Birthday, Gregie-poo-licious style!

Happy birthday to my wonderful brother-in-law Gregie Poo. I hope you have a wonderful day!! Is this a good use of my time (drawing hats on family members)? I think so. ;)

Happy berfday, Greg! Love ya!

I'm a member.

Today is my first official test (shudder in fear) in statistics... Not just any statistics, but the kind where you have 60 definitions you have to memorize because you have to write the whole thing out on the test. Yup, that kind. So wish me luck. This week has been slightly insane, work-wise. I hope to return to the land of the normal-functioning student (OR human being, for that matter) at some point. Wish me luck. I'll let you know.

Belated yet sincere!

My wonderful friend Katie turned the big 2-5 (how is she such a baaaaby??) on Saturday! Happy birthday, Katie! Love you oh-so-dearly! Truly, I do!
Weekend update:
I had a ridiculous amount of homework to do this weekend, so I stayed home on Friday and read 5 enormous chapters from my ginormous book. Took a much-needed break and watched "Disturbia." Saturday, studied some more then went over to Ben's house to watch the game. Sunday... guess what? Studied some more- knocked out a 9-pg paper in no time at all. I still got it, people! Dat's right! Last night, we went to eat at Pizza Cafe when I was done with everything then went to see "3:10 to Yuma." Jeremy says it's no "Lonesome Dove" (and really, what is??), but it's a great cowboy movie if you're into that. Christian Bale did a really great job. And AJ from "Empire Records" is in it for like a minute and a half. Yup. It's what I do, spot obscure people in movies. ;)
I found this adorrrable pic of Katie and Holt hanging out for the first time ever ONE year ago at David and Judith's reception. So cute. Yay, them. ;)
Have a good week, everyone! Here we go again...!

If you've been wondering what I've been doing...

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
Trying to capture Zoey's killer face when they play, but my camera's too dang slow. It will come with time. Trust me.


But really.... workity, workity, work. That's what. ;) But if you're REALLY interested, visit the Arkansas State Improvement Grant website and read all about it. I work with the two fellas that are in charge of Goal 2. It's really interesting work and a lot of great experience. Today and yesterday I went to a training they give at the DoubleTree. Some awesome stuff on time-out, teachers.
Up next on the agenda: reading, reading, reading, and studying for a big stats test I have next week. I'm fairly certain it might kill me, so wish me luck. Stats and me, not good friends. Plus, there are only 3 tests, and those are the only grades for the class. Must do well. Peace!

What happened to the wine o' the week??

It's been far too long since I've departed some wine-y wisdom, so here we go... Apparently school has distracted me from my duties. My bad. This one is a Kimmy P. suggestion that is fantastic for the remaining hot days we have in September. Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc-- very refreshing. Very grapfruity but not sweet. Here is some info from a website review:

About Sauvignon Blanc:

"Every winegrowing region in New Zealand produces Sauvignon Blanc, yet the best examples come from Marlborough, on the northern tip of the South Island. Warm, dry days, very cool nights and long days of sunlight during the growing season ripen Sauvignon Blanc just enough to develop its mostly green-fruit flavors, yet retain the wine's signature firm acidity."

About Silver Birch:

"This wine is distinctive for its aromas of talc, jasmine and musk, and the palate of juicy ruby grapefruit, kiwi and passion fruit. It's brightly acidic, with a stony, lemony finish."

Mmmmm!

One day late...!

... but it's never too late to wish my parents a very very happy 32nd anniversary!! 32 is my dad's favorite number, so that means it's going to be one heck of a year! Love you both dearly!!

I am home today, not driving back and forth between here and C-town for the first time in 2 weeks. Whew! I will normally have Fridays "off" (although I plan to take advantage and study a lot those days). It's just nice not being in Rhonda the Honda a little. ;)
Work is going great so far- it's really interesting. I like all my classes too, and I finished my very first paper last night (not due till next week, thank you very much). I am having trouble getting used to all the reading they love to make me do, but I'm getting in the swing of it. Looking forward to October, when everything should be in a flow... ;)

Have a good weekend, all! Anyone have any big plans?

