Thursday, November 22, 2007

Boston to Thanksgiving

What a busy couple of weeks! First Boston for the annual American Speech-Language-Hearing Association meeting. I spent six days and five nights there last week. It turned cold at the end of the week but not too bad. Most of my days were in meetings but I did manage to go to Durgin Park to eat twice. Once for the baked seafood platter and once for the clam chowder and Boston Baked Beans. Both were good.

We had six students attend at their own expense. They were perfect! They attended meetings, met grad schools, and toured the exhibits to collect free stuff. They were all nicely dressed and did NOT go out partying all night like so many of the students do. I think I have the best students in the world!

On Monday, I sat all day long. I just sat. I watched a little daytime TV because I had earned it.

Tuesday and part of Wednesday had business to take care of at the office. Today I cooked. I know that is hard for some of you to wrap your brains around but it is true. A full meal. Mom Baker's Camp Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Salad and three desserts! Mary Lou and Sally brought a terrific shoe-peg corn and cranberry dish and I used store bought rolls, but it all tasted great! But it took me 6 hours to do it!!! How does Rachel Ray do it in 30 minutes. I just don't understand that!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope that you all are as thankful for your life as I am for mine!

Friday, November 09, 2007

My History Lesson

Jenn tagged me. I think this is what I am supposed to do.

50 years ago—I was in the first grade. I could read but my teacher didn’t think I was ready for chapter books. I borrowed them from my seatmate, Mary Love (first and middle name in true Southern style). I walked to and from school almost every day because we only lived three blocks from school and only the kids who lived ten miles out in the country rode the bus. I never rode a bus to school in my life. This is actually a picture of me at age 5 years, but I didn't change much over the next year. I have no idea why I am holding a garden hoe...I am sure that mother wanted to take a picture and I said something like "only if I can hold my hoe."



40 years ago—I was a high school junior. Kinda geeky but I had some very good friends. My high school did not have the “mean girls” that are in movies. Maybe it was because I had grown up with them but the popular girls were very sweet. I was mostly afraid of guys my age. Hadn’t yet figured out how to flirt.

30 years ago---Gene was coaching football. We had great friends, Jane and Greg who liked to jump in the car and take off for a day trip. We traveled all over central Texas. I was teaching a self-contained class of hearing impaired children in the school I had attended and I was pregnant. I could not keep anything on my stomach, I could not eat, I threw up three or four times a day. My friends and family were very understanding. The ultra-sound tech said that I was having a boy. I had dream that I had a red-headed boy. In the delivery room, I had a girl. She was the prettiest baby ever and looked like a girl from the beginning. I played dress up with her for the first year of her life!

20 years ago—I was teaching here at Harding. We were living across the street from the Benson Auditorium. Mother and Daddy took a job in California and since Reagan was having a hard year we left school early to spend a month with them. Gene had just signed on with the Searcy PD. I had no idea how my job would change over the next 20 years.

10 years ago—in the middle of my doctorate. It was a hard but profitable process. I do not regret doing it. I also went overseas to England for the first time. It was so much fun and so great to do it for the first time with Reagan and with Tammie and Vivian. I was hooked. I am totally addicted to overseas travel. I so lucky that I have a job that helps me deal with that addiction.

5 years ago—Reagan and I were at HUG. What a great experience. Kim and Terry treated us like queens. Ted and Marci were perfect faculty to work with and out students were fabulous. I think that Reagan is right in saying that we were in Egypt right now five years ago. I floated down the Nile sitting on a chaise lounge on the top deck of a cruise boat, under a canopy, sipping a Diet Coke while Josh and Jonathan fanned me. Daddy died while we were there but we know that he is now in a much better place.


I have to add that 1 year ago I was in Florence at HUF. It was incredible! Tammie and Vivian came to spend Thanksgiving with me.


Then Gene and Reagan came for the month of December and he finally got to see how fun international travel can be.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Jenn Did This to Me

I was tagged by Jennifer!!!

MY ROCK STAR NAME (first pet and current car):
Daisy Sebring…kinda tame

MY WANNABE NAME (favorite ice cream flavor and favorite cookie):
World Class Chocolate Sfolia...I know that sfolia is actallly a pastry but it can also be my favorite cookie

MY "FLY GIRL" NAME (first initial of first name and first three letters of last name):
B-Wea...but the kids at HUF called me B-Weave and I like that better

MY DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color and favorite animal):
Yellow Hummingbird...that is crazy!

MY SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name and the city where you were born):
Ann Corsicana …that is icky sounding

MY STAR WARS NAME (first 3 letters of your last name and first 2 letters of your first name):
WeaRe...this is indeed a strange creature name but it is also Reagan’s name so maybe I should be WeaBe

MY SUPERHERO NAME ("The" and second favorite color and favorite drink):
The Blue Diet Coke….yuck that sounds like that new diet coke that has vitamins in it and I refuse to taste it because I think that Diet Coke should not be nutritious

MY -cough,cough- ENTERTAINER -cough,cough- NAME (name of your favorite perfume/cologne and favorite candy):
Chanel Reese this one I kinda like!

MY WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother's and father's middle names):
Jean Wayne…I think this must be Batman’s (aka. Bruce Wayne) favorite quirky aunt


Tagging: Rushton, Wil, Dan, Katie M., and I think that is all who actually read this!