i met her!

I met my baby niece Ella on Saturday. I adore her--the way she sleeps (she makes funny noises and faces and flings her arms wide), the way she cries (Ruthie was right! that girl has lungs), the way she likes to look at lights. I've posted an album of pictures of her, and plan to keep adding to it when I can. Enjoy!

pumpkin pie disaster

So I fancy myself to be a good cook and baker. But those who tasted of my baking skills the first time on Wednesday may have a different opinion, and may never taste anything I bake again.

On Wednesday nights I have class, and my prof always brings the seven of us that are enrolled goodies--orange slices (dad's favorite), fruit, pretzels--an odd assortment of munchies. One week he even brought in fried chicken, and I had to endure the smell of it for three hours (I don't like chicken). I thought I'd contribute this week with a pumpkin pie, since I've been craving one. I prepared the crust and mixed the pie filling (all from scratch, although I'll admit I use canned pumpkin) and baked the pie. I even let it go an extra five minutes since it didn't quite seem to be done when I checked it. I pulled it out, let it cool for two hours, and brought it to class.

Everyone but one person wanted some, and so I served everyone else first. Then I took a bite. It was the worst pumpkin "pie" I've ever tasted. While my prof and a couple of other people were exclaiming over how good it was, I was trying to choke it down. I didn't know if they were just being nice by eating it all and telling me they liked it or if they actually liked it, but I could barely stomach it. The pie wasn't done. Unlike the beautiful picture here, it was not yet solid, and more like pumpkin pudding or mousse in a pie crust. The guy who didn't eat any was probably the luckiest of the bunch. I took the last two pieces home and threw them away, all the while feeling mortified that others actually ate the stuff. I'll have to redeem myself when we get back from Thanksgiving break. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, if I don't get back on and blog before then! And have some good pumpkin pie for me--just stick a knife in it to be sure it's done. :)

mentally challenged

It's been an exhausting week--mentally and emotionally. In the past week,

• I learned two of our good friends are having a baby
• I learned my cat had a heart murmur
• I had my first dissertation committee meeting
• A friend's mother died
• I started a new antibiotic (Keflex), which (yay!) so far I'm not allergic to, but am suffering from one of its less pleasant side effects
• My niece was born
• I learned my cat has the beginnings of heart disease
• I started medicating my cat, which means she hides from me for hours a day

Put all those together and you've got a tired, worn-out, lonely Rhonda. One who can't wait to drive home Friday, be with her husband, family, and friends, and meet her niece. One who also needs to grade 43 papers by Friday morning. And do her homework and research project on top of that. Hmm. This next week is going to be interesting, too--interesting to see how much work I actually get done. Better get started.

And hey, people, send me more pictures. I didn't get any last night and was very disappointed.

i couldn't resist...

...a few more Ella Jean pics! (I need my fix. My sis is sending them to me since I can't be there and meet my new niece until the weekend. :) )

Aunt Beth and Ella Jean

Beth's been calling her "Ella Jean, Little Bean" for a while now. What do you think? Does it fit?

Looking at Grandpa Earl for one of the first times in her life

Daddy, Uncle Al says you look like Grizzly Adams. Who's Grizzly Adams?

Mommy, why do all these people keep taking pictures of me?

heart woes

I went to the small animal hospital at the vet med school today. After four hours and $600, they told me that she has the beginnings of a heart disease (probably the same thing that Sinbad had) and recommended a prescription. I took it, meaning I'll have to shove 1/4 of a pill down her throat twice a day, possibly for the rest of her life. But at least I get to keep my girl for now. And hopefully for a long, long time to come.

While I was at the animal hospital, I heard a story that made me cry and left me praying for the family it affected. A woman and her young teenage daughter brought in a chihuahua from the neighboring state, probably a four-hour drive. The woman was crying, and told her dog's story to another woman in the waiting room. Apparently, there's a condition where the dog's brain can slip out of place and down toward the spinal cord. Usually, when this happens a dog dies fairly quickly. However, for some reason their dog has survived two and a half years in this condition. She didn't say why, but I think the dog has been having adverse affects lately because she said they had an appointment scheduled to put him down today but just couldn't do it, so made the ride to the vet med school to see if there was anything they could do. They can't just do surgery to put the brain back into place, because when it slips it swells and then won't fit back into place. The woman got called in when she was done telling the story, and I couldn't help it. I started crying, and the woman who had been conversing with the family started crying, too. I just hope and pray that God spared this little dog's life and will give it many more years with its family.

i'm an auntie!

