Archive for August, 2009

in the parking lot

Published at August 31, 2009 in Blabber. 0 Comments

I love lazy weekends.  I guess it wasn’t that lazy.  I slept in a little and then mowed the lawn while Chris took care of the weeds.  He thought about tackling our hedge–which is huge and full of crazy out-of-control plants like roses, poison ivy, regular ivy, and tons of other variations of ivy and shrubbery–but I convinced him not to after some battles with the cutter.  Those things are just scary.

Showered up and did a little unpacking and cleaning.  Just a little.  I wish I had done more, but I get so tired after mowing the lawn.  Big time wimp right here.  I know it.  The weather was just too amazing to pass up, so we played with Abed-nego in the back yard some, then sat on our stoop out front watching a boy cardinal and a girl cardinal flirt around our bird feeder.

I made curry and rice for dinner and then cookies for dessert while Chris made me his version of a ginger bread latte.  I’m excited for fall this year.  Pumpkin spice lattes, pea coats, and scarfs like usual.  I want mittens this year.  Yellow mittens.  The leaves changing on the mountains…  Cool weather and burning lungs on runs.  But I hate to see it all turn to winter and then my lungs really burn.  Winter will be nice too, though, with the house to decorate.  I’ll finally get to put a wreath on the door and place candles in the windows.  Fake candles, I guess.

After splurging, we went for a run down Rivermont.  We were out for an hour and Abed-nego loved it all.  Now all I want is Rivermont Pizza after smelling that great scent of pizza being baked over a fire.  Ahh.  But I need to go to bed early so I can actually find a parking spot at work tomorrow.  Last week it took an hour and a half.  That can’t happen again or I’ll go crazy.

Artificial ski slope

Published at August 31, 2009 in Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

Yesterday Chris and I went up the mountain to check out Liberty’s snowflex, our new artificial ski slope.  Chris thought that it actually looked really nice and was amazed that Liberty was able to build it without it looking cheap.

I was devestated.

I could not believe that they had turned this

into this:

 

I suppose that I simply have different priorities.  To me, it seems better to maintain the trails and scenic views while saving the “extreme sport” money for academics, such as a new library.  Sometimes I find myself irritated with schools spending so much on sports instead of research, but, then again, I’m not into sports at all.  And larger schools are more concerned with sports than I was used to at Longwood.  People constantly argue that it is the sports departments that bring in the money and attract the students.  But what are we trying to accomplish with the establishment of the university in the first place?

At least we still have the monogram, which also has terrific views.  It is even more accessible now with the ski slope there, yet I kind of think that is a bad thing.  Work for your mountain views!  You can’t just be given them!

catdog

Published at August 30, 2009 in Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

My dog has discovered that he is a cat ever since we started leaving the blinds open when we go to work so he can bark at the neighbors and the mail man all day long.  I don’t approve.

 

I’m too terribly frustrated to write anything else.
I’ll get over it all later.

Why do I think of snakes so much?

Published at August 27, 2009 in Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

Christopher and I got a package of goodies in the mail from Amazon.com.  Well, a couple of school books, but Christopher also got a Chuck Klosterman book that he has been perusing Barnes and Noble for and I got Stardust Memories, my favorite Woody Allen movie.  I think my favorite part of the movie is when he talks to the aliens and they blow him off.

In honor of this, I took a few photos of Christopher and then he took some of me in our hallway.  I still need to get to painting the hall, but we have had a steady stream of family visiting and large school work assignments each weekend since we have moved in.  In fact, tomorrow we are heading to Woodbridge for a couple of days to visit Christopher’s family.  Then next weekend is our first intensive.  Time, time, time.  Where do you go?  My weekends fill up fast.

Man, my Christopher is cutezzz.

the crazy stink bug is still in my living room

Published at August 25, 2009 in Blabber. 0 Comments

I’m feeling the need for an adventure.  One with trees and water and leaves and the possibility of snails and squirrels.  Things can only be so rough when you are out and about with the possibility of snails and squirrels.  I want to take some photographs too.

