Day 101: 12/21/11 - "Broken"

"The broken clock is a comfort
It let's me sleep tonight
Maybe it can stop tomorrow
From stealing all my time"

-"Broken" by Lifehouse

My, What a Big Mouth You Have!  My first turn as the emcee of the Holiday Party was a smashing success.  Okay, so maybe not really smashing but I do think it went well.  I kept everyone entertained, cracked a few jokes, showed off a killer outfit, and had a good time.  It was nice to get a chance to also sit and joke (if only briefly) with a few colleagues I had not seen in a while.  I'm going to have to suggest they consider using clickers next year for the games.  A little A/V never hurt anyone and it would be so much easier to do grading if we could have a way of tracking people.  But even with the oddness of the activities, there was much laughter, decent food, and fun and games to be had by all!

Knitting Extravaganza: I'm starting two new hats due by Friday for a colleague's daughters.  I'm loving this chance to play with some patterns and colors and hope they all turn out alright.  I also finally blocked the scarf for my friend DL in Nashville and will send her items out to her tomorrow (I hope!).  It has been a while since I actually finished them but I just never had the chance to block them out.  Now that I have, I guess I have no excuse for not sending them along!

Home?  I'm looking forward to going to home now.  I wasn't before and I'm not sure why not, but I am now.  I miss my family and talking to them over the last few days just reminds me of that and I realize that I need to enjoy every bit of time I get with them.  Others have not been so lucky!

Day 100: 12/20/11 - "Moments"

"You know I haven't always been this way.

I've had my moments, days in the sun

Moments, I was second to none

Moments, when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do..."

-"Moments" by Emerson Drive

Day at the Doctors X 3: I tried to kill not two, but three birds with one stone today by getting all of my doctor's appointments in during the 1st part of the day.  I hit the 1st doctor at 8:30am and traffic was good enough that I was actually on time.  The office was running like clockwork and they got me in on time and out early, despite the fact that I was a new patient (I was impressed!).  I had enough time in the middle to mail a special package, get lost trying to find a gas station to put air in my tires and still get to my next location and appointment an hour early.  I thought this spot was going to go well too, as they got me back on time and had the nurse finish processing me early.  But then it took an hour for the doctor to come in and actually spend his 5 minutes with me.  I kept looking at my phone (which was also running out of battery power) and thinking "I'm going to miss my third appointment!"  By the time I checked out I had 20 minutes to go almost 20 miles in SA traffic.  By some stroke of luck I actually made it and got the best news of the day:  my thyroid hormone levels are normal!  Also good news?  I'm down 4 pounds!

Knitting (Again!):  I was back at it again today, finishing up another hat for a baby. This one is red and white (Christmas and apparently sorority colors) for a little girl.  I made it a little too big so she could wear it often, and I even tried a pattern this time.  I hope they like it - I'm really impressed by the way it came out and I think I'm starting to get good at this hat thing!  I might want to just design a few interesting ones and see if I can sell them on etsy.

Holiday Emcee: I volunteered to emcee the annual library holiday party so tomorrow should be interesting.  I'm going to dress up a little (in a red dress, of course!) and hopefully I won't lose my voice - I'm still a bit croaky and my throat isn't completely happy with me.  I'll hopefully share some pictures tomorrow!

Day 99: 12/19/11 - "You Can Sleep While I Drive"

"Come on baby, let's get out of this town

I've got a full tank of gas with the top rolled down..."

-"You Can Sleep While I Drive" by Melissa Etheridge

Knitting: I realized that the first baby hat I finished might be too small so I decided to do a second one a little bigger in the hopes that even if it is too big the baby can grow into it.  I'm looking forward to mailing it off tomorrow!

Still Coughing: I hate it when my sinuses drain like this and I get a sore throat and coughing that just won't go away.  I don't have a fever or body aches.  Nothing is coming up when I cough, I just get a tickle in my throat and I have to fight the urge to cough every time I turn around.  I hope I can get through tomorrow without coughing all day (I have 3 doctor's appointments but none that could help me with my coughing!).

