The Path of Daggers: Complete!

I finished The Path of Daggers in nearly record time (for me).  Next up is New Spring, a prequel to the first book in The Wheel of Time series.  John told me I could read it anytime after the first few books but I decided to read it at the point in the series when it was originally released.  I am still absolutely loving this series!

I'm a proud, proud wife!

John presented his thesis defense on Tuesday...and I got to be there!  Sure, I had no idea what he was talking about...but I was still so, so proud of him and so happy to be able to witness it.  There were five professors there as well as three other graduate students...and me.  Afterwards, we celebrated with a bottle of champagne in Jozsef's (John's advisor's) office.  According to Jozsef (pronounced Yoshi), John is "more or less done."  Way to go, hunny!

Badgers

Badgers move forward carrying lessons learned

My Badgers didn't play very well in their last game of the season...but they picked it up towards the end.  It's hard to watch those kinds of games...but they're my team and I'll cheer for them anyway.  This article made me excited for next season already...just a few days after this season ended.  Of course, it helped that Florida also lost to Butler.

Mr. Marshall

I spent a few days with my cousin Jill and her family last week.  She had a beautiful new baby boy, Marshall Everett, on March 8th.  He is such a good baby.  I had a wonderful time just hanging out with Jill and cuddling little Marshall.

It was fun to hang out with Marshall's five year old brother Colton too.  We played Mario Kart and watched cartoons.  He also woke me up every morning before he went to school just to chat.  Thursday morning before I left I just had to accompany him downstairs so he could eat breakfast.  Every day when he got home from school he asked how Marshall's day was...what a sweetie!  He's such a good kid...Jill and Josh are such great parents.

Now I'm even more excited to be a parent...someday.  :)

The Path of Daggers

I finished A Crown of Swords, book seven in The Wheel of Time, in record time (well, for me at least).  I'll be starting book eight, The Path of Daggers, as soon as I catch up with my Sports Illustrated magazines!  These books are great!  I highly recommend them.

Oh, and happy March Madness, basketball fans!

We are always more afraid than we wish to be, but we can always be braver than we expect.

~Sorilea to Egwene, The Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

~Lucille Ball

Book Seven

I finished The Lord of Chaos, book six in The Wheel of Time series this afternoon.  It was my favorite so far!  Although, honestly, some of the earlier books are starting to run together...the fifth book was the only one that lagged a bit for me.  The Lord of Chaos was very exciting and has me eagerly anticipating starting book seven, A Crown of Swords, tonight!

 

Thanks, seniors!

Dear John and The Last Song

I read both Dear John and The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks last summer...and finally got around to watching the movies.  Now, I always think the book is better than the movie, but I have to say that Dear John really disappointed me...and I wasn't expecting too much.  It just didn't have the emotion that was present in the book.  I didn't even cry!  The Last Song started out a little slow but then I thought it picked up and portrayed the story quite well.  I definitely cried through that one!

Prayers

In the past month I've been told that two middle-aged men from the neighborhood where I grew up, men I've known practically my entire life, have cancer.  One of them is in the midst of treatment and doing fairly well.  The other hasn't been started on a treatment plan yet.  I can't even imagine what they and their families are feeling right now.  Even though I'm a nurse practitioner and have learned about cancer in school, it's still very, very scary.  Right now, I'm praying.  Praying for these two men to have the strength to fight back against cancer...praying for their families to stay strong and give them the support they need...and praying that one day there will be a cure for cancer.

It's a great time to be a WI sports fan!

I am an avid fan of WI sports, especially the Badgers.  In recent years, I've also become a Brewers fan.  This year, I went to my first Packer game...and have enjoyed following them more closely since then.  This (school) year has been a great time to be a WI sports fan!

First, the WI football team beat #1 Ohio State at Camp Randall on October 16th.

This victory helped propel the Badgers to the Rose Bowl.  They lost to TCU but still...it was the Rose Bowl!!

On February 6th, the Packers (the #6 seed in the NFC) beat the Steelers (the #2  seed in the AFC) to win Super Bowl XLV.  John and I bought our first Packer shirts after this victory!

Aaron Rodgers is my new athlete crush.

