the L.* & T.** of (the former) m.j.p.

We bought a house!

2009-04-08T14:34:00.002-05:00

As you may know, J & I will be moving this spring to Bryan/College Station for his job (which I have felt for some time to be the complete antithesis of Austin). We've been looking for a place to live, and were very anti-house buying until fairly recently. We went down on Monday because J had meetings, and I went around with our fabulous realtors looking at houses. Houses in our price range do

I should be working on my proposal...

2009-03-17T13:38:00.002-05:00

...and I am. But I also just found this link to our wedding photos on our photographer's blog! It's a nice, concise view of our really perfect wedding, much more manageable than the 600+ photos on the other link.Ok, back to work on my lit. review... I'm doing my proposal defense for my dissertation next Tuesday, so I should really get this finished, printed, bound, and distributed to my

Two Scenes

2009-02-25T13:44:00.004-06:00

[Scene 1: Thursday night-- interior of small condo. A couple prepares dinner together.]M: So, I've noticed that you've been dressing up for work lately.J: What do you mean?M: Well, for example, you're wearing a belt and a button-up shirt today. You work at home.J: Yeah, well, I just feel like I get more done when I get ready in the morning.M: OK, that makes sense.[Scene 2: Friday morning--

Home. Work.

2009-02-16T15:58:00.004-06:00

So, it's been a very long time since I've blogged. I've been thinking about posting for some time, but then I get all caught up in feeling like I need to "backlog" all that's happened to me since last I wrote. Anyone who has ever skipped pages in their journal knows the feeling; you think that you'll come back to it, fill in the blanks. Surely you'd never forget those precious experiences!

Body Language...

2008-10-15T21:58:00.001-05:00

...speaks so loudly.

Wedding planning, made easy.

2008-07-26T23:09:00.003-05:00

I can see how people go crazy and turn into Bride-zillas with all the planning and decision-making involved in the production of a wedding. Especially when one is trying to make all the "stakeholders" feel as though they're having their fair say in things. Thus far, most of our stakeholders have done a really good job of restraining themselves when I'm sure they'd love to jump in and plan the

Extra, extra, somebody's getting married!!!

2008-07-02T11:06:00.003-05:00

Yay! Josh and I are getting married! It's now officially official (though it's been unofficially official for at least a couple of weeks). I could go into lots of detail on the back story of how we met and fell in love, but for present purposes, I'll just give our engagement story. :)So, Josh and I have known that we wanted to get married pretty much since we met. Actually, I knew on the second

Canine Fat Camp

2008-06-09T17:09:00.002-05:00

So, Murphy's been gone at camp for just over a month.He got home yesterday.Actually, the dog who ate Murphy came home yesterday.He is the rolliest, polliest, fattest version of Murph I have ever laid eyes on.Which is in stark contrast with his condition before "camp," when he was slim, trim, fit, and had run 60 miles during the month of April. Keeping up with people who were running (with his

Here. Safe.

2008-05-06T18:07:00.001-05:00

Check the trip blog for more details.

Break-up with Blockbuster

2008-04-25T23:16:00.001-05:00

I've quite recently been told that the quality of writing on my blog has gone way down since I've been in love. To that comment, I'd like to respond with the following:Dear Blockbuster-I'm not sure how you've gotten my e-mail address, but seriously, enough is enough. Leave me alone. I'm ready to opt out.We had our good times, it's true. I'll always remember the many times I ran to you right at

prayers

2008-04-23T11:12:00.002-05:00

Josh's nephew Athan (who will be 1 at the end of May) had open-heart surgery this morning. The surgery went well, but the recovery period will be pretty intense for baby and family. Please keep this family (the Strebeck's) in your prayers...You can read all about Athan and see his sweet smiling face here.

