Random Musings

Hey y'all!

After flying out of the gates with blog, after blog, after blog - I seem to have lost momentum. I need to try and get back into a good routine or I am going to start "losing fans" as Cara has warned me! So, here are a few musings - my lack of blogging certainly has not been due to a lack of material! I like putting my blogs into some sort of theme - so today I'm organizing my musings according to the annoyingly catchy camp/kids song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".

Head. I'm in a really good place right now. The semester is winding down - I have my last class next Monday when we return from Thanksgiving break and the final is one week after that on December 8th. It's been a good semester of teaching - not without its stressful and draining times, but energizing and exciting above all. I met with the doctoral program coordinator (Terry - yeah, we're on a 1st name basis here in our program) yesterday about my dissertation and he was really optimistic and positive about my idea. So, I set to work now on circulating my idea document with my intended committee members and with luck I will have my committee formed before I fly home to the NW for the holidays. I suppose at that point I will officially be in the "dissertation stage" of this crazy journey that is the Ph.D. program. I was feeling very exhilirated about it yesterday. This combined with a long Thanksgiving weekend ("our first Thanksgiving" for Cara and I!!) and I'm a happy camper. Very happy. This head has visions of dissertation completion running through it...and that puts a smile on my face. A big smile.

Shoulders. Cara and I have sore shoulders and it's probably from all the painting we've been doing lately. We painted the upstairs hallway and staircase a bright, cheery yellow and are very happy with the result. Our upstairs looks awesome and is officially complete until we decide to do the bathroom which probably won't come until sometime next year. This weekend, we plan on turning our attention to the kitchen/dining room/downstairs hallway in order to have our painting wrapped up by Christmas break. Wish us luck!

Knees. Or more specifically, knee. My right one. In my last blog, I gave an update about my knee. I went to the doctor last Tuesday and had some x-rays done. The doctor, who's the primary sports doctor for all of the UT athletes, diagnosed my symptoms as a deep knee bruise that is starting to "go fibrous." She noted that I had full range of motion (limited somewhat as I am the least flexible person alive) and little pain so she was not particularly concerned. X-rays confirmed that there was nothing terribly wrong with my knee and she was confident she could see the fairly substantial hematoma (bruise) that I'm battling. She prescribed anti-inflammatories (Aleve), stretching, and ice and asked that I schedule an appointment in three weeks so she can see how I've progressed. So, I would say this is good news -- it definitely made me feel better about everything. The only problem is that I have been positively awful about stretching, icing, and consuming Aleve. I'm sure that I'm headed towards a stern lecture from the doctor if I don't get my act together!

Toes. Cold toes, to be exact. It has been positively chilly in Knoxville, which had me in the doghouse initially. I had Cara convinced that it would not be so cold in Knoxville that she would need a winter coat until after the Christmas holiday. So, she left her cold weather attire back at home in the NW and is not too pleased with me for providing the poor information. In reality, we are just having unusually cold weather, but that doesn't help Cara stay any warmer. This last weekend she picked up a fancy purple wool coat at the mall. I must say, it is pretty sharp. I am sure she will be posting pictures of it at some point, but she is a must happier camper now that she is warm and snuggly in her new coat. On top of the cold weather, our furnace has been acting unusual. It will come on for some period of time (could be hours, could be days) and then it will randomly shut off. I've done my homework and I can't figure out if I've got something wrong with the pilot light (or ignitor), the thermostat, or the supply of gas to the house. We just had our best span of 2+ days of functioning furnace and warm house, but last night it shut off again. I hope it's just some early season "kinks" that the furnace and I can work out between ourselves. I am not digging the idea of paying to have someone come out and take a look at it. Ahh...the joys of home ownership.

Knees and Toes (read "odds and ends"):

Cara and I have thoroughly enjoyed our Wii. We highly recommend the Wii to anyone who doesn't own it. Our goal is to find a Wii Fit for the holiday weekend, but they are not easy to come by. So, we'll see if we can scrounge one up or not. Whatever the case, we're looking forward to a weekend of basketball (Go Zags!), movies (we're off to see "Four Christmases" on Thursday), good food (cooking up our 1st Thanksgiving meal together!), games and puzzles (you know, old boring couple-y kinda stuff), and some painting, cleaning and chores. It should be an awesome weekend.

I clinched a spot in the playoffs with my Fantasy Football team...the 1st step on my road to the Championship and the $300+ 1st prize.

Holiday travel plans are set. We travel home to the Northwest the evening of December 19th and return to Knoxville on a red-eye flight on January 1st. We'll make good use of our two weeks home celebrating the holidays with family and friends (Cara's parents and my parents are going to meet for the 1st time!). We've also got plans to attend the Battle in Seattle (the anniversary of when Cara and I first met!) and to spend New Year's Eve celebrating the arrival of 2009 with friends in Seattle!

Look forward to a post this weekend sharing the fun and excitement of our relaxing 1st Thanksgiving weekend together in Knoxville!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Love from Knoxville!