Well, as the title suggests I am trying to make up for the complete dearth of postings from the XY co-owner of this blog. As I have been reminded by my lovely wife several times I have been talking about blogging for weeks now. Well I finally have something big enough (although I'm not sure how big many people would consider 11.4 lbs) to get my lazy tail/fingers off the couch.
So much has happened since the latest post by Ann that I don't know where to begin. I know there are those of you asking for info on our latest furry addition (Mills(er)) but I have chosen to write this chronologically. So first things first.
As Ann mentioned in her last post we were able to go up to
So after dinner we all piled in way too many cars and headed over to Lipscomb to enjoy corny joke making at its best. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to see the re-done Willard Collins Alumni Auditorium, drop what you are doing/holding/etc (unless it is a small child or grenade) and go see the new Purple Palace of Performance. They really did a fantastic job with the remodel and I look forward to many years of enjoyably performances there.
Saturday morning Andrea had a "hair appointment" - this is language that I would clearly not use unless I was married. I always thought you went to a barber shop or got a hair cut, but apparently they are termed "appointments" now. Anyway, after getting her sleek new look (which I love) we met my folks, Granddma Eva and Grandaddy Wayne, and Aunt Kay for lunch. It was great getting to see all of them, and I'm hoping to get to go to
We went to the Sat night show of Sing-to-your-mama that night and were smart enough to leave after the last group so that we could make it back to
As Ann mentioned in her last post I successfully passed my Qualifying Exam and am now hopefully only about a year away from finishing my PhD. To "Qualify" each student in our department must do about a 45 min to 1 hr presentation on their research and then submit to questioning from anyone at the public presentation, followed by a private exam by the members on their committee. The easiest thing I could relate the experience to was pledging believe it or not. When my committee was going around the room questioning me it was difficult not to flashback to the unmistakable voice of Josh Maxwell saying "Hardison? I thought he already pledged?" or Justin Bagwell's "Pledge brothers come to meeeeee." Anyway, after it was over they informed me I had passed and, Lord willing, was on track to graduate next spring.
My week was pretty much over, but Ann's was just beginning. She had taken a test on the day before, on Monday, and still had to skills validations at the end of the week, not to mention two papers due. Thankfully I am married to an industrious, intelligent woman who had already completed the papers weeks before and had been studying along for the test and validations. I'll let her go into more detail about the validations since it is her area of expertise but here is a brief description. Using either mannequins or a partner all the nursing students are required to demonstrate specific skill sets like giving injections, taking vital signs, etc. This week they were being tested over installing a catheter (ouch) and doing a complete physical assessment. She of course passed with flying colors and made an A on her test, so a banner week for our small family.
So on to the more exciting news - for those regular readers of ours (shout out to St. Lou, soon to be LA) it is old news that we have been thinking about getting a dog for a while. Well as GW so memorably claimed -
To wrap this long meandering post up, I am so thankful for my wife and the life that I lead and all of our friends that we are able to see from time to time, both here and in all points north and south (here's looking at you Pensacola - CMW looks like a keeper).