My Educ 721 text book waiting on the front porch when I came home, there was school work to be done for this evening, though.  Erg.  I didn’t feel ready to start classes again already.  I hate that nagging at the beginning of the semester when the syllabus stands so daunting with so many assignments.  I find myself growing anxious, feeling like I have fallen behind when there actually is nothing due.  I did have a db due tonight, and I got to researching and writing and love love loving school work all over again.  I hit submit and victory rang in my ears.  Yesss, first assignment done.  I love accomplishments!  Why was I dreading this all day?

I sent a check off in the mail to pay our first mortgage payment.  I feel reassured as our money is reducing a principle instead of simply going toward rent. I love not worrying about the future like I used to.  A lot of hard work is in store for us in the next handful of years, but I know it will pay off and we will not be left stranded with wasted effort, something that I wasn’t so certain of before.

the ending days of summer

Published at August 24, 2009 in Movies, Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

Is it weird that I can’t remember the majority of the day even though I got up at 7:00 am?  We spent a while looking at Lynchburg city plans for mid-town (Memorial Ave/Plaza area).  I really hope the city accomplishes half of what they have planned.  It looks awesome.  Mid-town has so much potential, but has become quite run down.

This afternoon we decided to go catch 500 Days of Summer at the Grandin before it went away.  Chris drove, which was a bit of a relief, and we had pop corn for the first time in a theater since I-don’t-know-when.  In fact, I don’t think I have gotten pop corn with Chris before.  We caught a mantinee and it is a local theater, not a franchise, so it is nice to support local business.

I enjoyed the movie a bit.  I could criticize the ending and so on, but, really, it was much better than your typical romantic comedy.  I used to be so anti-movie for years, but since moving to Lynchburg with the dollar theater (and especially after discovering the Grandin), it has been kind of fun.  The Grandin just feels so special inside.

new jobz

Published at August 23, 2009 in Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

After five years of college (six for Chris), life continually feels like it is shaping up and our studies are paying off.  Chris got a second job on Friday that we have been trying at for over a year.  Seriously.  We applied in July 2008.  He will be teaching Engl 101 and 102 for Liberty online with quite the high earning potential.  I’m hoping that I will get hired for the spring, but it does take forever.  We’ll see.  Either way, this is a position that you must have a Master’s degree for and so it feels like it has paid off.  Plus, it is great to be making some decent money.  Things are looking up this year:  we got the house, we’re working on our doctorates on a scholarship, “real money” is finally coming in aside from and on top of our stipends.  Our situation is better than I could have imagined.  For so long, it seemed like nothing was going our way.  Little did I realize that we were just working toward something better and it would be all right.

Then this weekend my family came in for a visit.  We had planned to grill out and I’d have a picnic with the kids since we don’t have enough tables or chairs, but it rained.  Instead, I had a picnic in-doors in the living room with Sydney and Matthew.

Munching on fresh corn from the downtown market.

Eventually, the rain did stop, so we took the kids to Riverside Park where Sydney enjoyed the swings and Matthew played on the slide.  We showed them the train and then walked along the trail, pointing out the train trussel, the James River, and Treasure Island.  Sydney kept saying that we were in a real rain forest and Chris would lift her up to check out rocks, mountains, and moss and tell her about all the animals in the forest.  Or rain forest, rather.

For dinner, we went to Mangia, which is a fifteen minute walk from our house, but we figured it’d be easier to drive with the kids, especially since we had done a bit of walking and hiking already.  The food was great and the building was just beautiful inside.

Everyone left around 11 am today and I was sad to see them go, but Sydney assured me that she would come back again soon.

 

health care. bah.

Published at August 20, 2009 in Blabber. 3 Comments

Today I went to a meeting about policies of conduct required for those working at Liberty.
Nothing new, really, but I was rather disappointed when someone asked about health care.

My position does not supply benefits, which, once again, is nothing new.  Chris and I have been paying for a private health insurance plan for the past two years because you can’t just go without health insurance.  I wasn’t counting on my job suddenly providing benefits.  That wasn’t even the request–the person asked if we could personally pay for an insurance plan entirely ourselves and have the benefit of being part of a group.

