What I did on my day off...

This is my cherry pie... darn thing looks like a photo in a cookbook (except where the cherries oozed out because I overfilled it and where the lattace is crooked because I kept breaking the pieces... hee hee). So today, I totally channeled Betty Crocker. I made the cherry pie and 12 mini loaves of banana bread. I vacuumed, did laundry and did the dishes. Whew! Is it time to go back to school yet? =)

Happy almost thanksgiving!

Cute Picture

Just wanted to share a cute picture of Steve, Katie and I at the orchard a few weeks ago. Steve ran in a 5K there to support the Humane Society, and Katie and I were supposed to do a 1 mile fun walk together, but it was running way behind schedule, so we didn't end up doing it. Anyhow, this is the first picture we have of the three of us together (thanks to the poor guy who was trying to take it... just like photographing a toddler!).

So not much else going on right now. Home a little early from school, so I think I'm going to try and sneak in a nap before the rest come home. Shhh... don't tell... =)

See... it's real!

Good morning! I don't have a whole lot of time to post this morning, as I'm supposed to be heading out the door soon. But I just had to share. For those who were at all curious what the mysterious "textbook" project I was working (a bit slavishly... hee hee) much of the summer, the details have finally been released. Which means, in short, that I can stop acting like I'm an international spy (though that was a fun bit of pretend) and tell you about it. Here's a link to a blog post by the author:

Teaching College Math Technology Blog: Activities for Algebra - Sample now available

Have a great day!

Empty Office Hours

Well, my students had a test on Monday night, which means none of them want to come into office hours today (actually, I had one very dedicated student who was trying to finish up next week's homework already, but she didn't have many questions). Thus I have an empty office hour. The perfect time to catch up on studying, homework, and class prep... or, more likely, to catch up on blogging and Turbo Solitaire. =)

So what's been going on lately? Let's see...

I have officially finished my first grad school midterm week (blech!) and I lived through it. Actually, I did fairly well on most of my tests. I know most of you will say "but of course you did... you always panic and then do well!" But this semester has been awfully different from any other semester I have ever had. I've been having some issues with my time management and not putting too much time into teaching. Also, since all I take/teach are math classes, the last thing I really want to do at the end of the day is math homework... so I've been having some motivation challenges, too. However, I've been assured by lots of people here that all of this is pretty common for a first year and I just need to get used to everything (and probably stop blogging when I could be doing homework, but that's another story). So anyhow, I got an A on my Linear Algebra midterm, an 82 (B I guess) on my Analysis midterm (after a 20 point curve... yikes!), and a 32/40 (A-B ish) on my Modern Algebra midterm. So I'm staying out of the forbidden C-zone thus far - I just hope I can keep it up.

In other news, tonight I'm going to test drive a 2007 Dodge Caliber. I already test drove a 2008 (which was orange - how fabulous is that!?!), but I had some issues with my salesperson at that dealership and decided to test the waters elsewhere (thank goodness for Mother Internet and her son Google). I ended up finding a better car (automatic, anti-lock breaks and a sunroof - though decidedly un-orange) in a 2007 (which is exactly the same as the 2008 incidentally), and the dealership was willing to give it to me for very nearly the same price as the first car I looked at. So I'm going to try it out and see if I like it! How exciting is that!?!? It is also kind of scary... I mean buying new cars is something that grown-ups do! Eek!

And Steve is being all grown-up too, and has been talking to the bank about mortgage possibilities. Honestly, this just doesn't seem like us! But it's kind of fun, too... and I'm definitely looking forward to having a house with a yard (instead of an itty bitty apartment with an un-itty bitty dog). =)

As for the dog, she's getting really good at sit and stay (at least in fairly controlled circumstances - not so much at the dog park), and is starting to learn "watch me" which I hope will help her focus more on walks and get less freaked out by other dogs and such. She doesn't quite get "leave it" yet; she just thinks I'm torturing her by not letting her go after the treat laying on the floor. But overall, she's come sooooo far since we first got her. You'd hardly even recognize her as the same dog. =)

Well, I guess that's about it (since my office hour is about over). Now it's off to the gym (God, I hope it's not an arms day... my arms are still killing me from the last time! My trainer is a tough one, but she encourages me to do things I never believed I could.)