More B-ville pics

Oh, there you are, Ben! My pictures from Lucero at the Riverfront did not turn out so well because we lost our super-sweet seats in the front... apparently the kiddies don't like to sit and watch. Oh well, we kept them for most of the day. Anyway, these up-close pictures are from the "after party," where the kiddies (well, the high schoolers) weren't allowed. Ben and Cory played basically another whole show. Makes a girl happy.
Anyway, I'm at work (shhh...), but I'm about to get rollin' on some state school discipline data. Yeeeeehaw. Wednesday is my long day, so I am in C-town from 8 a.m. till 9 p.m., so be thinking of me.
PS, I'm pretty sure we're BFF with Cory Brannan now. Prettyyyy sure.

One last shot of the sunset on the White....

And here's a pic of Glossary, a band I now like a lot. Their new album is available for free uploading on October 2nd, so look them up. They have a chick that sings (like the Paper Hearts) and a bearded man that plays the slide guitar. ;)

Beautiful, downtown Batesville

Jeremy and I traveled all the way to Batesville on Saturday for the first annual Lucero Family Picnic. Let me tell you, folks, it was a genius idea. They got a bunch of bands (Lucero, Cory Brannan, Glossary, Southern Bitch, and Two Cow Garage) to play down at the Riverfront Park there. We could bring in a cooler (as long as there was no glass), BBQ was for sale (among other delicacies), and they played for hours. Throw in some family-picnic-style games (pictured here) and some CAGE FIGHTING (pictured at the bottom), and you will guarantee some F.U.N. on Labor Day weekend. I will definitely be going to the second annual family picnic, as it was one of the funnest things I did all summer. No joke. Here are some of the many, many picutres I took. Thanks for the ticket, Jeremy- I had a blast!

Cory's guitar cord kept punkin' out on him, so he went cordless. Incredible.

An accordian. It gets no better than that.

More pictures soon...

Goodness.

I swear I'm alive, fear not, friends. Class started a week ago, and I am already going full-force. My classes are going to be pretty intensive, but I think they'll be pretty interesting. I started my GA position on Tuesday, and I really like it. I even arranged it so that I will have Fridays "off" (studying, basically), which means I am reallllly busy the rest of the week. So, sorry for being a bad blogger. I am going to try to catch up on some reading this evening (can you believe they already gave me some??). ;) Hope all is well. I'll be back soon!

Here ya go, Mom and Dad. My first day of school!

Here it is... my stand-on-the-front-porch back to school pic. Ha ha ha ha. Instead of my lunchbox, I have my giiiiiiiiinormous Professional School Psych book. It weighs a trillion pounds. ONE trillion.
Class yesterday went very well. I had my advanced developmental psych class, and I think it's going to be really interesting. I get to write a "developmental autobiography." Talking about myself for 10 pages. I can do that. :)

Aaaand (duh duh duh DUHHHH!).... I bought a laptop yesterday with that wonderful thing called credit. It's little and cute and fast and I love it. It's my very first laptop. I'm a big girl now, I tell ya.

My "real" schedule starts next week, when all my classes start up. Wish me luck! Statistics is going to killllll me. Word.

Rock on, Charlie!

Tuesday (this post is a little delayed!) I went to go visit baby Charlie and awesome new mama Anne. I gave Charlie the baby blanket I've been working on for quite some time (admire the hoodie blanket... it's the cutest). He appears to like it cause I think he's saying, "rock on!" But seriously, how pretty is that blanket? The baby all wrapped up tight in it ain't too bad either! He is the sweetest thing ever too... I held him for like an hour. Hooray!

Welcome Numero Seis!

Those wonderful Tuckers have greeted baby numero seis into the world! He arrived Friday afternoon, and he's just beautiful. Here's a picture of the proud mama and one of Jeremy holding the little guy. Congrats to an amazing family! Love you guys!
Other updates:
*School starts Thursday, and I have orientation on Wednesday. Hoorah!
*I have ordered and received some of my books- GOOD LORD they're large.
*Financial aid stuff has worked out good, I think I can actually make it. Big sigh of relief.
*We went to the RIVER for the first time of the summer (last summer we went all the time??), and channel 7 did a very close fly-by while we were on the sandbar. So look for us on the news sitting in the ol' dirty. Ha ha ha ha. Don't judge me. ;)

Bye, bye, bye

Here are some last and final pictures of Claus in Arkansas (sniff, sniff). We'll miss you, you crazy Dane!

