Here is the link to get to the wedding pic album. Enjoy!
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZtmjJo0at2Ljo&emid=sharshar&linkid=link5
If you have an interest in ordering any of these pics you can go through shutterfly as a guest and order through the site. Shutterfly orders through Target. I'm sure that you could copy and paste into albums for Walmart or Walgreen's as well.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
For Better or Worse...or Evacuation?!
Yes folks, you read correctly-evacuation. The early move-in students have gotten an experience that they will never forget!
Now considering how the rest of Missouri is suffering, I'm not going to complain about rain. In fact I like rain; with any hope the grass will be beautifully green for the first day of classes. But when it's friend, lightning, starts getting between me and a Cardinals game...well then we've got a problem!! Being on this side of the state Fox Sports Midwest generally shows the Royals over the Cards when their game times overlap. Luckily for me the Royals had already played earlier in the day so I was getting to watch the Cards, a rare treat for me. (By the way they are now 1 game under .500. I don't think they've been that close to .500 since April. Way to go Cards!!!)
So picture it, 8th inning and the Cards are up 6-4. The Marlins had already taken the lead once and could have done it again. Suddenly the power goes off. Whew, back on. And off again. And on again. And off... for good. Luckily I was downstairs and Scott upstairs; we were both able to get to flashlights. Unluckily for Scott, he had just gotten home from a VERY long work day and was just about to put dinner in the microwave.
It wasn't long before he got into contact with his boss, Matt. That's when the fun really began. It was not going to be a nice quiet evening talking by candlelight, but a long, loud evening with approx. 300 students. We all felt very lucky that this happened last night and not sometime over the weekend when all of the students were back. It turns out that a lightning strike had taken out the entire campus. [Except the football field oddly enough, they really are proud of those new lights! :)]
It also knocked out power to the emergency system so it was no longer safe to have students in buildings.
I have to give props to Scott and his residential life department. This is not something that happens every day and certainly not on an early move in day. It really went very smoothly. By the time Matt called there were already buses on their way. The housing managers and RAs already had their students accounted for and by the front doors. Maryville's community center opened their doors to the students and found places for them to play games as well as sleep. Within the first hour of the blackout, students were already arriving at the community center.
What I do know is that title does not prevent you from having to follow the rules. We too had to pack overnight things and evacuate. So in the pouring rain I dutifully followed my husband from building to building making sure everything was under control and ready to board buses. We then went to the community center.
The students took it all in stride and even managed to enjoy themselves. I also figure there were a lot of mommies and daddies getting phone calls from freshmen that had just been dropped off a couple of hours earlier. I'm pretty sure none of them had planned to spend their first night of college sleeping on a gym floor!
As a funny sideline, Scott shared the story of his boss going to get pizza for the students. Apparently he showed up at Domino's around 11pm; gave his name, university position, the emergency, and then proceeded to tell the teenage employee that he needed 30 pizzas. This poor boy's response was, "Uh, I'm going to have to call the manager." In the end, Matt did indeed get his pizzas and the students were happy. :o)
Somewhere around 1am the message came that the power was back on and we would be able to return soon. I heard one girl say, "Yea, we get to go home." I thought it was kind of sweet that they were referring to their dorm room as home.
We finally got home and to bed about 2am. Poor Scott, and his staff, had to be up at 6:15 to prepare for the beginning of the real move-in. I imagine there will be a lot of snoozing going on across campus this evening!
In other news-
I had a Graduate Assistant (GA) interview on Monday. It was for the ESL department. It turns out to be a position that is way over my head. I am not good at turning down jobs and I cringe every time the phone rings. Thankfully they wanted someone hired before tomorrow and I haven't gotten a call yet so hopefully I was not who they were looking for.
I am now officially registered for classes. My advisor suggested that I sign up for one of her classes. It meets at the same time as another class so I will be taking it somewhat independently. Considering the advisor has made a change from wanting to only let me take 3 hours, to now wanting me to take her class through DVD I'm going to have to work very hard this semester to prove that she didn't make a mistake!