Then, on February 12th, the Badgers once again beat #1 Ohio State, this time in men's basketball.  I was SO proud of my Badgers!  Basketball is my favorite...I just love Bo Ryan and all our players.

I love the joy Jordan Taylor (almost always) plays with. Keep it up!

 So, what will the rest of the basketball season bring?  I'm hoping for a good run in the NCAA tournament...a few good games by my favorite Badgers.  What about the baseball season?  The Brewers opened training camp with a couple new, really good pitchers.  It's exciting!

Note:
WI Badgers football photos from WI Football Facebook page.
Green Bay Packers Super Bowl photos from SI Photos website.

Chicago, here we come!

John was offered a research assistant professor position at UIC (the University of Illinois-Chicago) last week and he accepted it!  So, we're moving to Chicago in July.  I'm so proud of him!  He has to teach two classes one semester and then one class the other semester which is apparently the best option available...and he'll get paid pretty well too!  This is a one year position renewable for up to three years...and John says the positions are almost always renewed.

We're looking forward to living in the city...and hopefully not having to drive to work!  I've always wanted to live in Chicago...but had pretty much given up on that idea.  John's not entirely thrilled about the location...but the job is exactly what he wants/needs so he's OK with it.  I've been looking at apartments online...and looking for jobs too.

It's so great to know where we're going...and so exciting!  The only downside is that we'll have to wait a bit before starting a family...but not too long.  Both of our moms are concerned about that!

Finally, Book Six!

I finally finished Book Five this afternoon and have moved on to Book Six.  Dr. Jain informed me this afternoon that Priya has finished all 13 of the already published books and is eagerly awaiting the final one.  I'm a little behind...but still thoroughly enjoying the series.  Can't wait to find out what happens next!

Beautiful winter sunset

Snowstorm 2011

We've had pretty nasty winter weather over the last couple of days.  It started out with some sleet/snow on Monday night then progressed to snow yesterday evening.  Today it looks nice out...very sunny...but also very windy.  There are huge drifts all around our apartments.  The good news...I didn't have to work yesterday and classes were canceled today.  The bad news...UPS delivered a package that never got to me...I'm hoping someone finds it in their snow drift!

Accidental yummy supper

John accidentally bought ground Italian sausage instead of actual sausages at the grocery store the other day...but it turned into a very yummy supper! 

Ground Italian sausage + zucchini + green peppers + mozzarella cheese = yum!

Students

Well, I made it through the first two weeks of class in the lab.  I'm not going to lie...all four days were totally exhausting...but I made it!  And, I'm actually excited about my new clinical group.  I loved my old group...but it'll be fun to teach a new group of students this semester.  I'm sure I'll dread grading eventually...but hopefully the actual clinical experience will be rewarding.  Hospital orientation is this week followed by our first "real" clinical day next Wednesday.  Here we go again!

Another John update

I came home from Colorado raving about the area...and telling John about the business man who sat next to me on the plane who highly recommended Boulder.  Wouldn't you know that while I was gone, John heard back from UC-Boulder "denying" him (his words, not mine).  UW-Eau Claire also chose to go a different route for the position he applied for.  So, it's down to the two positions at the University of Minnesota, the one at Michigan Tech, or the one at UIC.  I do like change...but I don't like the uncertainty.  I want to know where we're going so I can start planning!  I know everything will work out though...I just need to be patient!

On a side note, John absolutely cracked me up last night.  He had a late snack of cereal and left the empty cereal bag on the coffee table.  Here's a paraphrase of our conversation:

Me: Will you please throw the cereal bag away?
John: What? You don't like it there?
Me: No.
John: Well, you get to decorate the rest of the place.

How could that not make a person laugh?!?  I still smile just thinking about it.  He is definitely a witty guy...and when I least expect it too!  I love him, I love him, I love him! :)

Grandpa Sy

We have some sad news from this past week.  John's Grandpa Sy, his mom's dad, passed away last Wednesday morning.  He was 93 years old and had had a good, long life.  We were back in Oshkosh for the funeral this past weekend.  It was good to see family again.  We'll miss Grandpa Sy's jokes and stories but know that he is in a better place now.  May he rest in peace.