OWW!

I hate headaches! I spent all day yesterday fighting what I thought was a migraine but now I'm starting to think it's a tension headache! I really don't like migraines but I especially dislike tension headaches because the only thing I can do to make them better is lay my head down...not really practical at work :'( Oh well, I'll stop whining and get on with happier thoughts.

Christmas wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. I will admit that spending the day by myself wasn't an ideal way to spend my holiday, it could have been much worse. It rained all day (I know...raining on Christmas?!?!?) so I didn't feel guilty just hanging around the house. I made some soup and this really fantastic buffalo chicken dip...yum! Then my family called me and we all opened our gifts together. I got a sewing machine, a sewing kit, a shirt, a mag light for my car, and four folding chairs. It was quite the haul...I must have been a really good girl this year. I then proceeded to spend my weekend watching movies and doing some shopping...I got all of my Christmas cards and wrapping supplies for next year (can't beat 50% off)! I will admit that I ate way too much but, in all fairness, had I been at a big Christmas celebration I probably would have had more so I can't get too picky.

Seems how my planning didn't go as I had hoped last week, I think that I am going to attempt my trip back home this week instead. I have the PTO and my mom's extended family Christmas is Saturday. It will be nice to get back there and see my family, many of whom I haven't seen since I moved to Michigan. It should be a nice trip and I think it will actually be more relaxing that if I had made it back for Christmas. Less traffic on the roads, better weather and ideally my crazy stepsister won't be there the whole time. Don't get me wrong, I love her but she's one of those people who's easier to love in short visits! I hope that it works out because it would be really nice to see my mom. I literally spent 5 hours with her the last time I was home...that is SO not enough.

Anyway, I don't think I have anything else to contribute today. I hope that you ladies are enjoying your break. Make the most of it!

Bah Humbug!

I am in a seriously Scroogy mood ladies! It has nothing to do with Christmas itself, I'm still in love with the holiday and everything that goes with it. I am, however, not in love with the freakin' forecast! I can drive in snow. I don't think I can drive in freezing rain :( I was so excited thinking that I might be able to work this out but now I don't know if it's possible. I'm still praying for good weather and hoping for the best but I need to get myself used to the idea of being here instead of home...bah!

On the plus side, if I have to stay home and be all depressed on Christmas I'll have a ton of caramel corn, sugar cookies and pumpkin cream tarts to drown my sorrows in :) I was a baking woman this weekend and I LOVED it. I sometimes wish that I had a million dollars so I could pay off my student loans, buy a little house in Iowa and open a bakery (actually a coffee shop where I can sell my baked goods). Now, while I might be a bit biased, I have to admit that the goodies I made this weekend are fantastic! I can't wait to share them at work tomorrow!

So yeah, I don't really know much more. Have a great week ladies. If/when you are traveling be safe!

The Sing-Off

I got home from work last night and didn't really have anything to do. I finished my book already and didn't want to read anything that I had in the house. Because I really didn't want to spend my night watching crappy television I decided to kill some time on the Internet. I was browsing one of my regular sites when I noticed something about The Sing-Off. When I initially saw previews for the show, I assumed it would be like all of the other competition-based reality shows. It would take weeks, maybe months to conclude and be filled with people who think they are God's gift to discipline X and that everybody should love and adore them immediately. Boy was I wrong.

Sing-Off is a 4 night, 8 group competition featuring strictly a cappella groups. I watched the pilot and was hooked. Some of these groups are absolutely phenomenal. I will admit, I have a deep love for a cappella done well. While attending Luther, there was a group of guys who had a wonderful group called Undeclared, and if Luther does anything well it's music, so you can imagine how exceptional they were. Anyway, I burned my way through the first 3 shows (2 parts each) last night and cannot wait until the finale on Monday night. My two favorite groups (I honestly can't say which I hope wins more) are both still in it and I'm positive that one of them will win the competition!

While the caliber of the teams is outstanding, the aspect of the show is actually how those who have been kicked off reacted. A lot of times you see people whining and moaning that they were booted off but all of the teams who were taken off have been such gracious in losing. It's so refreshing to see. I also like the judging. The judges are all in music (Ben Folds, the lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, and one of the Boyz II Men men) and have been really great at giving both constructive criticism and praise.

I don't know if you can tell but I just really liked what I saw. Instead of gushing more I have added a few videos that were pretty outstanding. A lot of it is music that I don't really care for in its original inception but really dug after hearing it on the show. Anywho...it's amazing what the human voice can do! Who needs instruments!

Nota singing Jason Mraz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPrc99HvGRY

and Jackson 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utLfiHam5bY

Beelzebubs singing Flo Rida
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGmE_LmlxdY

and the Who
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwRcXUlLli0&feature=related

The Lovely Bones...

My plan failed. I went out and bought 'The Lovely Bones' on Sunday so that I would have a book to read on Thursday next week when I had nothing to do at work. I have, however, already finished the book. It was a very fast read and not terribly long which lead to finishing the book much faster than I would have liked to. Now I have to find another book for next week. On the plus side, if Amazon doesn't disappoint then I will have a shiny new, or at least new to me, book to read before next Christmas Eve day. OK, onto my thoughts on 'The Lovely Bones.'