Have a good weekend,
Meg

Katie Learned to Play Fetch!

... well, she almost learned to play fetch anyway. We were at the dog park (Lexington has 3 public dog parks, how fabulous is that?) with 2 dogs who were WILD about fetch. And after watching them chase the ball for awhile, Katie started to chase the dogs, and eventually, started stealing the ball from the smaller of the two dogs. I wasn't sure whether to praise her or chastise her... I mean, I was excited that she seemed to care about the ball, but I don't want her to turn into a bully. But it was awfully cute. =)

And speaking of awfully cute...

As for me, I still don't know how to fetch. lol. But life is good. I'm a little miffed about one of the questions on my most recent math test (analysis... grrr!). I spent about 35 minutes and used about 3 pages of scrap paper trying to figure out how to prove that a series converged... another guy in my class asked the teacher after the test, and the proof is about the size of two postage stamps! Once again... grrr...

Analysis aside though, things are going great! I got a 93 on my linear algebra midterm, which totally surprised me. And Steve has been reading the Home Buying for Dummies book a lot lately. I'm also looking into buying myself a car...

For now though, I'm off to class...

Dancing in the Changing Room

Stay tuned for the news of the week...

First on today's news - supposedly PetSmart Obedience School is going to help us teach Katie to ring a bell when she has to pee. How cool would that be? But I'm a little dubious, if only because Katie does really well with her lessons - when she wants to. But it sure would beat cleaning the carpet over and over while I try to get a handle on whatever signal she's sending. So far though, she's getting pretty good at her name and sit.

Coming up next, silly grad student dances in the Old Navy dressing room - find out why. But first a word from our corporate sponsors.

(Wait... I don't have any sponsors!?!? Bummer! Alright then, back to the news.)

Saturday afternoon found one silly grad student (that'd be me...) dancing around the dressing room at Old Navy. Why? After working all summer to be able to eat a balanced diet, and working out three times a week with my trainer for several weeks, I am now a size 16!!!! I can honestly say I don't remember the last time I was a size 16, but the last time I went clothes shopping, back in March, I was a 22! I was so stoked, that I didn't care if anyone saw me dancing like an idiot. Plus, this puts me one step closer to riding around town on a brand new Honda Shadow! Only 35 more pounds to go! So hopefully, by the time winter is over here (February or something, I think), I'll be saddled up and ready to go!

In other news, stock prices in the sleep industry are now sky high, as it becomes an increasingly rare and precious commodity. But I found out that the Grad School has a tradition called Cease Fire Weekend, where teachers don't hand out homework to be done that weekend! It's the first weekend in October, and I can't wait.

Well, I guess that's about all the news for now. We're going to take Katie to the dog park tonight (Lexington has 3 public dog parks with fenced in areas... super cool), so I'd better get some homework done.

More pee-ing issues

Hmmm... so Katie started school today, and she did really well. Actually, she was, by far, the best behaved dog in her class (except for the teachers dog, of course). So we were all excited and proud and such...

... then I got ready to go to the store to get something for dinner, and out of the blue, Katie pees. Right in the middle of the living room floor. I'm hoping I'm not seeing the beginning of a BAD pattern here (she had an accident on Thursday morning, but that one was more my fault). This time she didn't even act like she had to go out or anything though. One minute she was laying on the couch, and then I walked into my office, shut the door so I could change, and I hear Steve saying BAD (which is our new correction word, courtesy of training class)! I don't know what was behind this at all!

And besides that, she still won't eat! I think she's had about a cup total since the Thursday a.m. accident-incident. We keep putting it out there (and I even tried leaving it out longer this morning, in case her pills had upset her stomach), but she won't touch it. I really don't know what to do there.

As for me, I'm dog tired (pardon the pun). Steve and I walked Katie about 3 miles this morning, then we had doggie school. After that, I met with my trainer at the gym and worked out for an hour. And when Katie peed (and Steve was on the verge of murdering her), I took her for another 3 miles and then we went to the park and played "Chase Mom while Mom Chases Frisbee" (we don't quite have the idea of fetch down yet... lol). So I'm not sure if Katie got tired out, but I sure did! =)

Anyhow, dinner is finally ready, and I'm starved, so that's all the news I've got for today.