So, I would like you to meet the newest member of our menagerie.  His name is Wilson, and he is pretty cool! The dogs agree, but Tiger isn’t convinced yet.

I mean, how you could you not fall in love with that face!

Even the boy is warming up!

I love this picture.  It makes my house look so much cooler than it actually is!

Why does the day after spring break always have to be so painful?  I don’t remember this when I was a kid or even a student.  But, there is something about having to come back to school after a week off as a teacher that is not a pleasant experience for me.   I think that it is partially all the work I know that I should have gotten done while I was on break.  And, the lazy days that only get me thinking about the lazy days of summer that are on their way.

I think, and I have several students that agree actually, that we should just have two smaller breaks in the spring like we do in the fall.  We could have one smaller one towards the beginning of the semester, and then we could have a Thanksgiving break sized one towards the end to just recharge us enough to keep pushing through to the end of the semester.  Then, I wouldn’t be so completely out of the swing of things!

My one note of joy is that I have gotten myself out of my meeting for tomorrow.  It worked better for a few weeks from now, so I don’t have to come to campus tomorrow.  So, I am actually hoping to get loads of work done tomorrow instead.  In order to make that happen, my plan is to get up with Joe and shower and get ready for the day.  If not, it will be too easy to get sucked into the computer and the fun stuff that I would like to be looking at.  We will see if that helps!  I will report back with what I find out from my experiment in my quest to just write more.  Wish me luck!

Later in the day, one of my best good friends posted something about me on her blog, and it is actually quite a funny but embarrassing story. When I told her that I didn’t think that it was a good idea to post it, she said, “Well, there are only like two people that read our blogs anyway. Who cares!” That is when I thought more about the hubby comment. How do all those really cool women who can support themselves with advertising from their blogs do it? From what I can tell they all are already leading very cool and important lives to begin with, which is exactly why they are able to support themselves with their writing, but how do they have time to make a living, live, and write about it all.

This is the same scenario I will eventually face in academia too!  I have never really considered the fact that I could support myself with my writing, but I guess that if I do get into the amazingly cool PhD program I just applied to, I had better get used to the idea. Up until this point, I had always considered my profession teaching, which of course is really what all college professors are, but the writing part becomes a requirement in most environments in higher education. So, it was quite a shock to me to realize that in order to support myself/family someday with my writing, I have to actually get someone to read it just like all those super cool blogging women my husband was referring to.

So, my goal will be to post here more frequently in hopes that more writing couldn’t hurt in this whole process of me getting used to this idea. I am also hoping to start another blog with a friend if we can get things off the ground. And, I will give anyone interested out there the link if that comes to fruition.  All of this goes well with my word for the year too.

So to all of you loyal people with me at the beginning of this adventure “your hair looks nice today!”

One more drink ‘fore he split town, pulled up in a rose pink Cadillac
He was singing with the top down (G)irl from the north, Dylan and Johnny Cash
He won the car in a card game, listen to the Boss, he keeps his clothes in a gunny sack
She said, “Tell you what, sailor, if you take me out of here I’ll do anything that you ask
‘Cause I don’t want to die like the people down here, but I feel that I’m fading fast”
He looked over to her chestnut hair, he said, “I don’t believe in love”
But he knew good and well she was the only girl there, so he figured it was close enough

And they hopped in the car, rolled the windows down far, and they headed through the desert plains
She didn’t even mind when they crossed the state line and the sky opened up with rain
And they went three states ‘fore they even spoke a word, he leaned over just to ask her name
She said, “Take me to the 61 Highway, sailor, and you can call me Queen Jane
‘Cause the only thing I stole from the town was a crown I took from a beauty queen”
And he looked over to her deep green eyes, he knew that she was just as cold as him
So he went to the trunk, took the pistol from the side, and told Janie of his plan

And they went to the store, she put the gas in the car, he came out with a case of beer
And he jumped in the back with the money in the sack and Janie she took the wheel
And they ran off in a blaze, in the sweet summer haze of the bullets of the cashier
“Keep your head down, sailor, ’cause I might need you later, just holler if you can hear
‘Cause I’m gonna need a man, not a farmer girl tan, and a Cadillac souvenir”

They camped out by the railroad bridge and they made love all night
Watched the sun come up over Mercury Ridge from a hilltop out of sight

They hit five more banks and the small town safes, and they knew that they could get out fast
And the time of the light, but they had to have a talk ’cause they knew it couldn’t last
They made friends with the man at the Mexico border, and they left him with a bag of cash
She said, “Tell you what, sailor, I don’t care about the paper, but I’m happy that we passed
‘Cause I’m feeling pretty tired and I’m carrying a child and we both need a rest”
They settled down to a house at the water where they would live to be old and grey
And many years later the kids are all older and they tell them ’bout the good old days

He made a really interesting comparison with The Tipping Point, which I swear I have at home on the shelf to read. I am really interested to see my own version of the match-up here! I am sure that I will report back soon.

Awesome Video