Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is a time to consider all those things for which we are thankful. I've got a lot to be thankful for this year.

I am thankful for the 14 years I shared with Nevada, who died on this day last year.




I am thankful for a sound mind, reasonably good health, and great friends like these two.

And these two.

And these two, who are cooking another two.

And these two, too!
And this one, though I seldom see her.


I am thankful for the second guy from the right, even though I've NEVER met him.

I am thankful for that these two are two again, although I have to admit I was ready to kick one of their asses earlier this year. Ha!

I am REALLY thankful for this guy!

I am especially thankful that he can still travel with me, because he is loads of fun on the road.
I am thankful for my family.


I am thankful I got to get to know this guy a little better this year, too, and show him some of the possibilities of life.

I am thankful that I got a divorce and changed my entire outlook on life. Because without that divorce, I'd have never been a woman who could take this....

And make this...

Or tackle this.

Or this.
And succeed.

And I probably would have been better off if I hadn't tackled this....


..although my life would have been poorer for it.

I am thankful I got to see this.

I am thankful for southern Utah and northern Arizona. I am thankful for white sands. I am thankful for the Sierra Nevada, southern Wyoming, and yes, even Idaho. The verdict is still out on southeastern California.

I am thankful for lactase.

I am thankful for my self-confidence, sense of adventure, and "can do" attitude.

I am thankful for my job, my warm bed, my comfortable home, and that at 46, I can still find men who want to date me.

I am thankful for good beer, bordeaux, and strawberry daiquiris. I am especially thankful for the friends worth toasting.

I am thankful for the tolerance, generosity, and companionship of my friends and family.

I am thankful that at my age, I still have a grandparent living.

I am thankful that I had a fantastic father, who was able to give me 27 years of guidance and advice and was a spectacular role model--even though we couldn't be more different. I am especially thankful to him for my dashing good looks.

I am thankful for so many things in my life. But mostly I am thankful for those who make it worth living.

Thanks. It's a wonderful life full of great scenery, great companions and bad hair days.


Let's do it again next year!

Errata

More weird and strange around the web:

So You've Decided to be Evil, after all, who hasn't considered the dark side?
You know, I have friends in Canada and not one of them is this weird. Although I am quite fond of the John Deere Zamboni.
You know, these might make getting junk mail just a little more fun.
Crap. As if my life list wasn't long enough already. Now I have to add this.
Total bee death and destruction. I'm thinking honey BBQ sauce.
More beard envy.
Food porn. One of my favorites.

Ok, enough of that.

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So D-friend Bek and I went shopping tonight at the Walmarts, where we ran into Liv. Hi Liv! Anyhoo, I realized something in there. I like talking about products. Really, I think the thing is that I detest wasting money, and I'd rather solicit input, detailed if necessary, from those who can help me make informed buying decisions. And then again, I just like talking about products--what I like about them, what I don't like about them, and so forth. I think that's why I put up so many product reviews on my blog. But really, this only scratches the surface of product reviews I've done online. I can spend hours reading recipes and product reviews on web sites. So Bek does seem to enjoy going shopping with me, and she listens to me drone on and on, but she isn't very good at this game. She never takes a turn. I need a shopping partner who likes to tell me about the products they like. Geez, I just realized that I'm shopping for a shopping partner. I seriously need a life.

But that brings up an interesting point. If anyone wants to talk about products they like with me. I'm all ears. Seriously. I'm that geeky. Oh, and I'm looking for a new sleeping bag (my old new 20 degree bag did not keep me warm out west). So I'm looking for suggestions on brands, down vs. synthetic, mummy vs. rectangular, and any other two-cents-worth people are willing to toss in. Give me your suggestions and comments.

