Meet Me in St. Louis...Louis..

Greetings from St. Louis. I was here with my friend Desi taking part in an Army Family Programs Academy conference. We drove here in a pretty fun rental car -- a Pontiac G6. On our way, we stopped in Hannibal for lunch at the Mark Twain Dinette. While there, we stopped at the Native American Trading Company so that Desi could peruse the goods as she is one half Cherokee. She purchased a really cool Beaver claw necklace.

We continued on our way until we got to St. Louis where we went to a reception for Army people that evening. We met some really nice and funny girls from a tiny town in West Virginia. This was their first trip out of their town of Clay, WV and their first trip on an airplane. They were pretty funny to listen to as they told their travel stories.

Saturday found us in conference sessions all day, but I entertained myself with some typing on the new laptop and some checking of email, etc. Once done, we escaped out into the scorching heat and humidity of St. Louis to explore the area around our hotel. We were in the Hilton by the Ballpark, so we had a view of the new Busch Stadium from our hotel window. We agreed it looks pretty darn good from the air conditioned room. But...we went out anyway. We were near a park that has a whole mess of mini Arches. From there, we had a picturesque view of the real Arch and some big white building (we think it's a museum of sorts but the name escapes me).

While taking some pictures, we were amused by two wedding parties that we saw taking a ton of pictures right where we wanted to take pictures. It was kind of annoying. I remarked how hot it was several times (much to Desi's dismay) and how I would hate to be getting married in this heat. She told me I would never make it as a soldier in the desert, and boy is she right! I can't stand the thought of Ken having to be anywhere where it's as hot or hotter than this. She then called us a couple of old married women and I said it's still weird for me to think of myself as being an old married woman -- probably because I've only been married about 5 months and Ken has been gone for 3 of them.

We wandered around the Arch and then thought we would try to go up it, but we found out that we would have had to wait about an hour and a half to get on the elevators. So instead we wandered around inside the base of it and went into some stores. I bought an Arch magnet and then we played a rousing of checkers in a little mercantile store.

We decided to go lounge in the air conditioned hotel for the rest of the evening. Great minds think alike! There we rested comfortably for our morning sessions the next day. On Sunday, it was back in the car and back to Iowa.

August Cometh

August. These days my time is spent trying to stay as busy as possible so the days do not feel as loney as they really are now that Ken's officially gone and in country. It also helps me to not think about what's happening over there. My recent projects have been taking on more roles in the Family Readiness Group (FRG) for the Ken's unit. This is essentially a group run by family members to help support those family and friends of soldiers left behing during a deployment. I started off as the newsletter person and the website person. Now I'm helping with more leadership duties and have taken on the role of Phone Tree coordinator which means making calls and keeping track of any problems that arise from calls made. It's proven to be much more time consuming than I expected and I find myself working on it about 3 hours a day. I don't know what I'm going to do once school starts. I will certainly not have as much time to devote to it then.

I can't write much else right now as I'm pooped from helping my buddy Lynn with some more flood cleanup at her house. We've really dug into her garage and today, our second day, found us making a dump run and cleaning out storage totes so that she can start organizing things into clean containers. It's really a rewarding project and we can see dramatic changes each time we work.

Tomorrow, I'm headed to my office to work on fall syllabi and to continue preparing my office for my new officemate. So much to do and so little time left to do it! In a couple of weeks, it's back to work and back to students. When August cometh, summer endeth.

Visit to Wisconsin

Last weekend, I took a trip up to Appleton, WI to visit friends Lynsey and Jeremy and their son Jack. It was a great visit and we did all sorts of fun Wisconsiny-type things, including a trip to a cheese store (yay!!!), a visit to a Farmer's Market downtown, and lunch at a restaurant called Pullmans. At the cheese store, Lynsey and Jeremy introduced me to the wonders of cheese fudge -- yes, cheese fudge! I never knew such a delight existed! We bought fresh cheese curds, these ropey-type cheese things, string cheese, and of course cheese fudge. In the evenings as we relaxed and chatted, we sampled from the fine cheese platter before us. I made sure to buy some to take home with me.