The “no” isn’t what bothered me.  What bothered me was the alternative suggested.  They said no colleges offer health insurance to GAs–which, by the way, is far from true–and they suggested that instead we go without health care since it is expensive.  They assured us that hospitals have to treat us if we get sick, so just go to the hospital, and deal with having to pay the bill for the rest of our lives.  No big deal, right?

Perhaps I am overly sensitive to health plan conversations because of what is going on in Washington at the moment, but I was really frustrated to think that they considered this to be an ok alternative.  I can’t just “go to the hospital” if I get sick.  As a female, I have to go to the doctor for annual check ups and exams.  I also have prescriptions that I have to get filled. Going without insurance and betting on not getting sick is too big of a gamble.  What if I were to get with diabetes or some form of cancer or pnemonia?

About a quarter of my income goes to pay for health insurance.  I worry that what I am paying for is partially useless.   Being on a private health care program makes me vulnerable to being cheated even more than those on group plans and I worry about getting dropped for having to go the doctor too much or something.

We were also told at the meeting that we were trusted but watched.  I wonder if this is being watched….  And if I am, well, these are things that concern me greatly and I’m not ashamed of that.

backkk

Published at August 18, 2009 in Blabber. 1 Comment

I honestly forgot about students coming back to the university.  I really did.
I hate to reiterate the same idea over and over again, but this summer went by so fast that the idea of students being on campus had not registered in my brain until today.  I went out to my car at work today to grab something before my lunch break and there were students everywhereee.  My initial thought was “Whoa.  What huge camp is staying in the dorms?”  Then I remembered that students are back.

It made me incredibly sad because I won’t be teaching this semester.  Like, really depressed.  I guess that it may be good to take a break and I certainly will have practicums to do.

So, I was really busy at work today and didn’t get as much done as I wanted.  I technically am doing the work of two people until the new person starts and takes over some of my work.  Afterward, Chris and I had dinner, he went for a run after playing with the pets in the yard, and then we went for a walk.  I’ve been achey all day.  Aghh.

I get to see my parents, sister, niece, and nephew this weekend!  I miss my Sydney and Matthew.  They need to stop growing for a little while so I can catch up.

Boring entry.  I guess that is what happens when I am sleepy.

bloomin

Published at August 17, 2009 in Gardening, Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

I was bored after sitting around for two days with no school goals to work toward.  I am ridiculous.
This evening, we are going to get some Mexican and wander around Target.  We still need a lamp for the living room that doesn’t have oil-based paint on it.

Some pictures taken in our backyard last night.  Pets and our garden.

Mr. Rufus in her usual spot

Abed-nego checking out the little fence I put up around our soon-to-be fall garden

Rose of Sharon and Crepe Myrtle in bloom

gotta move this

Published at August 16, 2009 in Photography and Blabber. 3 Comments

Feeling wide.  Errr.

I need to go for a run or something.

The trees wanna grow

Published at August 16, 2009 in Gardening, Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

My little sprouts reaching to the sun,
they want to grow.

I really feel like getting out and going for a walk.  My brain is cooped up.  Alas, Chris still has more paper-writing to do.  Instead, I suppose I will do some laundry and such.  We have really been enjoying our little walking loop.  This huge historic building is right across the street from the entrance to our neighborhood.  I think it used to be a Catholic school, but now it is open for events, such as weddings.  Man, it would have been amazing to get married there–and probably incredibly expensive.  Most of the time, deer are in the front yard munching away.  There were four standing around when we went to take this picture, but they left us.

Fun Lynchburg fact for the day:  Lynchburg was the capital of the Confederacy!  It was only for a few days, though, right after Richmond fell.

market

Published at August 15, 2009 in Blabber. 0 Comments

I have spent the past few days finishing up the summer term.  I have one more quiz to take either today or tomorrow, but other than that, I’m done with classes for two weeks.

This morning we went downtown to the community market and picked up some corn, a pepper, peaches, and potatoes.  All locally grown right around the corner in Campbell county.  The drive downtown is always enjoyable with windows down and the summer breeze blowing it.  It was a perfect summer morning.  Afterward, we headed to the grocery store to pick up a few other things for the week.  Came home, made cinnamon buns, and Chris opened a new bag of Cafe Verona.

