Erin tagged me.

Make a list of things you can see without getting up: flowers Niels bought me, my camera, the newest Netflix arrival, Niels' phone, my Strategies and Models for Teaching book, the TV, Ginger, a lamp

What were you like when you were five? talkative

What are you wearing now? my very loud winter themed pj bottoms, and Niels' "Pirates Are Way Cooler Than Ninjas" tshirt.

What story/book/novel have you read over and over again in your life? The Anne of Green Gables series.

What’s the last thing you read/are currently reading? World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars, Max Brooks

Do you nap a lot? Once or twice a week, the joys of working part time.

Who was the last person you hugged? Niels

What’s your current fandom/obsession/addiction? zombies

What was the last thing you ate today? couscous

What was the last thing you said aloud? I should get back to studying.

What websites do you always visit when you go online? Facebook, NYTimes, Google Mail, dooce, weather.com, Twitter

What was the last thing you bought? a Subway sandwich

What are you listening to right now? what ever NIels is listening to on Pandora

If you could have any super power, what would it be? Shapeshifting

What is your favorite weather, and why? Sunny and cool, say in the 50s. Not too cold, not too hot, but good sweater weather.

What time do you usually get up? 6:45

What is your most challenging goal right now? Having better time management skills.

Say something to the person who tagged you: Erin! Someday we'll actually meet in person and I'm totally looking forward to it!

If you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? Bournemouth, England

Favorite vacation spot? Hmm, don't really have one. I liked Vietnam a lot.

What's your favorite number? 42

What's your favorite word? orange

Name one thing you just can’t resist no matter how bad it is for you: Cheese

If you could meet anyone famous - dead or alive - who would it be? Madeline Albright

What was your first job? Babysitting twins on Wednesday afternoons. .

What’s the last movie you saw? 28 Days Later, via Netflix

TAGGED: Dan, Vishal, Martha, Spyder

(I won’t be offended if you don’t want to do it, really.)

THE RULES:
Step 1: respond and rework—answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, add one more question of your own.
Step 2: tag—eight other un-tagged people will be tagged.

The boots are too big. :( I'm very sad, but it was not completely unexpected. I just exchanged them for these, which are more practical and appropriate for work.

Ginger is a moody cat, which totally cracks me up, and isn't keen on getting her photo taken. I usually have about three chances to get it right before she gives me the middle finger and walks away. Last night she wanted to sit on my lap while I was reading for class and was pouting that I wouldn't let her.

Last year at this time, Niels and I were on the LONGEST TRAIN RIDE EVER back to Zhengzhou from our awesome yet freezing three week adventure in Guangxi Province. Never again do I want to spent 27 hours on a train with only ramen noodles to eat.

If you've not seen the photos yet, or would like to see them again, you can find them here.

Spent some time doing some photo stuff today, during my breaks from studying.

      Lily Series: 5

I think I've been wearing Dr. Martens since I was 15 years old. They've been some of my favorite shoes providing me much needed comfort and support as well as being just a little bad ass. The downside is that they are quite heavy, so when their designers started branching and creating lighter shoes out I got excited. About six years ago I found a pair that I fell in love with and have been wearing them ever since. Unfortunately they're looking pretty ratty, China was not kind to them and since I don't have real winter boots or shoes I wear them pretty much every day. Unfortunately, the style has been discontinued, so I started a hunt for a new pair of shoes a week or so ago and found these:


I've always loved boots, but have never been able to find a pair that fits, so I was excited to find that they were Dr. Martens. I ordered them yesterday and can't wait for them to come in. I love shoes and if it weren't for my big feet (and small budget) I would need a closet just for shoes. 

I stayed up way too late last night celebrating, in my own way, the Inauguration. But the tiredness I feel this morning doesn't compare to the excitement I feel about our new president. After eight years of our country and it's reputation being squashed into the ground, I feel like the tide has turned and things are going to get better.

It's been a busy week, I organized a training session for the department where various departments came in to discuss all things grant related. It made for a long, but very informative Tuesday. The rest of the work week was spent finalizing and rehashing what was discussed. The turn out was better than expected and the attendees said they look forward to any future sessions. YAY!!!

Classes also started this week, I'm taking three this term, Perspectives in American Education, Teaching and Learning II, and Teaching Second Language Reading & Writing. The last class is online, it's the first one I've ever taken, it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

I'm still knitting away, trying to keep up with it even though school's going to encroach more and more on my life. I'm currently working on this, for my niece's birthday.


I've until March to get it done, so finger's crossed I'll be able to get it finished in time.

I have been doing a bunch of knitting, but I've been really bad about not taking photos of my finished objects (FOs.). Or when I do take photos, I never upload them to my computer.

Here is Niels in his cute Ribbed Beanie from Woolly Wormhead I found on Ravelry's website. It could have been knit a couple more inches, but he's content with it.


 I used Knit Picks Swish Superwash, 100% wool, on size 8 needles. 

Not much to say, Niels has some friends over and they're playing Gears of War 2 on the Xbox 360. I'm going to knit or read, haven't decided which, and poor Ginger's in hiding.

I took this photo about a month ago. I wish I had/knew how to use Photoshop, there are a couple things I'd like to adjust on it.

I'm so tired.

If I put my head down I'm sure I'd be asleep before my head hit the desk. I've not been sleeping well for a few days and it's starting to catch up with me. Last night I couldn't fall asleep, even with the help of a half dose of sleeping tablet. It was well after midnight before sleep found me, gave me some messed up dreams, and I woke up a couple times once the tablet wore off.

I just poured my second BIG mug of tea for the day and hope it has some effect because the first mug did jack squat.

I hope sleep treats me much nicer this evening.

Just poking my head out from the silence to wish my small readership a Happy New Year. I hope you had a joyous time. Niels & I spent a quiet holiday with some very good friends.

Yesterday I spend a good portion of the day playing my new most awesome Xbox 360 game, Beautiful Katamari. I know it's made for 10 year olds, but I do love it so. When I wasn't playing I was knitting.

Classes start up next week on the 12th, so I've to cram in as much as I can of these things before things get crazy. I'll still make the time to do them during the semester but I won't have the luxury of playing or knitting for hours on end the way I do now.

I'm sort of looking forward to classes starting but not really, I know I just started my program this past fall, but I'm tired already of being in the classroom. I'm anxious to be out teaching and not being able to do so is hard for me. I've to keep reminding myself that I need to have patience and the ability to teach will come in due time.

Happy New Year! I hope the year treats you well.