Today I will be ordering textbooks online (eek!) and trying to get financial aid in place (double eek!).
PS, don't you hate that Kleenex commercial where they sit people down, hand them a box of tissue, and ask them about their moms? That's just mean, people. MEAN to make people cry like that. I love my mama... sniff, sniff (again).
They just showed a Felicity clip on GMA, Annie... I thought of you.
Have a good day, all!

Wine o' the week

From the website:
Mo Zin, Sonoma County 2003
72% Zinfandel, 23% Mourvèdre, 5% Petite Sirah 1,050 cases produced. Mourvèdre, a blending grape used in French Rhone wines, provides a marvelous raspberry and leather aroma that works nicely with the blackberry flavors of our Dry Creek Zinfandel. Petite Sirah adds a touch of peppery spice. Made to enjoy now, this will also improve and gain complexity in the bottle for 3 to 5 years after the vintage date. This matches well with everything from grilled ahi tuna to Italian red sauce dishes to lamb and red meats.

When you’re out of Zin you need Mo Zin!

750 ml $20.00

Mmmmmm.... you know how I love 'dem mixes! And what a FABULOUS name for a wine... ;) Melissa gave me a bottle of this for working on something for her firm for her, and we had tried one a while ago. It's fantastic. And named so well! Support the Spanns out in Sonoma County, they seem like good folks. I think all Spanns are.

Feels like old times, except now I have digital photos, we have jobs, we're not in Karl's downstairs.

MSM-CHS c/o '99 reunion was a tremendous success! It was great having (ALMOST) everyone back together. Turns out we're all pretty much the exact same when we hang out again- it felt like 8 years hadn't passed... Thanks to Karl and Kat for hosting- the slip and slide was an ingenious idea. I like how our group has expanded... everyone's done a really good job. I'm a proud girl of us all. ;) I went a little camera-crazy, so keep scrolling, and have a great week!

Mommmmmm, it's too hot out there!

Pooooor pups, they're miserable. Actually, right now, they're soaking up the AC while in a deep, deep, trance-like sleep. I particularly like this picture because it looks like Zoey is about to strike, but she's not.
Update time again! I got the G.A. position that I interviewed for at UCA yesterday! The job sounds great- the state hired 2 psychologists to "improve schools" in AR. I will be assisting these psychologists in said endeavor. I'm sure they have more specific goals than that, but I don't know details yet. I will work about 20 hours a week, and it seems that they will be really flexible with my schedule. I also enrolled for classes yesterday, so I am ready to go! Yessssssssssiree! Things are lookin' up for Miss Elizabeth.

The question to ask is not "Will my cat dance with me?" but rather "Will I dance with my cat?"

In my internet surfing this a.m. (don't ask, because I'm not sure how), I was struck with the strange desire to relive memories of Dancing with Cats, that book we used to laugh at A LOT in college. So here are some pictures and some frequently asked questions, just for your future reference, when wanting to dance with your cat. And who wouldn't want to do that, I ask you?

What if my cat won't dance with me?

Well you have to accept that some cats, like some humans, just don't dance. But a lot of the time cats won't dance because people expect almost instantaneous results. They think they can stroke their cat a bit, then put on the music and puss cat will be boogieing with them in no time. It's not that easy. You have to put hours of time in to the pre-dance energy alignment exercises, like mirroring, remote stroking, mutual purring and so on, before most cats will dain to join you in the dance — and then it's often for only a brief moment. The other problem people have is not being able to relax and let go of their doubts. Cats are extremely sensitive to our moods and people who are even slightly skeptical can easily put the cat off.

Does catnip help cats to dance?

Some people claim that drugs like catnip or valerian really get their cat going, while others claim they have the opposite effect. Detractors say the cat may indulge in some initial high energy activity but it tends to be short lived and it will very quickly end up flopping about and going to sleep. I think it depends on the cat, and provided you have no ethical objection to your cat taking performance enhancing drugs, I definitely think they're worth a try.

....It appears to me that some of these people have also indulged in some "catnip" as well, yes?

Lookie, lookie!