Day 98: 12/18/11 - "All I Want For Christmas is You"

"I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree"

-"All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey

Baking...Again!  I realized that my applesauce would not last another week, so I decided to try to bake a couple of things to get rid of it.  My decision was helped by the fact that I also had some blackberries and sweet potatoes that needed to be used up.  The final outcome of this serendipitous set of left overs was a blackberry coffee cake and sweet potato muffins.  They both came out very nicely and I think I'll definitely make the sweet potato muffins again.  Both recipes were found online, so nothing new from me this time.  Pics are below!

Blackberry Coffee Cake (looks a bit like a wreath!)

Sweet Potato Muffins (a little browner than I wanted on top but still good!)

Final Touches  I finally finished the baby blanket for a friend living in Tennessee now.  I decided to also make a matching hat for the baby, but I'm worried that the hat won't be big enough (I have no idea how big the babies head is!). I'm hoping it will fit (and considering making a second one to accommodate growth!  They don't take long and I can still get it mailed by Tuesday.  See the blanket and the hat below!

Day 97: 12/17/11 - "It Happens"

"Missed my alarm clock ringing

Woke up telephone screaming

Boss man singing his same old song

Drove in late about an hour

No cup of coffee no shower

Walk of shame with two different shoes on..."

-"It Happens" by Sugarland

Wardrobe Malfunction: I always know when I'm rushed or just having a bad day, because I always have issues with my wardrobe (likely due to the fact that I'm rushing or when I'm not focused on what I should be doing).  Today's wardrobe malfunction?  I put on mismatched shoes!  Luckily for me both of them were the same brand of running show.  The only major issues is that one of them is purplish/pink and the other is lime green/navy.  So anyone looking at my feet would likely notice, but from a distance I doubt it was too obvious.

Some People Should Bite Their Tongues!  I'm getting to the point where I'm ready to tell one particular person to "shut up before you say something else stupid, bigoted, or racist!"  Lately it seems like this person can only spout things that I find borderline offensive.  And I don't even think they realize it.  Just for the record, not all people of color go around looking for people who look just like them.  I don't roam the campus hunting for other black staff, students, or faculty to single out.  I also don't roam the campus looking for other tall women to compare myself too (though of course I do notice when I run into a tall woman - it never hurts to know where they get their shoes or clothes from!).  We all have opinions about things but there are better ways to share them (or times when you shouldn't share them at all).

No More Meds!  I had to avoid taking my OTC sinus medicine today - I woke up this morning just not feeling right and it took me a while to shake it off. I also had issues when I worked out and I know that I got tired more quickly working out today due to my slow start.  I'll just have to hope that my body can fight its way back to normal without the meds.  Now to get rid of this cough!

Day 96: 12/16/11 - "Thank You"

"My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why
I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window
And I can't see at all"

-"Thank You" by Dido

No Rest for the Weary: I just realized that I'm going to work a 50 hour work week this week due to some extra-curricular activities.  To make matters worse, I'm still sick!  I can't get rid of this sniffle, sore throat, and cough (especially the cough).  I'll at least get to sleep in tomorrow (I'm not sure how much sleep I'll get though with this cough).

Time to Catch Up: I need to do some serious catch up work now that I'm starting to feel better.  There are research topics I want to delve into and articles I plan to right.  I haven't felt this productive in a long time, but I wonder if I can actually complete any of these impending projects on my mental list.  Maybe if I actually give myself deadlines and finish the "where to submit" part of things, I'll be more inclines to actually finish.

Day 95: 12/15/11 - "Foolish Games"

"Excuse me,

Guess I've mistaken you for somebody else

Somebody who gave a damn

Somebody more like myself..."

-"Foolish Games" by Jewel

Colds Suck!  Enough said...

Funny How Some Fires Get Lit:  I always find it very interesting when I try to get things done and certain people keep pouring water on my starter fire, making me start over from scratch.  But when they have something they want done (no matter the impetus), they somehow manage to find a way to light the biggest, brightest fire every seen!  And of course my little fire gets engulfed into theirs and I'm left with nothing but ashes.  Oh well, c'est la vie!

Open House...Open Doors...Missed Point?  We hosted our first commencement open house today and thought all of our cookies and most of our drinks went quickly, it was the students who took everything and not the guests we had intended it for (though we had already predicted that would happen).  We hope that we'll get better action on Saturday when the full commencement takes place.  Never hurts to try, right?