Yummy Dessert

Just because we like sweets.

I once caught a fish this big . . .

New Rug and Baseboards

About 2 weeks ago, Ted and I got a new rug, which you can see in the picture below. Do you like it?



Ted also cut all the baseboards last weekend, and if you look closely, you can see them. They have not been painted or nailed in yet; we decided we would finish our painting first and then nail them in. Since I was still studying last weekend, we knew we couldn't get to that project right away. But now we (or at least I) should be able to tackle that project now that the exams are out of the way.

All Done!

I took my last preliminary exam on Wednesday, and since then, I haven't really known what to do with myself. I studied for the exams three days a week, approximately six hours per day, for nine months. Now that it's over, I have this nagging feeling that I need to be doing something - like reading or skimming through my notes. I'm sure the feeling will go away eventually. Besides, I am still in a graduate program, and I still have a long way to go. But for now, I going to try to relax and enjoy the fact that I only have teaching to worry about right now.

I should know in a couple of weeks whether or not I have passed the exams. I met with my dissertation director yesterday, and he basically assured me that unless something went terribly wrong during the exam, I should have this thing wrapped up. In fact, he was grading the first exam that I took for him when I walked in.

He and I also discussed what I need to be working on in order to complete my complete my prospectus. You see, the university decided not to renew his contract, in spite of the fact that he is one of the most widely published and prestigious professors at the university. Go figure. World Magazine did a piece on him recently. You can view it at: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/13891

In any event, I will be working long distance with my director. It will be challenging, no doubt, but I hope that it will work in my favor, allowing me to have more freedom as I write. We'll see how it goes!

One down, two to go

I have survived my first of three preliminary exams. The exam itself was fine. I was well prepared for the question and felt that I answered it thoroughly. The events leading up to the exam, however, were less than ideal.

I entered the English office five minutes before I was scheduled to take the exam. When Lois, the English department secretary, arrived, she attempted to retrieve my exam question. After one full hour of questions, phone calls, and discussions (I sent you the question. Why don't you have it? No sir, you did not send the question. I have not received any communication from you in several months. I thought I sent it. What did I do with it? I'll look in my email. It's not in my email. Where could it be!?!? Oh, here it is. On my desk . . . where I left it), I was finally able to take my exam, albeit in a different location and at a different time than I had actually anticipated. Oh well. I suppose all in all that I'm pretty lucky. At least I didn't get one of those awful questions that every grad student has heard about - the kind that are nearly impossible to answer or have little to no relation to the texts you read and studied diligently for several months.

I have been assured that this will not happen during my next two exams. I have also been promised lunch. So at least I have that to look forward to for all my morning woes today.

Our New Look

Our flooring is finished and our new furniture has landed. Here's a few photos of the new look.

The photos above were taken just as Concrete Guy was finishing up his work late on Friday (as in 9 pm, 'cause he didn't start working on our place until around 6 pm . . . )

The next set of photos show what the floor looked like after a day of "setting" and with the new furniture:

Let me remind you, that is black stain. No, the color did not turn out black, but we still love it. Apparently, Concrete Guy would have had to spray several coats of stain on the concrete to get it to look truly black, but he decided to make it lighter. Good call Concrete Guy. We're very happy with the way it turned out and are loving our first set of furniture. We feel like we have a brand new place that is really, truly our home. On top of all that, the flooring is environmentally friendly. It maintains a temperature of 68 degrees, which means that our place will stay much cooler in the summer, allowing us to save money on our electricity bill. That means our flooring should pay for itself in a few years' time.

Now that the flooring is done, we need to tackle our other projects: painting, installing baseboards, staining the rail in the stairwell, replacing lighting fixtures, replacing the vanity in the half bath, and adding some accents to the living room. A remodeler's work is never finished.

Hobbit Love

Ted's cousin, Nicole, met Elijah Wood at South by Southwest in Austin, TX. From this picture, you'd think they were long lost friends . . .

Easter Pictures

Ted and I celebrated Easter with his parents this year. We had a lot of fun, as you can tell by the pictures below.

Our Smallest Visitor

Miss Clara Lee Getz (and her mommy, Bethany) visited Ted and I a couple of weeks back so that she could claim her Easter basket. Below are a few pictures from that visit.

Work in Progress

Our new flooring is progressing nicely. On Wednesday, Concrete guy and his helper put down the overlay.

Yesterday, he stained the concrete. This is what it looked like when we came home last night:
And this is what it looked like when we woke up this morning:
Next step: apply the wax. That's supposed to happen some time today (she says as she looks at the clock and realizes that it is currently 4:54 pm. Where could Concrete guy be?)

To be honest with you, I really cannot imagine what it is going to look like once it's done. Believe it or not, that stain is supposed to be black, and in all the pictures we have seen of this stain, it looks much darker when it is completed. Not sure if the wax is responsible for darkening the color - guess we'll find out some time tomorrow.

In the meantime, we wait for Concrete guy to finish the job and look forward to the arrival of our new furniture on Saturday. It will be nice to have access to the ground floor of the condo again.

It has begun

Project flooring began today around 9 am. By 1 pm, our nasty old concrete floor was covered with a thin layer of nice, new, and very wet concrete. Concrete guy was in the middle of smoothing it out when I came to bother him. By 3:30, Concrete guy and his assistant were letting the floor dry out some more before they ventured back in to smooth it out again. I expect that it will have a smooth, glassy appearance when I return this evening.

In the meantime, I am exiled on Baylor's campus, killing time (I mean studying) while Ted is at work. We plan on having dinner in his office, and then we'll creatively come up with a way to get from our front door to our stairs without stepping on the wet concrete. Under normal circumstances, I would be tempted to write my name in it, but for the sake of uniformity, I'll refrain.