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Today was a banner day in Daktariworld. Old sick dog #1 (Nevada for those in the know) ate her breakfast (with all her medicines in it) and immediately threw it back up. Then, she refused to go outside. Then, she suddenly (as if it sneaked up on her) realized she had to go RIGHT NOW and began to deposit turds across my kitchen as she made her way to the OPEN DOOR TO THE OUTSIDE. Yes, I believe I may have forgotten to mention that the door was open the whole time! Old dogs are going to be the death of me. Oh wait, I neglected to mention that Nevada has also taken to pooping on the wheelchair ramp such that at some point between my back door and my car, I managed to step in dog poop and didn't have time to go in and change my shoes, the result being that I had to teach my first class wearing only one shoe and the other left in the hallway. I know. But the answer is no. You. Can't. Be. Me. Take that, bitches!

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And of course, all of this blog activity is just fodder for procrastination since I really do have to prepare a spreadsheet for my students for tomorrow. Argh. Real work sucks sometimes. I'm a little frustrated in my teaching right now. I think the problem is the lack of control I have over what goes on in class. That's the bad part of having a different teaching assignment every semester. You never get to improve the presentation/material, etc. in the class you just taught. I'ts wasted experience.

Well, not completely wasted experience. I've realized a couple of important things for the future. Labs should support and demonstrate concepts given in class, not introduce new concepts. Labs should ALWAYS have a defined objective. Labs should be designed to be virtually fail-proof. If someone walks away from a lab and isn't sure about what they were seeing/were supposed to see, or simply doesn't see it, that lab was a failure. Labs should not frustrate the students to the point of tears. Labs should be fun when possible.

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I am bad with names. No. I take that back. I'm attrocious, horrendous, unbelievably incompetent, and pathetic when it comes to remembering people's names. It's an embarassment to myself and my advisors. So teaching presents a particularly difficult challenge to me. I tried something new this year and it made a world of difference. On the first day of class, I asked every student to stand up, state their name and tell the class the most interesting thing about themselves. I then repeated their name and made some comment on their point of interest. Then as each row of students finished, I repeated the name/interesting factoid of all the students who had introduced themselves already. I will admit that the combos of John/Brainiac (he mentioned he had a brain tumor) and Richie/poker czar (he was in the World Series of Poker) got giggles from the class. At the end, I repeated the names of everyone in the class. I allowed them to correct me when I was off. At the end of the class, I repeated everyone's name again before they left. I repeated every name in the class again at the next class meeting. By then, I had the names down. It worked. I got applause when I got them all right.

I do have trouble with the fact that Kirsten and Kristen sit next to each other in lab and lecture. As do Ashley and April. You can't have everything. I just realized that a better name for Richie would have been "Baseball cards". Ha! I crack myself up.

When Good Dogs Go Bad

So I had this coupon and decided to go to Penneys after work. They were shorthanded at the store and it took me longer than I expected to get out. By the time I got on the road, the rain and thunder and lightning was upon us. Unfortunately, I had left a window cracked. This is what Jake does when you leave a window cracked.

Oh, and before you think I don't know what cracked means. Think two fingers. Jake is a resourceful fella.

As I drove up the driveway and saw the window, I knew what to expect. Jake was long gone. But it was getting dark. I whistled and whistled and whistled but Jake didn't come. He usually comes. He's usually close. He's usually hiding under the wheelchair ramps or something. But it was really pouring. I doubt he could have heard me even if he was close. I got in the car and drove down what I thought was every road in Dowell. I shouted out the window for Jake.

Nothing.

I drove up and down I-51 looking for a hurt dog on the side of the road.

Thankfully, nothing.

Finally, a phone call came in. Jake was in Dowell in someone's garage. This is what I found when I got there. He was coated in a film of mud. His fur was speckled with grass seed. He was soaking wet. He was exhausted. I had to call him several times. He seemed not to recognize me. Finally he realized we were going home. He hopped in the car and laid right down. He got in the house and ran in the pantry and began to clean himself.


Tomorrow, I'll worry about the bath. For tonight I don't have the heart to stress him out anymore. Damn Midwestern thunderstorms.


Glad to have you home, buddy.