A list of things Liam doesn't like:
1. Me
2. Jaycie
3. Maxwell
4. Jodi
5. Scary halloween costumes
6. My cats
7. Chocolate Pop Tarts
8. Chicken in a Bisket crackers
9. Fun

Captain Cranky

A list of things Liam does like:
1. His Mom
2. His brothers
3. M&Ms
4. Funny cat videos
5. His Spiderman shoes

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Show us why you need a vacation.

Dissertation work

Books

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Jaycie’s funny picture

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What did you think about the Vice Presidential debate?

Of course, I have a biased opinion because I love, love, love Joe Biden. I thought Joe did a good job answering questions, pointing out the differences between the candidates, and calling out Gov. Palin when she wasn't answering the questions. I loved that he showed some emotion when he spoke about his family.

With that being said, I thought Sarah Palin put on a good performance, but I don't think she ever answered a question. At one point, I questioned her ability to understand the questions. I understand that she was attempting to control the debate with only answering what she wanted to answer (or what she had well prepared to say regardless of the topic). She hit 3 mains areas–energy, being a maverick, and taxes. She had her folksy attitude in full swing with her winking and gosh darnits. I understand people find this charming, but is it professional. I'm embarrassed by her flipant attitude. She is the female verision of W. Never think, just spew party rhetoric. Ugh! I hope people are smart enough to see through the cutesy act this time.

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A summary in bullets of my week so far:
Good

• Hearing about my wonderful reputation at former college
• Encouragement to come teach at former college
• Offer of collaboration on research project by leader in the area of research

Bad

• Overwhelmed by amount of home work
• Feelings of inadequacy
• Lost in the sea of research

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of my life as a Ph.D student. 

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Summer is coming to an end… Show us what you enjoyed the most this summer.

Ben and I at Mt Rushmore

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Show us your favorite Sesame Street character.

Ernie

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I'm sitting here, relaxing, drinking coffee from my "Well-behaved women seldom make history." cup, watching Ellen and Michelle Obama. I'm hoping this is a sign that my week will be better than last. I started school last week. My classes are fine. I had a few glitches trying to find my classrooms, but I perservered and made it to every class on time. I had to switch my statistics class to accommodate my spring schedule. Unbeknowst to me, the only spring statistics class that fits into the social work schedule is education psychology statistics  which requires me to take the first ed. psych class this fall. After an initial freaking out period and a frantic phone call to Ben, I switched classes and was able to complete the required homework this weekend. Thankfully, my reserach professor was looking out for me. I've also managed to figure out that I'm going focus my research in the area of intimate partner violence and HIV/AIDS. I feel much more confident going into this week of classes.

The benefit of switching my stats class is now I only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This gives me more time to volunteer in the kids' classroom, plus cleaning and all the other household chorse I must do. Today, I unloaded 8 bags and one huge box of clothes and toys to the Courage Center. This is part of my decluttering plan for the year. So, it seems like everything is coming together. For the first time in about a month, I feel like I can finally breathe.

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Today, Jaycie, Maxwell, and I all start school. We've basically been away from home for the entire month of August so the whole end of summer/back to school thing came up way too fast. None of us were able to attend our orientation/open houses, so we are heading back blindly. I brought Jaycie and Maxwell to school this morning. I helped them get their supplies in their desks and find their lockers. They each gave me a quick hug as they ran off to the playground to meet up with their friends.

As I was walking out of the school, it down poured. I hope this isn't some kind of omen for the rest of my day. I start my first Ph.D class this afternoon. It's a model and theory development class which I am very excited about, but nervous none the less. I've only been out of school for a year, so it was easy for me to jump back into study/procrastination mode. However, I'm not really sure what to expect out of my classes. I have parking figured out (thanks to winning the parking lottery) and I know the building my class is in. I'm not too worried about finding the room. I think I'm most worried about being out of my league. I guess I'll know in just a few short hours. 

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