how to prevent this from happening every semester.

I'll admit that this was partially to blame on my election anxiety which was relieved with regular watching of Rachel Maddow, the Daily Show, and the Colbert Report. This will not happen again while I am still in grad school, so that should help. I was also thinking about doing yoga. I don't have time for a class, but I thought if I worked with a DVD for 20 minutes 3-4 times a week, it couldn't hurt. I would have to get up slightly earlier to do this, but I think it might be worth it in terms of relieving stress and just generally feeling better.

I'm also going to try switching my post-lunch diet soda to black or green tea. I'll still get my caffiene hit, but with the added benefit of anti-oxidants and no fake sugar.

Any other suggestions for surviving times of stress? I'm all ears!

Woo Hoo

I got accepted at the University of Alabama!!! Tuscaloosa, here I come!!!

It's over!

I survived the GRE! I don't have my scores for the essays, but the math and verbal were high enough. Thank God that's over!

Grad School

It's decided. I'm applying to the University of Alabama. I'm taking the GRE next month and have to get all my application materials in. I'm a bit frantic, but so far it's in a controlled way. The studying is somewhat loopy. I am expanding my vocabulary, however. The application materials require a bit of running around (especially when you've gone to 5 universities), but other than that the process is illuminating. It's healthy to have to write who am I and why do I want to go to this school. I've written these things in the past and focused on what they want to hear. I feel like this time, I'm really asking myself the questions. I've debated and considered for at least a year whether or not this is the right step to take, so I feel more confident in my decision. If only I could feel as confident in my GRE score and their opinion of my plethora of transcripts!

Decisions, Decisions

I am once again debating grad school. I angst over this every few months. I love my current job, but I wonder about the security of planning to do the same job for the next 30 years. There's also the factor that there's no where for me to go from here without a degree. So, I'm exploring my options. There is one university close by with a Library Science program, but they aren't currently accredited by ALA. So, it looks like I'll be going online. For now I'm studying for the GRE. Wish me luck!