Bursting at the seams

2008-04-20T14:19:00.009-05:00

I am disgustingly happy. Seriously, feeling this giddy should almost be outlawed--except how would "they" know? Probably because I would blog about it. Ah, yes, so life is blissful and grand (with the exception of this giant metaphorical stack of papers I have to grade--they were all submitted electronically, so I can't just drop them down the stairs and give the heaviest ones the highest grades

All of my Friends are Always Right

2008-04-18T07:50:00.003-05:00

Ladies, this is for you:Perhaps I don't tell you this enough, but you're right. Pretty much all the time. I can be right, but typically in those times when I'm seeking counsel from you (or when I'm not, but you give it anyway), you're right. You're right. I stand corrected, because you're right.You were right for a long time about, well, you know. You were all right.You were right yesterday,

Deep Smit

2008-04-13T17:19:00.004-05:00

Pictured below is the object of such smit. And after you read this, perhaps you'll be smitten, too.

Continued Validation from the World Around Me

2008-04-07T17:53:00.007-05:00

To my married lady friends: I think you're already aware of this phenomenon. Another clear example of the patriarchy at work.To my unmarried lady friends: What are we complaining about?!?

Trivial Pursuits

2008-04-02T22:51:00.003-05:00

So, we've recently formed a trivia league which competes in the live trivia night at Plucker's on Wednesday nights. Last week was our first night (when our team name was "The After-School Specials," and we had 10 people, 42 points [the winning team had 50], and a good starting experience).Tonight, with a new team name (Public Mastication, followed by various taglines [choking on the chicken,

Civic Engagement

2008-03-31T15:12:00.005-05:00

I have the day off today; this is the first day I've had off all semester (not counting Spring Break, which didn't really count, due to all the childcare). Well, I did miss one day of class for the rally several weeks back, but I digress. Today is a much-needed day for sleeping in, catching-up, writing papers, grading neglected papers, and restoring balance in my life.I spent the whole day

Tardiness: Excused; Guilt Questioned

2008-03-24T09:44:00.004-05:00

I woke up earlier than usual this fine Monday morning to go do an observation at 8:00am. Being as how I have class at 9:00, I had pre-emailed my instructor that I would be late today.During the observation, I got a ton graded. I also may have made some brief observation notes (but did I mention how much I got graded?!?).I got to campus in time for class and even got a great parking space at

He is Risen!

2008-03-23T18:48:00.002-05:00

He is Risen, indeed!Happy Easter. May you be blessed by the love of Christ.

Happy anniversary, girls!

2008-03-19T11:40:00.002-05:00

Today is the girls' 3-month anniversary. We're quite happy together. I found the "before" picture last night on a stroll down photo-memory lane (after taking a 3 hour nap that totally messed up my regular night's sleeping), so decided to wear the same thing for an "after" picture. Check out how the shirt doesn't have the stretch wrinkles! The girls are by no means tiny, but they are

It's not easy being green.

2008-03-17T13:12:00.006-05:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day. Apparently, it's kind of a big deal to some people... on the way home, the parking lot of the Dog & Duck was full of people celebrating in revelry. What I want to know is, how did they get the day off? Also, what's up with St. Patrick? Something about snakes and getting them the hell outta Ireland, maybe? I'm absolutely for getting rid of snakes by any means possible, so

A Salute to Those who Own Toddlers

2008-03-11T23:14:00.013-05:00

Lincoln with his bear, "Tartar"As one who lives on her own, there are many things I take for granted. These things are brought into spectacular view when sharing my home with a 3-year-old. For example, on my own, I typically tend to have sufficient quantities of:paper towelsclean sheetstowelstoilet paperclean dishesfood that is appealing to the general population of the houseprivacyThat is all a

freaky friday [especially since it's thursday]

2008-03-06T10:31:00.005-06:00

Second freakiest thing I've seen this week: THIS AD I only wish I would have been clever enough to have written this about it:"Unless this product is PhotoShop in a bottle, I seriously doubt that you will go from looking like a 90-year-old woman who's spent her life living on the beach to a sun-kissed 20-something after using it. As Judge Judy would say, "Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's

Austinization

2008-03-04T10:00:00.013-06:00

Murphy & Skippy really like the new blog header (check out how grey Murph's muzzle is getting! It's creeping towards his goatee. He is getting up there... almost 3!)In honor of the new Austinized format of the blog, I feel it apropos to include some images of this past idyllic Austin weekend. My continuing journey towards complete Austinization made some great progress last weekend.For starters,

Don't tell Sarah's mom...

