Back to School

This week has been pretty eventful; I started back to school on Monday and taught my first 107 class. Teaching 107 is fairly similar to teaching 111, and for that I'm thankful. I use a very similar syllabus, so I can re-use the successful activities from last semester and weed out the ones that just didn't work. I'm also a lot more confident this time around. I know how to teach freshmen, and I feel like I'm a better teacher that I was a semester ago. Even though beginning a new teaching job in the fall will be stressful, my 111 and 107 classes have equipped me with confidence and valuable experience.

While teaching is going well, I have one huge obstacle to tackle this semester: COMPS! I finally narrowed down my topic and have the makings of my booklist, which I'm very excited about. I met with my committee chair this morning, and I showed her my current bibliography of nine texts, thinking she'd congratulate me on having such an extensive list. She said, "Everything looks good, but it needs to be about twice as long." Yikes! That's a lot to read. Comps will be an interesting journey, but I know it will be rewarding in the end (or at least that's what I tell myself).

A sampling of my Comps texts
Can you guess my topic? :)

Brendan and I are headed to San Antonio on Friday for a three-day weekend. He usually isn't able to come home with me on the weekends since he works Saturdays, but he's off this weekend. I'm so excited we can spend the weekend together. It'll be good to see my family and spend some of those Christmas gift cards that have been burning up in my wallet!

Looking to the Future

My last (!) semester of grad school begins on Monday, which officially kick-starts the beginning of the end. This semester I have to complete two classes, pass Comps, and teach an English 107 class, and I'll be home free. I'm so proud of myself and my achievements in grad school, and I look forward to the days when my semesters will no longer be punctuated by twenty-page papers. Graduation is looming on the horizon, and despite the feelings of joy and relief, it brings one horribly frightful thought: I have to get a real teaching job!

I don't know where that job will be located or when it will be offered to me. I'm such a planner and certainly not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of person, so not knowing anything about my future can be pretty disconcerting. I'm probably being more dramatic about this than I need to be, but transitioning from college to career is pretty intimidating. I've got a couple of months before the job hunt officially begins, and I'm really ready for the future to start.

365 Days

Brendan and I celebrate our one-year anniversary today, which is surreal. I can't believe it's been a year. My life before I married Brendan seems a million miles away, but it still feels like we haven't been married that long. Exactly one year ago, I was sitting in the hair salon getting my hair and make-up done with my bridesmaids, so ready to get to the church to see Brendan. The next morning, we flew to Disney World for a fantastic honeymoon. Brendan and I were talking the other day about our plans for New Year's Eve this year, and we agreed that nothing we'd do would be as exciting as New Year's Eve last year.

I'll probably be way too sentimental today, but I don't care. While it feels good to be sentimental about events like your wedding, I know it's not everything. It's so tempting to hold every memory of our marriage up to our wedding day to see how they compare. While one needs to cherish those special events, it's important to look to the future and make more memories, which is what I look forward to doing year after year.

DONE!

I finished my second-to-last semester of grad school, and that's a wonderful feeling! I turned in my 111 grades yesterday afternoon, and now I'm home free; I'm still riding that end-of-the-semester, everything's-turned-in high. I still have to work on schoolwork over the break, though. I need to compile my booklist for Comps and start reading so I can be ahead of my reading schedule when the spring semester begins.

Since Brendan is working right up until Christmas Eve, and I'll run out of things to do pretty quickly in Abilene, I'm making a short trip to San Antonio on Thursday and coming back on Monday. Leaving Brendan for four days won't be fun, but it'll be good to see my parents and take care of some last minute Christmas shopping at a real mall.

Home for the Holidays

Ta-da!

Here's a picture of our first-ever Christmas tree! The ornaments are a little sparse, but that's because I'm too cheap to buy any new ones. I figure we'll collect more ornaments over the years, which will make decorating the tree even more special.

I know my updates have been sporadic lately, but end-of-semester papers have currently taken over my life. I think I can hear an evil laugh from them in the background somewhere... Thankfully everything will be finished and turned in very soon, and I can finally enjoy a well-deserved rest.

We'll be in Abilene for most of my break from school (except for two quick trips to Sugar Land and San Antonio to have Christmas with family), since Brendan's work has mandatory black-out days for the holidays (lasting from Thanksgiving to New Year's) where no one can use their vacation time or take off. Don't feel sorry for me, though. While Brendan's at work I plan on sleeping in, watching copious amounts of CSI, and finally reading books that I chose to read. Ahhhh. I also intend to visit some out-of-town friends, and hang out with my parents in San Antonio for a few days.

Let the countdown begin!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Brendan and I bought our first Christmas tree a couple of weeks ago, and it's standing proudly and beautifully -- albeit shortly, since it's only four feet tall -- in the corner of our little duplex. Its only adornments are a tiny, red tree skirt, a silver star tree topper, and one little ornament that's currently situated right in the middle. The tree's current dearth of ornaments has occurred because I'm too cheap to buy any new ones. My parents are giving me my childhood ornaments from their tree when we see them over Thanksgiving, though, so the lone ornament will soon have some friends.

The tree's singular ornament is one Brendan and I brought home from our honeymoon almost a year ago. We wanted to buy a Christmas ornament to remember our honeymoon by, and we found this adorable one at a Christmas shop in Downtown Disney. I love it, and I was so excited to finally remove it from its box and gingerly place in on the tree's sturdiest branch.


It feels weird to be celebrating our first Christmas when we've been married for almost a year, and it will be fun to have one more "first" before we hit the one-year mark. But no matter how long we've been married, placing that Minnie and Micky ornament on the tree will be just as special as it was the first time.

How Long

Obama was just declared the winner of the general election, and I'm so proud of him and our country. However, part of me is deeply sad tonight; I'm reminded that for one more election cycle our nation won't have a female president.

I hope someday we'll break that highest glass ceiling.