Family Fun

Got home this morning from a fun weekend with my family.  We met in Nashville and then drove over to Asheville, NC, for a fun couple days of hiking and sightseeing.  It was an old-fashioned family vacation!  It was also the first time I'd seen my brother in more than a year.  I hope I don't always have to wait that long to see him, though I am glad he is enjoying his time in grad school at the University of Washington.

Semester 2, Week 1

Whew! I've made it through a full week of classes (though one hasn't met yet, so technically I'm not out of the woods yet).  So far I like them, but it will be a much busier semester than Fall '09.  However, I'm all for that.  I didn't really feel challenged and fully engaged last semester, but I know I will this time.  I've got some great professors and at least three major projects.  Of course they all want me to do 'something relevant or practical' with the project.  I agree, but I don't know if I can come up with 3 separate parts of a potential Masters thesis that fast!  I guess we'll see how it goes.

In other news, I'm excited to have two consecutive weekends in which I do not have to traipse across the country.  I enjoy the trips - both the flying and the visiting - but it is also very nice to have my weekends to myself.  I never really realized how much I look forward to them!  I think this will be my last respite for a while, however, because we've got quite a few families to see over the coming months.  During the school year, we usually can only see the kids on the weekends, because we and they have class during the week.  Thankfully we try to make sure we balance the trips such that no one travels more than 3 weekends in a row.  Still, those three weekends can be exhausting!  And usually there's only one weekend 'off' before jumping back in.

update

It's been a few days, but life kinda got crazy on me.  It was wonderful to have a long weekend of no work and to have the 7th & 8th off from the lab.  However, the usual daily grind began again on Wednesday.  It wasn't a bad week by any means.  I'm a little excited about Monday because we have 5 families coming in and I get to test all 5!

Mom and I've been doing a lot of yardwork lately, so I'm sleeping really really well.  The yard also looks pretty good, too, since we've put in some new flowers, weeded a couple beds, trimmed back some wayward branches and done a lot of watering.  There's still quite a bit to go, though.  I'm hoping that tomorrow Dad and I will successfully install a french drain so that we don't have quite such a runoff problem.  If this one works, we're gonna get at least one more.  However, getting Dad to do much of anything these days is rough.  I was amazed he helped us water everything tonight.  Granted, Mom and I were the ones pulling up trees and such, but hey.

I'm still trucking away at trying to narrow down my grad school options.  Additionally, I still need to take the GRE, choose an empirical thesis project, finalize a HoScho thesis topic, and prepare for comps.  Ugh.  I though summer was supposed to be a break!

the start of a tiny break

I don't have to work tomorrow.  At either place.  Hallelujah!  I love what I do, but I'm exhausted.  I'm thrilled I get to sleep in tomorrow and that I have 3 days of weekend, plus 2 mornings off next week.  However, on Monday I'll go to the ENT and probably find out when I'll have my tonsils removed.  I'm not looking forward to that procedure, but I am looking forward to not getting sick anymore!

I don't have any big plans for the weekend.  Perks of not living near any of my college friends, I guess (and of a certain boy not wanting to talk to me for an undisclosed amount of time).  I do hope to get some work done on my scrapbooks.  I've got to get my Costa Rica one done before I forget all the details!  Since today was payday, I'm also hoping to get a bit of shopping for me done.  :)