2008-03-02T00:24:00.008-06:00

It's been a busy week. It's been a FABULOUS weekend. There is so much to blog about, but I'm going to try to stay on topic for a bit.On Thursday, Anissa called and convinced me to skip class Friday to go with her to Waco for a Clinton rally [incidentally, she tried to convince me to cancel class Thursday so we could go to an Obama rally... what a bad influence that one is]. So Friday morning, I

Bitches get stuff done!

2008-02-25T00:19:00.003-06:00

Topic #1: BITCHESRegardless of your political affiliation, you should definitely check out this video. You can fast forward to where there's 2:09 left if you want. Yeah! Don't you feel all fired up now! Seriously. Bitch is the new black! Couldn't have put it better myself.I have a sort of girl crush on Tina Fey. I really think we'd be good friends. Amy Poehler, too (plus she's married to

Da' beers, da' Bears, De' bate

2008-02-22T12:10:00.003-06:00

[this has nothing to do with Da' Bears, but I like saying it]I'm so bummed out that only 100 students got to attend last night's debate. I'm also a little irritated because one of my classmates (who's an international student--not going to be able to vote here) DID get to go. Grrrrr. Of course, that irritation might be linked to the general malaise of my stomach from having beer, fried pickles

proud moment

2008-02-18T16:40:00.002-06:00

So, I'm giving a test at this very moment. And just about 2 minutes ago, I was backing up to get something, and I literally FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR.Yes, that's right, in front of this group of college students who are 1/2 mine and 1/2 not, I fell on my ass, out of my chair. I'm so proud.There's a reason my middle name is Joy instead of Grace.[They did say that I provided a great intermission from

irony, 2s, songs

2008-02-17T23:22:00.006-06:00

I just read three articles for class about blogs. Now I'm blogging about reading blogs. The best way I can explain what's going on in my brain right now is by means of this stunning visual aid:This weekend was a weekend of twos:2 runs 'round the lake (progressively building endurance... We ran [vs. walked] more of the distance today than Friday!)2 times the parking lot was filled with fire trucks

2 Timothy 3:2-7, 9

2008-02-15T00:28:00.003-06:00

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.They are the kind who worm their way into homes

Blog o'the Week

2008-02-13T21:37:00.002-06:00

1) I had a kick-ass lesson plan the other day; it was actually 2 kick-ass lessons rolled into one. We practiced assessing ELLs' English proficiency using the SOLOM and the 5 Stages of Language Acquisition (while simultaneously learning about concurrent validity and inter-rater reliability). Then, I split my students into random groups and assigned each one a candidate to research their views on

peak experience

2008-01-29T21:13:00.000-06:00

Oh my.I had the most wonderful amazing-sushi-fatabulousness experience this evening.I'm sort of in shock from the wonder.Joon Yee & I went to Uchi, and now that I think about it, I don't know if I even have words to describe the grandeur of it all... we both made happy sighing noises all the way home from the restaurant. The sashimi--good. The tasty bits of sea bass drizzling in citrus

ok

2008-01-23T00:55:00.000-06:00

Over the last couple of years, playlists have come to play quite a significant role in my life... Titles of some more emotionally-charged lists include (in alpha order): bad bad man, happy love, heartbreak, missing you, sabbath, and splitsville.Looking back over these lists tonight, I decided to put together a new playlist for the space I'm in now. The title: being ok.It's taken me a bit to get

MLK Weekend Airport Rant

2008-01-21T17:35:00.000-06:00

Lubbock, TX= safest airport in the US of A? Maybe. Also MOST ANNOYING. This is the 2nd time I’ve been stopped there and had something taken away from me (well, this time it was almost taken away from me… but I went and checked another freaking bag so it wouldn’t be) that “holds more than 3.4 ounces” yet is EVER SO CLEARLY NOT FILLED TO CAPACITY. Last time it was a tube of toothpaste. This

brain in a vice

2007-12-01T15:13:00.000-06:00

"And so, from too much reading and too little sleep, his brains dried up and he lost his wits." -Cervantes, Don QuixoteI'm quite sure it's happened to me. Maybe this very day.