Our trip to the Farmer's Market amazed me with the almost 3 blocks of vendors. We each tried some Gelato, bought some kettle corn, and ate a BBQ pork skewer. Fabulous! Later in the afternoon, Lynsey and I took off for a lovely lunch at a local restaurant called Pullmans which overlooked the river. Naturally, we sampled some of the cheesecake! Then we headed off for a little shopping!

Before I knew it the weekend was over and I had to head back to Iowa. I was sad to leave them all, including Rigby the dog, who became my new BFF while I was there. Jack and I also became buddies and spent a lot of time playing with all of his fun toys in the basement. Believe it or not, during the whole weekend, I only managed to get one picture from the visit. Here I am with Lynsey and little Jack. Lynsey says she has some pictures of me, Jack, and Jeremy dancing downstairs to some Beatles music. Will post those sometime in the future.

There was one other surprise to the weekend! Lynsey and Jeremy surprised me with a sign whose story dates back to the nineties and some early college days fun. I'm thinking about putting it in my office.

Finally, the day after I arrived home, I received a call saying that I had flowers to pick up. My Kenny did it again! It looks like he's going to send me flowers pretty regularly while away. He's now overseas and will be making his way to his next more "permanant" destination soon. The last time he was deployed, he arranged to send me flowers once a month to help the time pass and let me know he was thinking about me. I got my "July" flowers on Monday with a very sweet card. What a guy!

Farewell to a Friend

This is a sad post. Yesterday, Mom and I had to put our cat, Reilly, to sleep. He'd developed a tumor on his side and had held on as long as he could. When his personality started to change and he no longer acted happy and comfortable, we knew it was time.

He was about 11 years old. I remember when I picked him out at the Humane Society in Waterloo. I was only about 20 years old, but you had to be 21 to adopt a pet. I remember calling my dad, who was still alive then, asking him if we could get him (I was living at home at the time while an undergraduate). As Dad often did for me, he said yes, and Reilly, the orange cat, came to live with us.

He was a loving, friendly, and playful cat. One of my happiest memories of him was when he was small. I would throw a Christmas bow down the hall at my parents' house and he would "fetch" and return it to me. We played like that often. It was fun to have a cat that played fetch. He loved to sit on laps and be cuddled and was overall just a wonderful cat. I felt guilty leaving him behind in Waterloo when I moved to IL.

I'll miss you, Reilly cat. I'll miss seeing you at Mom's house, miss how you liked to sit in the living room window and watch for people to come, and miss how you always waited until we let the dog out to be extra playful. You always knew to roll around on the floor as soon as the dog went outside because you'd get a good scratchin'. You were a wonderful pet and member of the family. I hope you are resting peacefully now. Know that you were very loved. Thank you for loving us back.

July 2009: At a Glance

Can it possibly be July already? I swear (and I am not one prone to too much swearing) that my summer is flying by way too fast. Well, the month started off with a family wedding on the 4th of July. Brother Tom's daughter Tracie married her intended, Cory, in a beautiful lakeside ceremony on the 4th. It was simple, elegant, and very touching. I was sad that Ken couldn't be there with me as he was still in Indy doing his pre-deployment training, but he was there in spirit, and the couple let me take some wedding cake home for him. Here is a picture of Tom and the beautiful bride on their way to meet the groom.

Then the month really kicked off when Ken was able to come home for his last leave before heading "over." We had 3.5 lovely days lounging around home, puttering around the house, and spending time with family. The visit went way too fast, but we were both grateful for the extra time we could spend together before the long haul really kicks in. I received a short email from him this afternoon saying they'd made it as far as Ireland and would continue on their journey as soon as some small details pertaining to the trip were cleared up (sandstorm, etc.).

I only have 2 weeks left of teaching my summer writing class. Then it's time to think about what I need to do to get ready for my 5 fall classes. I am planning a getaway soon though to visit friends Lynsey and Jeremy and their son Jack in Wisconsin. I am excited to see them again and excited to spend some time actually talking and hanging out with them. That's what summer's are for, right?! It's a bit of a drive up there though, so I think I may stop by the library beforehand and get some books on CD for the roadtrip. Before I know it, July will be wrapping up and August will be here again, and with it, the busy-ness of the fall semester. Hopefully, that will make the time go faster, and before I know it, Ken will be home again to share in the adventures.