I am also still struggling to show I've taken adolescent developmental psych. I received a letter from the State of MO saying that they no longer have my transcripts so I will need to send them copies. That's where the problem is! If the darn transcript would say more than 'child developmental psych' I wouldn't have to go through all of this. I'm worried that if I send the transcripts the state will also question the credits. So it looks like I'm back to square one and will need to again contact the community college for a letter defending my credits. Yes Colin, this time I intend to keep a copy in a place where I can find it in the future! :o)
And finally, the wedding pics have arrived! I am working to get an online album made so that you all can look at them. I will let you know when one is available. But to close, I am including one picture. At first look it is a very nice picture. Then I noticed something that made me laugh so much! Leave a comment and let me know if you see what I saw!
Now considering how the rest of Missouri is suffering, I'm not going to complain about rain. In fact I like rain; with any hope the grass will be beautifully green for the first day of classes. But when it's friend, lightning, starts getting between me and a Cardinals game...well then we've got a problem!! Being on this side of the state Fox Sports Midwest generally shows the Royals over the Cards when their game times overlap. Luckily for me the Royals had already played earlier in the day so I was getting to watch the Cards, a rare treat for me. (By the way they are now 1 game under .500. I don't think they've been that close to .500 since April. Way to go Cards!!!)
So picture it, 8th inning and the Cards are up 6-4. The Marlins had already taken the lead once and could have done it again. Suddenly the power goes off. Whew, back on. And off again. And on again. And off... for good. Luckily I was downstairs and Scott upstairs; we were both able to get to flashlights. Unluckily for Scott, he had just gotten home from a VERY long work day and was just about to put dinner in the microwave.
It wasn't long before he got into contact with his boss, Matt. That's when the fun really began. It was not going to be a nice quiet evening talking by candlelight, but a long, loud evening with approx. 300 students. We all felt very lucky that this happened last night and not sometime over the weekend when all of the students were back. It turns out that a lightning strike had taken out the entire campus. [Except the football field oddly enough, they really are proud of those new lights! :)]
It also knocked out power to the emergency system so it was no longer safe to have students in buildings.
I have to give props to Scott and his residential life department. This is not something that happens every day and certainly not on an early move in day. It really went very smoothly. By the time Matt called there were already buses on their way. The housing managers and RAs already had their students accounted for and by the front doors. Maryville's community center opened their doors to the students and found places for them to play games as well as sleep. Within the first hour of the blackout, students were already arriving at the community center.
What I do know is that title does not prevent you from having to follow the rules. We too had to pack overnight things and evacuate. So in the pouring rain I dutifully followed my husband from building to building making sure everything was under control and ready to board buses. We then went to the community center.
The students took it all in stride and even managed to enjoy themselves. I also figure there were a lot of mommies and daddies getting phone calls from freshmen that had just been dropped off a couple of hours earlier. I'm pretty sure none of them had planned to spend their first night of college sleeping on a gym floor!
As a funny sideline, Scott shared the story of his boss going to get pizza for the students. Apparently he showed up at Domino's around 11pm; gave his name, university position, the emergency, and then proceeded to tell the teenage employee that he needed 30 pizzas. This poor boy's response was, "Uh, I'm going to have to call the manager." In the end, Matt did indeed get his pizzas and the students were happy. :o)
Somewhere around 1am the message came that the power was back on and we would be able to return soon. I heard one girl say, "Yea, we get to go home." I thought it was kind of sweet that they were referring to their dorm room as home.
We finally got home and to bed about 2am. Poor Scott, and his staff, had to be up at 6:15 to prepare for the beginning of the real move-in. I imagine there will be a lot of snoozing going on across campus this evening!
In other news-
I had a Graduate Assistant (GA) interview on Monday. It was for the ESL department. It turns out to be a position that is way over my head. I am not good at turning down jobs and I cringe every time the phone rings. Thankfully they wanted someone hired before tomorrow and I haven't gotten a call yet so hopefully I was not who they were looking for.
I am now officially registered for classes. My advisor suggested that I sign up for one of her classes. It meets at the same time as another class so I will be taking it somewhat independently. Considering the advisor has made a change from wanting to only let me take 3 hours, to now wanting me to take her class through DVD I'm going to have to work very hard this semester to prove that she didn't make a mistake!
I am also still struggling to show I've taken adolescent developmental psych. I received a letter from the State of MO saying that they no longer have my transcripts so I will need to send them copies. That's where the problem is! If the darn transcript would say more than 'child developmental psych' I wouldn't have to go through all of this. I'm worried that if I send the transcripts the state will also question the credits. So it looks like I'm back to square one and will need to again contact the community college for a letter defending my credits. Yes Colin, this time I intend to keep a copy in a place where I can find it in the future! :o)
And finally, the wedding pics have arrived! I am working to get an online album made so that you all can look at them. I will let you know when one is available. But to close, I am including one picture. At first look it is a very nice picture. Then I noticed something that made me laugh so much! Leave a comment and let me know if you see what I saw!