Our little garden is starting to take off.  A few rows of seeds have sprouted and I suppose we will be able to plant them in a few more weeks.  I have made a big to-do list for myself for the rest of the weekend and, well, I’m pretty stoked to get things together.

The simplicity of my days is comforting indeed.

nameless purpose

Published at August 13, 2009 in Blabber. 0 Comments

From the moment that I considered applying to the Master of Arts in English program, I began speculating what I would do after completing the program.  Perhaps naturally, it is quite obviously important to understand one’s goals and options before pursuing a degree, but this speculation quickly turned to an impeding panic.  I was constantly trying to arrange a smooth transition from graduation platform, complete with my hooding by my thesis chair, straight into the workforce.  I considered applying for Ph.D. in English and M.F.A. in Creative Writing programs, but I had a realistic view of the college job market for English dreamers:  extremely bleak and highly competitive.  With that out, I found myself in a dangerous position:  I had extensive training and education in writing essays and interpreting literature but no Virginia teaching license.

By just knowing the right person at the right time, we obtained Education Grad Assistant positions and now we’re working toward licensure and an Ed.S.  This degree program has me feeling much more relaxed about the future.  I won’t be battling the demons of acquiring a teaching position without licensure and I am moving toward a doctorate, a goal that I have had for some time.  I’m ecstatic to not be panicing about what I’ll be doing after finishing my degree while trying to keep my mind together as I face the challenges of actually completing the program in the first place.   Also, with a Master’s degree earned, there are many side jobs available as options.  I just need to know the right person at the right time. Obviously, I have a long road ahead of me with a lot of work, effort, and difficulties, and it will be some time before I am earning more of a steady, “comfortable” income, but this time I am not worrying like I did before.  And I’m not anxiously looking to the future all the time, hoping to speed up time.  I’m enjoying the moment because I’m not as afraid as I once was.  I guess I’m trying to say that I’m grateful.

Perseid

Published at August 12, 2009 in Blabber. 0 Comments

During the 2007 Perseid meteor shower, I sat outside at my aunt’s house up on the mountain.
During the 2008 Perseid meteor shower, I sat on the summit of Mount Pleasant and camped.
During the 2009 Perseid meteor shower–last night’s portion, at least–I sat in a movie theater and watched Star Trek.  That is close, right?

I’m not sure what we’ll do tonight meteor shower-wise.  Perhaps sit in our back yard.  I just have so much school work to do.

I received my acceptance letter for the Ed.S. program today and signed up for classes.  Chris too.  I’ll be taking 12 credits, which is kind of a big load for postgraduate work.  Weird seeing 700-level courses on my account.  I remember taking all 101 courses not too long ago.  I’m really excited to get going with it all.

I really need to get to school work.  I have a crazy amount to do since it is the last week of the term and I have an evil, evil headache that has left me dizzy.

gardening

Published at August 10, 2009 in Blabber. 2 Comments

This morning I planted the seeds for our fall garden:  carrots, broccoli, spinach, and radishes.  I sat on our back patio planting them in our little “green house” container while Chris finished digging in the flower bed.  Abed-nego lay in the shade by the gate and Mr. Rufus explored under the grape vines.  Everything felt perfect–aside from the 90 degrees.  After we raked out the extra roots and grass, I put up a small white picket fence made of plastic that is about a foot high.  While I know it won’t exactly keep any deer or Mr. Rufuses out, it certainly makes the yard look nicer, especially considering the fact that nothing is planted yet.  I’ve come to really enjoy all the small things in life as they come together.  Just being outside together.

documentation

Published at August 9, 2009 in Hiking and Photography. 6 Comments

Chris and I decided a long time ago that we wanted to keep life well-documented.  When we got married, we bought a photo album and agreed to the idea of piecing together and filling an album a year.  As we began to take more and more photos, our first album was bursting at the seams within six months and we didn’t have any room to put in more inserts.  After 18 months of being married at the turn of 2008, we decided not to buy a new album for 2009, but instead we would make one of the Blurb books, but still print pictures to keep in a box.  Well, I have gotten so behind and figured that I really need to get caught up on creating that book.

