Wow...almost an entire month

I have been a blogger slacker as of late. Bad Kimmie, bad Kimmie! Things have been odd, strange, and weird in our world, lately. The whole family had some version of Montezuma's revenge for about 3 weeks. First Amy and the boys had a bug, then Christopher got it, then me, and finally, Eve. Each of us had something terrible to varying degrees and length. Mostly, it was throwing up and trips to the potty with pail in hand (for the occasional explosion that couldn't be contained). It was horrible and left us weak for days afterward. Fortunately, we are all well again! On the upside...I lost 8 pounds as a result of the illness - weeehooo!

I cannot believe I am going to reveal to everyone that I absolutely hate my PhD program. I don't like the forum, the subject matter, or the lack of interaction from professors. I am also amazed by some of my colleagues. HOW did they get into a PhD program, at all!!!!! One student responded to my discussion post about my future plans with a long discussion about how I intend to provide conversion therapy to "Gays". OMG...even the professor had some admonishment for this participant. I haven't seen her name pop up on anymore discussion questions either. Makes me wonder if she withdrew or was asked to refrain from posting...hmmmm. I would love to re-post her entire discussion, but think that might be unethical on a public forum.

Chris has had trouble finding a way to balance work and school and providing for a family. I am not surprised. People like Kathy, Tricha, and I are actually kind of rare. We are able to focus, prioritize, and plan accordingly in effort to achieve a self-imposed goal. It has nothing to do with intelligence (although we're really smart), it has more to do with personal motivation and convictions. So...Christopher is really smart, but not very motivated or focused. He opted to withdraw from classes until next fall. This would have been a wise decision had he not been laid off from work the very next Monday. Now, he's depressed and feels that he just cannot get ahead. Fortunately, the staffing agency found another position for him right away and he starts his new job today. I told him that things work out exactly as they're supposed to - keep his chin up - yadda yadda yadda, and lo and behold the new position is a forklift operator (which he loves) and the hours are more conducive to his internal clock. Chris works 11-8 M-F and every other Saturday. That's perfect for him...he is NOT a morning person! The pay is 2 dollars less per hour, but he'll be able to bring his wage up when he transitions to a permanent employee.

Something funny did occur. We had rain (no that's not the funny part) and Joe has never seen or heard it since his birth. We had a huge storm with thunder and lightning and skies as dark as rubber. Joe's ears laid back, he cowered, and ran through the house like the roof might cave in at any moment. Even Mr. Frodo forgot what a storm was and sat in my lap trembling and shivering. It was funny to see their reactions. Had you been here, you certainly would have been laughing.

Finally, there is big news. After twelve years, (3 spent apart), Eve has asked me the formal question. On September 18th (because she could not wait until my birthday) she presented me with the most gorgeous ring and asked me to be her partner for life. Of course, I said yes (Eve answered my proposal about 5 years ago). We have applied for our marriage license in New York and have three months to go to the New York Clerk's office to get our license. Then we have 18 months to make it official. So....we're having a commitment ceremony for all of our friends and family on May 04, 2013, and we're having a legal ceremony (complete with name change) shortly before that. We've chosen the venue, the colors, and picked our attire. We're making our guest list (approximately 100 people). It's going to be a fabulous and fun event. We're chartering a yacht so the wedding, dinner, and reception are all inclusive. All of our guests will have a room for the night at the resort where the yacht is located, and we're looking into chartering transportation from Shreveport for all of our Louisiana attendees. I was surprised how economical it is for the rooms and a bus (since we don't have to pay a photographer separately or hire a caterer...budget permits us to pay for the rooms and the charter. WEEHOOO We're excited and we hope everyone we know and love is as excited.

Okay, gonna get to work on my papers. I will do better about blogging. Love to all!!