Processing while putting off studying

2007-11-17T11:30:00.000-06:00

My study spots are the best places because there's no lingering memories of you in any of them (although you would like the one where I am this morning--they use compostable cups & utensils made from cornstarch; plus, they have delicious food and drink and it's proprietor-run).I have an appetite again (for more than beer).I have a list again of places to go and things to do in the city; it's just

Saturn's Return

2007-11-07T22:36:00.000-06:00

I don't typically buy into astrology... I just don't know how it jives with my spiritual worldview and it seems kind of like hocus pocus.That being said, there are at times things I run across that do make quite a bit of sense. There are descriptions of us Scorpios that seem to peg me completely. And while the idea that the position of the planets could affect my life seems a little far-fetched,

two days!

2007-11-05T16:04:00.000-06:00

yeah! two days!

sad

2007-11-03T09:01:00.000-05:00

My heart, my heart, my aching heart.This wasn’t my intention. This hurts.I never wanted to not be an individual. I always want to be myself.I just also have wanted to be with you. Together, individual, with you.Cooperation, not compromise. Why couldn’t we figure it out?This is the saddest thing to me. Because I know you can be what I need. And I feel like I can be for you.snowy days with Scrabble

The Restriction of Time

2007-10-31T22:45:00.000-05:00

I feel like I'm stuck a little bit right now, and just wanted to blab, but not really to talk on the phone to anyone (weird, yes, I know). Well, I would talk to one person in particular, but I feel like I can't right now. That strain is part of my stuck.I realize that I have not written on this blog in more than one year. What a tremendously eventful year it has been. I've entered a new decade,

A Scar is Born

2006-09-29T17:22:00.000-05:00

<-- me in the ER being prepped for the ORThis week has proven to be a bit tumultuous. It was going to be filled with school, school, observations, and more school, but instead featured a trip to the Urgent Care Center, blood tests, a trip to the ER, more blood tests, an ultrasound, my first ever trip to the OR, my first ever general anesthesia, and one emergency appendectomy! That's sort of the

Temporary Blog Relocation

2006-07-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

The L.* & T.** of m.j.p. will be temporarily down while its author is on location in Taipei, Taiwan. For updates and musings on her adventures there, please re-direct yourself to the Taiwan blog.Xie-xie ni.

Lappy's Crappy Attitude

2006-06-13T18:09:00.000-05:00

Hello, loyal fans and patrons of the L.* & T.** of m.j.p.Please pardon my recent absence from the blog scene. SOMEONE (who shall remain nameless, though his initials are D.E.L.L.) came back from technology camp with quite the attitude.We've been going round and round since his return-- he was lazy and extremely slow moving, but he wouldn't sleep (literally, he would stay awake for hours on end

Net Flix Fix

2006-06-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is Mitsi, and I'm an addict.I'm addicted to the internet.For real.This realization was made complete today (day 4 without my laptop... ok maybe it's just 3 1/2, but I'm rounding up), after a generous friend* allowed me uninterrrupted internet usage at my leisure. The suspicion was already there (see previous post regarding my reluctance to send off my in-need-of-repair Lappy McLaptop

Technology Camp

2006-05-31T16:47:00.000-05:00

Ah yes- Technology Camp. The words bring tears of joy to the hearts of most little dorky kids like me.* However, this summer's technology camp is a different sort, more of the heartbreaking variety. Indeed, for the next 10 to 15 business days, my technology is going away to camp.It started with Lil' Blanco (my iPod), who began giving me sad iPod face:45 minutes into my long-ass 7 hour haul from

While the cat's away...

2006-05-29T03:47:00.000-05:00

As you likely know (if you've talked to me at all since last September) I work part-time at a store belonging to a rather well-known and widespread chain that contributes to the well-being of society through massive caffeine consumption (in addition to other principles). I really quite enjoy my job there, although lately I may have become somewhat extremely bitter, which isn't a thing one should

The Mild Superlative

2006-05-27T22:49:00.000-05:00

I have recently come to discover the beauty of the usage of mild superlatives. Yes, mild superlatives. Let me explain. I was recently talking with a friend on the phone [wonder of wonders] about plans to get together to work on papers and/or get some food in the process. She made the statement, "I AM a little bit starving," which gave me pause and planted the seed of the concept of the mild