So, today I was looking through pictures and, you know, Chris and I have had some really great times these past two years in Lynchburg.  We have climbed a lot of mountains and seen beautiful views.  When I look over the edge, I think of everyone that I want to share it with, everyone that I’d love to take up there.  I begin imagining how it would happen and how they would react.  But I know that it probably will never come to pass and so Chris and I think to ourselves, “Don’t forget this.  Don’t forget this.” I don’t want to lose that memory, that image, that feeling.  Perhaps that is part of why I am so eager to upload all of our photographs and to get prints made.  Because I don’t want to forget.  And it is sort of my way of sharing the views with everyone, even if people don’t care as much as I do.  There is something amazing about driving on a gravel road, finding a hidden parking lot, hiking up and up and up to find a beautiful view.  You have to work for it.  And then you have to force yourself to leave it.  At least I have the pictures and I know I won’t be moving away from Lynchburg any time soon.  There is so much more to discover around here.

McAfee Knob a couple of days before Thanksgiving 2008.

Mt. Pleasant April 2009

Mt. Rogers National Recreational Area

Published at August 8, 2009 in Hiking, Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

Back from the Highlands.  It was amazing.  Usually we only have to drive an hour at the most to camp, but I had heard that Grayson Highlands State Park is most everyone’s favorite place.  We ended up having to drive almost four hours, but it was definitely worth it.

We got up early, packed, drove on and on southwest, arriving in the park about 2:00 pm.  Entering the trail, it felt unreal.  Moss, ferns, streams, monstrous trees, wild flowers…  Everything was just beautiful.  Not to mention the blue berries and black berries that tasted perfectly ripe and sweet.  After about a mile, we connected onto the AT and the trees disappeared so we could see the mountains all around.

After about another mile of hiking and berry-munching, we finally came to the big reason why I have been begging to go here for over a year.  The wild ponies!  They were all just grazing around, but didn’t mind being poked, petted, and all of that.  The colts, though, were extra curious.  Like the one who tried to eat my camera bag…

After pony time, we went through the fence to the Mt. Rogers National Recreational Area.  We were surprised to find even more ponies and made friends with another colt.  He stuck by us for the rest of the evening, even tried to eat Christopher’s backpack.  As night fell, we watched the sunset behind Mt. Rogers and had dinner.

We decided to sleep without the rainfly on to star gaze.  In the middle of the night, I woke up to Chris saying, “Go!”  As it turned out, the pony came back to our camp in the night, poked the tent curiously and knocked the lantern on Chris’ head.   We couldn’t get him to leave our tent and we were afraid he’d try to eat our tent in the night.  We woke up Abed-nego and got him to bark the pony away.  I felt kind of bad, but I don’t think the pony needed to eat our tent anyway.

In the morning, we found even more ponies in our camp munching on the grass.

This has been my favorite trip everrr and I really hope to go back and explore more.  Maybe climb Mt. Rogers.

Many more pictures!

ponies tomorrow

Published at August 6, 2009 in Blabber. 0 Comments

Today I…

-finished up all my work for the week at … work
-got my recommendation letter, vitae, and form turned into admissions
-talked to Mrs. Towles and Dr. Prior for a little while about life and felt happy to be around the familiar English faculty for a moment
-had a picnic in the courtyard for lunch with Chris
-somehow convinced Chris it would be awesome to go to the Grayson Highlands tomorrow to backpack
-made fajitas for dinner
-went for a walk with Chris and the pup and discovered a nice 30 minute loop.  Down Rivermont Ave, onto Langhorne, onto Rivermont Terrace, back onto Rivermont Ave.  So many amazing houses
-goingggg to bed and heading out to see those ponies tomorrow!

But not particularly in that order.  But close.

planz change completez. almost

Published at August 5, 2009 in Blabber. 0 Comments

Drinking coffee, eating Chris-made cookies.  Yumz.
The perfect way to spend the evening with a monster storm heading our way.
Taking a break from yard work today–obviously.  Yesterday we got most of our garden cut in with a shovel, hoe, and rake.  In the process, we found some hard mystery object and never figured it out.  I definitely don’t think it was a pipe, though.  At all.

Well, it looks like our big change of plans will be going through afterall.  It is kind complex and takes a lot of explaining, but this is basically what is going to happen.

