Scatterbrain

I get on the bus yesterday afternoon at 4pm like I always do. Then halfway home, it hits me like a lightning bolt: I drove my car to campus! Needless to say, Ben was a little surprised when he and Ally came home a few minutes after I did and found me in the kitchen but no car in the driveway.

So I have a sticky note on my computer today to remind me to drive home.

The art of conversation

I recently read a great post on one of the blogs I follow; you can read it here. The topic is about teaching children how to converse with others, and I thought it was a good one for those of us with little ones to keep in mind as they grow older and begin to learn how to have a conversation with others. I think it was a challenge to me too, to examine how I converse with others. Am I always the one talking and trying to tell my stories and my opinions? Do I really listen to the other person when they are talking? Do I fall into an "interview-style" conversation where I answer the other person's questions but don't inquire about how the other person is doing and what is going on with them? Being that I am Ally's example, if I want her to one day learn how to converse properly with others, I need to practice good conversation skills myself. It is some good food for thought.

It has begun. . .

the writing of the dissertation; the final event of my PhD career. Before I begin collecting data, I have to write and present a dissertation proposal, which is basically the first 3 chapters of the dissertation (intro, lit review, methods) and then get IRB approval. I have started with the lit review chapter, which I can chip away at piece by piece as I wait to meet with all my committee members to discuss the ideas I have in mind for the methods. Once I get some preliminary feedback from my committee, then I can proceed to write my intro and methods.

I have waited and worked a LONG time to get to this point, and I am really glad I'm here. I have a LOT of work ahead of me, but I feel ready for this.

Bizarre foods

Lately, Ben and I have been watching episodes of Bizarre Foods on Netflix. Last night, we ate a $6.00 lobster from Kroger. As I munched on a slightly tough piece of lobster tail meat, with the lobster's beady eyes staring at me, many of the episodes flashed in fast forward through my head. Not to mention that Ben managed to locate the lobster's digestive tract and proceeded to investigate it's stomach contents.

I am half-heartedly thinking of becoming vegetarian.