Look who Trent gave a shoutout to! Go visit Pink (at the bottom of the Saturday post) to see it better. ;) She's famous- I always knew she would be! He said, "Chandle, who is in Nepal working to end child labor, sends in a pic from Elephant Bath time in Chitiwan"

Weekend update: Friday, we finally finished Twin Peaks Season 2. Sigh....... I have been hoarding it for months now because I didn't want it to end. It was amazingly terrifying and good. So sad it's over. Come on, David Lynch- make another series!
Saturday, we took the doggies swimmin'. Zoey swam for the first time (really swam, not just waded in the water). Not sure if she was a big fan, but she was really good at it. She (VERY quickly) paddled above water and made big splashes. Hee, hee.
Sunday, we went to the Rave to see "Hairspray," but the power was out and the whole theater was emptying out as we pulled up. So instead we rented "300." Oh.my.goodness.gracious. It was amazing.
I have an interview on Wednesday for a G.A. position with the Department of Education in their special education division. Keep your fingers crossed- if I get it, I could get a big chunk of tuition paid. Eek!

Wine o' the week

This week's wine is the 2005 Twisted Zin (California Old Vine Zinfandel). Here's what it says on the website:
"Have you ever had a blackberry jam spread on sourdough toast, topped with nutmeg and chocolate-covered cherries with a ripe plum chaser? Experience it with our Twisted Zin!
Perfectly matched with grilled meats, spicy ribs, and hearty pasta dishes."
Melissa... this one's for you- it's spicy and smooth. Sarah would probably NOT enjoy it. ;) It's around $13 for a magnum, not a bad deal. They also make a Merlot (Twisted Lot), Pinot Grigio (Twisted PiG), and Chardonnay (Twisted Chard).
The website also has some tongue twisters (get it? twisted?- har har) for funsies. Try this one.
"A twister of twists once twisted a twist;
A twist that he twisted was a three-twisted twist;
If in twisting a twist one twist should untwist,
the untwisted twist would untwist the twist."

Now go have a good weekend.

Fun with the kiddies

Since I am officially NOT a teacher, and they started back at work on Wednesday, I got to hang out with the Hartmann kiddies (ages 2, 5, and 7) the past two days. It was a lot of fun- the days were spent going to parks, watching Bambi and Charlie Brown, and playing lots of Mario Party (I miss Mario...!). It's weird being available to babysit while the teachers go back....
I heard from my adviser, and I'm still not entirely sure when school starts (this might be some information I should find out soon, you think?). I DO know that I have an advising session on the 20th and an orientation the 22nd. So... any guesses? Yours is as good as mine.
The weekend outlook is good- it's going to be H.O.T. so I will looking to do something perhaps in the water. ;) No real plans though, and that feels pretty dang sweet. I'm going to go jump on that elliptical now and head to lunch after that. Hoorah. Have a good weekend, all!

I agree.

nataliedee.com

I am a Jedi.

Slightly belated weekend update....
Friday night, Kristen, Leah, Blue, and Erica and her hubby came over to hang out (and Katie came right when everyone was needing to take off). It's been way too long since we've seen Erica, and it was really nice to get to catch up a bit.
Jeremy and his boys were in Biloxi, MS, for Ryan's bachelor party. Sounds like good times were had by all. Since they were gone, the girlies got together on Saturday night till WAY too late. ;) Those girls dragged me to the dang ol' Electric Cowboy, can you believe it? I had lots of fun (it's shameful but true, ha ha). Before the Cowboy, we went to Ernie Biggs, where I proceeded to dominate the crowd in some Saved by the Bell Trivia. The last question: what was the name of the band they formed? Pleeeeaaaase, gimme a little challenge or something, people!
Allllll Sunday was spent knitting and watching "Dawson's Creek." Incredible.
What I'm doing now: Jeremy bought The Revenge of the Sith X-Box game... and it's completely amazing. We have been flinging our sabers at the foe and going over to the Dark Side. Check it out if you have an (archaic) X-Box. Funnnnnnn stuff. There is more to come.
The eye dr. thinks I was allergic to the silicone in my contacts, so I've been switched to something else. Weird, huh? I am also in the process of applying for a G.A. position at UCA. Yeehaw. Have a good week, all!