I’m not getting a second master’s degree.
Nope.  Instead…  I’m starting on my doctoral work.
I’m in the process of applying for the Educational Specialist in Teaching and Learning program, which is like a curriculum and learning degree with a different name.  All of the coursework is at the doctoral level, though, so in two years I will have my Ed.S. as well as initial teaching licensure and will have half of my doctorate completed.  After that, I have a few options.

1.  I could continue on at Liberty (while getting a teaching job around town, of course) and finish up my doctorate in two years.
2.  I could finish up my doctorate at another school, also taking two years, maybe a little more depending on the school.
3.  I could pursue a more concentrated specialty, such as in Reading, take a few additional courses, and be licensed as a specialist in another area.

So, this meets my main goal, which was getting my initial teaching license for English while moving up a level in education, not parallel (or a little downward).  I’ll actually be making progress, moving toward my doctorate, which I have dreamed of for so long.  And I can be a doctor by the time I’m 26 instead of getting another master’s and then moving on to a doctorate afterward.

And the classes I took this summer won’t go to waste because I will need them for licensure anyway.

A college within reasonable distance has an Ed.D. in English education and I’m really excited about that possibility.

I’m going to be in school forever.  I figured that out when I started college.  And I like that idea.  Now I just wait to get accepted to the program, which I’m sure won’t be a problem since I exceed all of the requirements.

Renovations!

Published at August 3, 2009 in House renovations, Photography and Blabber. 4 Comments

While we are not completely finished with the house, I figured it was about time to post some before and after pictures, so I took some shots of the main rooms of the house.  We still need to hang more pictures, paint the hallway, and one day refinish the hardwood floors in the bedroom upstairs.  But…  I think we’ve come a long way so far.

The living room before:

 

Living room after:

Dining room before:

Dining room after:

Kitchen before:

Kitchen after:

Our bedroom before:

Our bedroom after:

slavin

Published at August 2, 2009 in Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments

Christopher’s parents came in for a day trip!  We sat around the house for a little while and then had dinner downtown at Waterstone.  Love that place.  So good, so cheap.  On a quest to start taking more pictures, Chris’ mom wanted a shot of us in front of our first house only to realize that their camera was broken.  Instead, we used our’s.  Here we are…


I like our house.  It reminds everyone of their grandmothers’ houses, even the inspector.  And it should:  the french doors, the porcelain sink, the hardwood floors, the turning staircase, the coal chute in the basement…  After all, it was built in 1938.
I just realized that we kind of match.  Darn it.  I hate matching because everyone always thinks I force him into it.

Chris’ dad wanted a new Facebook picture with Abed-nego.  We thought teasing the pup with his ball would help him look at the camera.  Not really.

And of course Abed-nego got what he wanted.

We’re really blessed to have two sets of very supportive parents.  No matter what crazy ideas we come up with, I know both the Widens and Robinsons are there to encourage us.

My paper is submitted.  My work for the week done.
I have a headache to the point of being nauseous and I somehow cut my toe open all along the bottom so a layer of skin is hanging off.
Today went by really, really fast.  I can’t even remember most of it.

making thinking visible

Published at August 1, 2009 in Photography and Blabber. 0 Comments


After days of rain, yesterday exploded with sunshine and reassuring breezes.

 

I didn’t finish my paper yesterday, but got a lot of research done.  I have an outline compiled, so it should go quickly.  After some yard work and school work, we headed over to Charity and Andrew’s house for dinner and game night.  Stephanie, Bernard, and Lydia came over too.  This evening get-together was the first time that we hung out with anyone since the Jones wedding–over a month ago.  It was refreshing to be in a room where the topic of conversation was literature once again.  And things of sanity.

We’re planning some sort of tubing trip soon within the next few weeks and also a camping trip.  We may go to Panther Falls where there are numerous hidden camping spots that don’t require long hikes.  Of course, I prefer to go backpacking, climb a mountain, find a summit, and camp, but this will be a relaxing trip with a fire, marshmellows, coolers, hot dogs, all of that.  Then in the fall, Charity and Andrew are going to backpack with us.