The book opens with a very sad chapter about a 14-year old girl being raped and murdered by one of her neighbors. I was worried because my stomach can no longer handle gratuitous violence and the word dismembered was used in the review I read but it was presented in such a ways that it wasn't harsh or graphic. Everything beyond the first chapter is looking at the way her family, friends, neighborhood and murderer cope with life after her death. After finishing it the book last night, I firmly believe that the book is about growing up and moving on: not just for children but adults;not just for the living but for the dead. The book is told from Suzie's (the victim) perspective and it was really interesting to see how the author viewed heaven and the after life.

The book contains just about every element in it that you could want. There is murder/mystery/suspense, love, heart ache, coming of age, some humor and plain old, gritty reality. The nice thing about it is that not one of the themes overshadows the others, they all play nicely together. I feel safe in recommending this book to others so if you get the chance, check it out.

Other than reading I've been obsessively keeping an eye on the weather. I'm really hoping for the snow showers being projected on the 24th to move to the 23rd or even 25th...however, I think that makes me selfish. I've really got my hopes up about being able to drive home for Christmas and surprise my family. I've decided that I'll attempt regardless of what the weather is doing. If I have to stop and stay in a hotel half way that's alright. It'll be worth it! Anyway, I should get back to work...it's very slow this morning but will be crazy busy this afternoon. Have a great day ladies!

An update in the life of Jenny

Hey Ladies-

Well this has been an interesting week so far....it's my first finals week as a lecturer. I was all organized for Monday but got a surprise when I got to work. I entered my locked office/lab and discovered that someone had been in my space between Tuesday and Sunday. They had completely rearranged things in the lab (tables and chairs). My coworker and I had things on the table and everything was on the floor. I was not pleased. I keep confidential things in my office so I had no idea who had been looking at things on my desk and whatnot. (I had final exams sitting on my desk...grr). It turns out that a dance professor thought she had the right to use that space...she claims she didn't know it was my office.

I was also pissed because my computer was ON when I walked in too. I know I turned it off on Tuesday when I went home and I never entered my office Tuesday through Sunday due to the weather. I have grades and confidential research information on that computer. And to top it off...it now has a virus. It immediately locked up when I tried to use it. Grr.

Anyway, the day kept going downhill because I started grading unit plans for one of my classes. I gave the students specific expectations for the unit plan. They had plenty of time to complete it. I've had many students do fine and get As and Bs on it. There are several students that earned 58 or less points out of 100 on it because they simply didn't complete all the requirements. A couple students didn't even hand it in because it wasn't a priority compared to other homework due. You can't pass the class without doing that unit plan well.

By 2pm when I was giving another final to my other class, I was beyond pissed and grumpy. I came home after that and just vegged out. Luckily today was much better. I didn't have any surprises. I am taking furlough days Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday which means I cannot show my face at my job until Monday. I made sure to bring all my work home with me so I can do grading and submit grades from the comfort of my dining room. I'm hoping to finish my Christmas cards, finishing wrapping some gifts, clean the house very well, and pack for our trip home in an organized manner. I need to start prepping for next semester too since I'm teaching a major course that needs to be restructured severely.

I have some other worries in my life too but I'll have to discuss those with you ladies on messenger. I'm so sick of stress!!

Finally done...

and that means that I could finally read LeAnn's blog pertaining to The Time Traveler's Wife. Like LeAnn, I found the beginning of the book hard to get into. However, once I managed to finally make it past the first 20 pages I was hooked. I will admit to not being a huge fan of standard romance so I was hesitant about getting into this book but I really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters in this book. I felt like Henry was portrayed as multiple characters and I liked that a lot. We so rarely get to see truly seperate identities of one character and I like how he was portrayed at his various stages in life.

Some of the elements of time travel were really interesting as well. I have, believe it or not, had a conversating where friends and I discussed whether or not we would sleep with ourselves if we had clones. I can honestly say that I never thought that I would come across this topic in a book. I also think it would be marvelous to get to go back and see the people that we've lost. Even if it were just for a moment I think it would be amazing. I would not, however, want to have to relive some of the tragedies over and over again: i.e. his mother's death.

It was such a wonderful book and I feel like I could go on and on about it however, as you've both read it I don't need to. I think it was a solid read and I lent it to my sister-in-law and hope that she really likes it as well. It should be up her ally as she digs the love stories. I think that I might venture out this week and pick up a new book. I think I want to read the lovely bones. I've heard many people praise the book but I've never paid any attention to what it was actually about. Now that I know, I think I'm interested. I have to work by myself on Christmas eve day and will probably have all of 6 EKGs to do in the time I'm there so I figured I'd pick it up and read it while I was doing nothing else at work.

OK, I should proably blog more but I'm very spacey today and finishing up this blog is about all I can handle. Have a wonderful week!

Peace out...

Hey ladies-

I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be out for a while. I'm off to visit the wonderful people I know and love in the central time zone! I get to see most of my friends and family and I FINALLY get to meet my new niece!! I will be back next week and hopefully have happy stories to tell! Have a great week and weekend and don't miss me too much ;)