Just for fun

I made a Simpsons avatar of myself. This is what we professors do 5 days before classes start when we don't have our syllabi completed - well, this and fantasy football. I got Tom Brady! Not bad, eh?

Turning things around

Well, the past week has essentially sucked. Last Friday we found out Matt did not get the big bad admin job he was perfect for. As often happens in academic searches, the second best qualified candidate gets the job. Nothing against that guy, he's actually a really nice person, but the decision makes no sense and we are left to think all sorts of dark thoughts about the intentions of people, etc. Oh, and I am screwed b/c this was my one chance to get back on tenure track for who knows how many more years. Back to adjunct hell. Guess I should publish some more crap.

I also had several yucky medical appointments last week, culminating in two MRIs this week. Some of you may know the history behind this (I won't go into details, but it's connected to the stroke thing I had during my pregnancy), but the good news is that I do not have MS. That is indeed fantastic news. The news, though, is that I have a small cyst in my brain. My neurologist tells me it's not a big deal and that they usually leave them alone - unless I start having seizures or spewing nonsense. Gee, great. I never thought I'd be talking about "my neurologist."

In the meantime, I've decided to name it Lou Cysty and blame it for all of my questionable/unbecoming behavior :) My students should get a kick out of that - or they will be frightened. On second thought...

The other interesting bit of news related to this, is that my neurologist also said I should NEVER have been told not to have another kiddo. That just turns my whole world upside down. More on that later.

O has discovered that toy catalogs exist and he wants me to go through one with him.

Another Fair Day!

We are off to the Turner County Fair in about an hour. According to their Web site, it's SoDak's oldest county fair and "the best four days of summer." That's quite a bit to live up to - we'll see how they fair (ha ha - dork!). O is very excited, although he thinks the same rides from the Sioux Empire Fair will be at the TC Fair. I've discovered that you can't reason with/explain things to a 3-year-old once they've got their minds set on something. So here's to hoping they have a dragon roller coaster and a blue ferris wheel...

Pics and a recap later :)

Advice for the pessimistic

How do you turn a potentially upsetting visit-to-the-doctor-in-the-big-city day into a pretty fun day? Before you go to your appointment, you test drive a really cute car - and not JUST for the fun of it, we might actually get a second car - go yarn shopping, and have a yummy lunch special at Sushi-Masa.

Makes the afternoon just a bit better...

From the mouths of babes...

OMG, I about peed my pants tonight. We were at gma and gpa's house (Matt's sis was there, too). We're all in the kitchen while O is eating mac and cheese - just out of the pan, so it's hot...

I started to blow on each forkfull b/c O did not want to wait. After he got a bite in his mouth, he looked at me and said...

"Blow me! Blow me faster!"

I had tears streaming down my face I was laughing so hard (so did Matt's sis). Fortunately, the gparents were cracking up, too!

Fair Pics

It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot and humid, but O had a blast:

Swapping tips on how to drive your parents crazy with cousin Charlie:



I was surprised that O did this bungee jump trampoline thingy. He Kept telling the guy, "Go faster! Go faster!"





Toddler horns:





The ferris wheel was a huge hit. We rode it several times:



My fave pic:



No trip to the fair is complete without a way-too-syrupy snow cone:



Today we attempt another summer ritual: The Lake. Wish us luck. The temps will be in the 90s, as will the humidity...

Behold! The Sioux Empire Fair!

Ah, yes, it's state fair time all over the country. SoDak happens to have two fairs: The Sioux Empire Fair (in Sioux Falls, generally considered to be the more entertaining of the two - and with Foreigner and Daughtry this year, who can argue?) and the "official" State Fair in Huron (never been and from what Matt says about it, I don't think I'll ever attend...).

If you're curious, or just really bored, you can check out the Argus coverage of the fair here.

O will be meeting his cousins at the fair, so he is super pumped. The rides should be a blast and I hear 4H is conducting rabbit judging this morning. Bunnies are so dang adorable. We have a family in our backyard and I am worried they will be mad when we move their shed to build a garage in a few weeks.

Anyway, I'll take lots of pictures and post some here this evening.

Speaking of state fairs, that classic film State Fair was on a few channels yesterday...

brief hiatus

Just wanted to let anyone who is still reading this know that I will be posting again soon. I needed a break after the trip to NJ and then I got lazy...

With about 4 weeks to go until classes start for the Fall semester, I should have plenty of time for posting. Speaking of classes, the kids are starting to roll back into town. That's always a good/bad thing. It's a bummer b/c the town that was traffic and dude-free for the summer is about to shift back to it's college-enhanced population. It's good b/c it means Fall will be here soon and I LURV Fall. The weather improves, football season begins again and classes start - I actually enjoy teaching, so that's another thing to look forward to. That reminds me - I have to plan my classes. Crap.

Off to take O to his DCP and get some work done.