UPDATE: Most pics can be clicked on and they will open larger, for some reason this one won't do it. So I've added a blow up of the part that I find so funny. Even now I giggle at the thought of this sweet picture and then you notice this:
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Without further ado...Buckley!
This is the amazing Buckley!We joke he has eyes that only a parent could love! He is such a super sweet little thing! Very tiny and very soft and very much a good trial run for them in the way of a child. I understand he's sleeping until 5am these days. A huge improvement from barking and yelping from the time he was put in his crate until someone got on the floor and slept beside him. Even "dad", Ross, is ready for a weekend vacation with Buckley at the grandparents' house.
It was important that we include Buckley's older sister, Fiona. As you can imagine she is not thrilled to have a new pet in the home. If all goes well, she will learn to accept the existence of Buckley as Grady has learned to accept the existence of Dakota. Or at least stop hissing at him!
In other news-
I'm busy tidying up the place. I guess it's time to actually fold the 3 baskets of laundry I've done this week! It seems that we are having guests this weekend. Scott's parents are coming to visit around their trip to Kansas for a family reunion.
It'll be great fun to see them! I do wish Scott had remembered to tell me though. :o)
Equal time for the pets of our house.
For those of you that haven't met Grady, here is my super sweet kitty!Below are some pics of Dakota as I worked on unpacking my office this evening. We still haven't managed to break her of dining out of Grady's personal restroom.
Come on litter box...just a little closer! ..Huh? I'm not doing anything. ;o)
Come on litter box...just a little closer! ..Huh? I'm not doing anything. ;o) And shortly after, she was caught with her head in the box. Naughty, naughty girl! The up side you ask? It makes for a very easy clean out job for the kitty owner!!
Next blog...the teaching apartment and the toilet paper story! Have a great week!
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Such a beautiful day!
Today dawned as a simply beautiful day! After two days of rain we have gotten a perfect day. It is currently 84 degrees with a light breeze. I have windows open and the air conditioning turned off. Take heart Amy, hopefully this storm will arrive in Ohio soon!
However last night was so neat that I tried to get some pics. Bear with the quality; we bought a new camera with some of our wedding money and I'm still getting used to the nuances of the settings.
However last night was so neat that I tried to get some pics. Bear with the quality; we bought a new camera with some of our wedding money and I'm still getting used to the nuances of the settings.
Unfortunately I didn't across campus, in the apartment, and back down again in time to get the really cool pics. At one point the whole campus had turned orange.
........
I also missed out on the double rainbow. But believe me, it was really awesome!
The lightning strikes were amazing. This pic bearly touches the surface of it. There were several times when lightning branched out all over the sky. (Of course I didn't have the camera ready any of those times!)
......
Prior to this Scott and I spent at least 30 minutes stuck in the car. Even the umbrella I was smart enough to take along would have been no match for what blew in while we were at dinner. (I told him to pay quickly! ;o) We just weren't quick enough.)
These flowers are a result of the wind that arrived with the very beginning of the storm.
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In other news-
...
Things may begin to slow down for Scott soon. The RA's have arrived and their training began this week. He'll still be busy for a while, but not locked in his office every night like he has been...as least that's what he says. :o)
He was actually at his campus office last night while I wandered around campus trying to make photo history.
................
I'm still soaking up every bit of summer vacation that I possibly can. As long as I keep up with laundry, dishes, and dinner Scott doesn't complain!
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Keep an eye out! There are more pics and more blogs to come. My sister, Kate, has sent pics of her puppy, Buckley. He will be making his premiere here soon.
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Also to come, Scott's yearly RA training decorations. This year the theme involved superheroes and they look pretty good.
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And finally...stay tuned for the very funny, very long story of the toilet paper lesson. After venting to my sister about man's inability to replace an empty toilet paper roll, she suggested the concept of the "teaching apartment". It's a blog not to be missed!
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On that topic and as I close I just must ask...men is it really that hard to replace the toilet paper?! You've got the roll, you can reach the dispenser, where is the mechanical breakdown?
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Stay cool and have terrific day!
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