Busy Busy Summer

Well, it's been a busy busy summer of '09 so far! Here's a quick update on what all's been going on here since school got out in early May. First I have to say that I attended my first graduation ceremony at work as a faculty member! How cool is that? I got to get all dolled up in my foo-foo gown that I wore once before at my own graduation a mere year ago. Then I got to march in with the other faculty attending. It was cool, and I think I'll do it again! (After all, I paid enough for that darn robe that I better get some more wear out of it!)

Ken left in early May for his month of training at Ft. McCoy, WI, so it was just me and the "boys"...otherwise known as the cats. We made it through May by taking a quick trip to Normal, IL to visit friends and be a guest speaker at the CTLT (see last blog). Then I attended a 2-day faculty teaching retreat at Hickory Hills Park near home. It was sort of like camping, so I was down with it. Tucker really wanted to come along.

At the very end of May, Ken came home for a few days of leave before heading to his next training station in IN. I caught a picture of him in "Army-mode" as I call it. Notice the serious expression on his face as he works on the couch. He didn't even change out of his uniform. The man is a work-a-holic!

After I chastised him for looking glum, he smiled and gave me a more "Kenny-like" picture. Sadly though, after a trip to Oelwein to stay with his folks for delicious food and house projects , a few days later he was off again to the next training station. I'm happy to report though that he will be home in mid-July for a few more days before really shipping out. Here's my Kenny.

A few days after Ken left, the Reserve Unit had the official going away ceremony for the troops, a send-off ceremony for the town. I was sad that Ken wasn't there this time, but it actually made it easier for me not to have him there. I probably would have been more of an emotional wreck if he had been there. Here is a picture of some of the Army bags ready to be loaded and the troops gathered ready to board the buses.

In early June, I started two projects: teaching an 8-week summer writing class at work and taking a 5-week faculty development course of my own. In the mean time, I also snuck away to Daytona Beach for the last time to attend the AP English Language reading. There I scored many many student essays and enjoyed some fun beach time with my roomie Jan. Trying to keep up with grading students' work and doing my own homework while also doing the AP thing was a little taxing, so I think next year I may say "no" to teaching a summer class if I go to AP again.

So that's all for now. I'll try to be better about getting on here and posting. The rest of the summer should be more relaxing...here's hoping anyway!

Deep Thoughts about a Burrito

For a few days, I am back in my old stomping grounds of Normal for a guest speaking event at the CTLT, my former place of graduate assistant employment. I am a visiting guest at the Future Professors workshop, an event I used to help facilitate. My job today is to share thoughts on what it means to have completed the transition from graduate student to first-year faculty. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly I will say, but it's only for 45 minutes, so I don't think it will be too bad. I'm hoping that the participants will ask some good questions that will lead into a fruitful discussion.

Yesterday when I arrived in town, I treated myself to a burrito at El Porton, one of my favorite places when I used to live here. Sadly though, I discovered that it didn't taste as good as I remembered it, and I couldn't figure out why. It looked the same as it always did though the rice and beans did look a little different. I just couldn't figure out why it tasted somewhat different, less good, than I remembered. As I drove away feeling a little saddened by my lunch experience, I started thinking about life's changes and how much has happened in the past year. After all, it was just one year ago that I was living here (or had just left here) and was wrapping up the past 5 years of my life as a graduate student. In that year, I graduated, moved back to Iowa, started a job, experienced a tornado, got engaged, left a job, started a new better job, got married, and sent a husband off to war...again. Now here I am coming back after all these things happened and for some reason, here I am actually saddened by the fact that a burrito I used to love tasted different. Really significant, right?

In the end, I think it was really just my way of saying good-bye to who I was when I was a graduate student here. Perhaps I have different tastes now or maybe it's just a matter of remembering things in a different way from a different time. I don't know. I guess I'm not being super reflective here about life's changes, but in the end, I think it was just symbolic of moving on. My life as a burrito --now how's that for a metaphor?