Ella Jean was born at 8:37 pm yesterday. She was 7 lbs., 12 oz. I don't know her "height" yet because as of the last time I talked to the family (11:00 pm), the doctors and nurses hadn't told them yet. It's amazing how much love I can feel for a little girl I haven't even met yet. I'm hoping to see her on Saturday.

Congratulations, Mommy and Daddy! She's beautiful.

it's only just begun

Yesterday I had my first dissertation committee meeting. Four of the six members on my committee were there--one's father passed away last week, and another lives out of state and couldn't be on the phone--but one of the committee members that did attend will have to be replaced since he's going on sabbatical next year in Europe (a little hard to serve on a committee when you're out of the country). By my chair's estimation, I was "great" and the meeting went excellently--he was really impressed. Yipee!

But now I think about all of the work, and about how organized I have to be, and I realize--it's only just begun.

In other news, I'm on my third day of "three days with no meds" commanded by my new doctor since I was allergic to Septra DS 800-160, a sulfa drug/antibiotic that we were hoping would get rid of my lingering cold/sinus infection/whatever it is that I have. I'm picking up another antibiotic today and starting it tomorrow, and if I'm allergic to that, too, I'm just going to tough it out. I'm feeling a bit better, but I'm afraid to trust that since I thought the same thing last week and ended up with a fever all weekend. Let's hope this new one works!

Finally (and this is the biggest news of all), our good friends Dennis and Cathy are having a baby! They're due around May 1st. Our circle of friends just keeps growing, and it's always a good thing. Congrats, Dennis and Cathy! Al and I are so happy for you and can't wait to meet your little one (an Asian friend for our kids, as Jungle says! :)).

Dennis and Cathy are pictured here, with Del and Nicole, after this year's Greasy Weasels Tiger game outing.

for a friend

in a dark room
the hardwood floors underneath me
grains of dirt
stick to the bottom of my feet

in the corner
back and shoulders
touching walls and door
hard
cool
reassuring

my arms wrap around my knees
and i rock
this is me
i am here
i am alone
and i cannot break free

i cannot call you
but i am hoping
you are thinking of me

********************************************************************************
Not my best poetry, but it's hard to capture a feeling of depression. I used to do this--sit in the corner of my living room, doing nothing for hours, feeling so depressed that I could not move or call anyone. I have a friend who is going through a tough time in life, and wanted to write something to capture the message that I may not know exactly what my friend is going through, but I have felt alone, depressed, and helpless, and am thinking of my friend constantly.

Love you, friend.

the rhonda tribune

Updates.

My dissertation prospectus (proposal) draft is in to my committee. I'm not completely satisfied with the methods section (which turned out to be the hardest thing for me to write, and the last thing I wrote), but I hope they won't be too hard on me, since the rest of the draft is top notch and it is just a draft. I do have a very detailed schedule in the methods section, so that will prove that I've put a lot of thought into it, at least.

More importantly than that, I've been worried for the past hour and a half about my cat. I couldn't help worrying, which made it harder to finish off that draft and send it. I took Sena in for her annual check-up and shots today and the vet found a heart murmur on the left side of the heart. She recommended I take Sena in for an ultrasound at the vet med school. I have an appointment scheduled there for Monday (I'm going to have to get someone to cover my class) and they'll listen to her heart again and tell me whether or not they recommend actually going through with the ultrasound. This heart condition worries me so much because her brother died of a blood clot, and they suspected a heart condition as the cause of it. I really don't want to lose my baby. I don't know what I'd do out here without her company.

Finally, I'm giving in and going to the doctor tomorrow. My cold, cough, and the last few days, fever (again) won't go away and I want to be able to hold my niece when I come home for Thanksgiving (she's due tomorrow--still waiting on her!). I'm getting tired of sleeping poorly and waking up sweating, so let's hope the doctor can diagnose me and give me something to help.