a little bit of Elle

my cutie girl
sidewalk chalk on a recent warm day
sitting at her desk in our {meaning mine and Elle's} office

Stampin!

My new hobby is stamping and card making. These are a few recent creations:

a post for Daddy

I'm dedicating this post to my dad because it would have been his 56th birthday today. He died of congestive heart failure July 17, 2007. My dad loved cactus. So much so that he brought different species home from his big truck travels and with his talented green thumb they flourished all over the house, the garage, and the yard. A hobby my mom is still dealing with. I think of a cactus as a good representation of my dad's life. Pretty prickly, able to survive harsh conditions, and beautiful blooms. Right after graduating high school he developed hodgkin's disease and survived, which was pretty rare at that time. He was told that he wouldn't have kids, but he ended up with 3 girls. I like to think about the things he passed on to me. A love of NASCAR, country music, reading, traveling, playing dominoes and a little bit of that Johnson temper. I wish so much that he could be here to enjoy his grandbabies. I know he'd have them down at the lake fishing or digging in the dirt. I think he'd have been especially proud this year as "#3" graduates high school and goes off to college. His death still stings and I suppose it always will. I get comfort though from thinking about Jesus' sacrifice for us all. I hope for the day when Daddy will get his healed heart and he'll be tending to God's garden.

They're back!

The dorms opened again yesterday at 3, Chris returned to dorm duty, and the students came in all afternoon and evening. The best description I can give of this place is that it is a simulation of your first two years of college. This means classes are divided in semesters so when the students showed up yesterday they had to get a their new schedule. Chris checked in students (which means they fork over their car keys, phones, and any drugs) then directed them to the appropriate schedule table. Once they got their schedule they had to go to the library and get any books they might need. The great hall was very busy last night with students getting paper and covering their books. Things got back to normal pretty quick. After a brief assembly study time began at 8 so students could work on their first day assignments. Elle was very excited to see some familiar faces and played in the great hall for an hour and half last night!

nana's banana bread

Elle and I have gotten into making banana bread with our ripe bananas. Nobody will touch them once they start to ripen and it's hard to eat them fast enough when we eat so meals in the cafeteria. So I found a really good banana bread recipe and thought I'd share. It's yummy and simple!

Nana's Banana Bread

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Mix dry ingredients. Stir in butter, eggs, and bananas. Pour into two greased bread pans and bake at 350 degrees 20-30 minutes.

knock 3 times on the ceiling...twice on the pipe!

Since the students and most of the other resident faculty have been away it is has been incredibly quiet on campus. I'm realizing now how loud the everyday noises are on our floor, especially in the evenings. I have missed the chatter most around dinner time. However, I have not missed 72 girls taking showers early in the morning and late at night, which starts a chorus of banging pipes in our apartment. It's not too bad, but with the breaks Elle (Queen of the light sleepers!) has to readjust to the noise whenever the girls get back. This has been the only thing that has tempted me to move to the boys side. Chris has told me the boys tend to start showers 5 minutes before lights out and are done really quickly. However, Chris has said the guys tend to be more rowdy before this, running and goofing off. We're not spoiled to the quiet yet though! They are adding the third floor to the new dorms so we have been graced with the lovely beeping, sawing, etc. noises from the construction from sunup to sundown!....We did a little investigating and discovered it's not the showers it's the toilets! Wonder if the urinals make that much noise? Guess we'll have to do a field trip.

Good luck in 2011!

My first New Year's resolution is to update this blog more often. I think designating a particular time each week to this would help. I think the best times are Monday, Wednesday, or Friday afternoons when Elle takes a nap. It's harder to study at home with other distractions such as cleaning, but doing my blog posts are a lot more appealing than the dishes.

My second New Year's resolution is to accomplish the things I've started. I have a number of little projects that I've started and never really finished. The thing I think that should be at the top of the list is definitely finishing the Ed.D. Other things include a Christmas stocking for Chris that I've been cross-stitching for about the whole time we've been married. I'd also like to do one for Elle as well. There's a long list of books that I've been wanting to read, but articles and books for class have always been in the way. Lately, I've been rereading the Harry Potter books and have just finished the 5th book so it's looking good that I'll accomplish finishing this set.

My third and probably should be the most important resolution is to be more involved in the service that's going on at church. I've already signed up to help teach the Pre-K/Kindergarten class, but feel there's so much more I should be doing.

Please feel free to hold me accountable for these things. I really do think people asking about them will keep me on target. Good luck with any resolutions you have chosen for 2011!