Writer’s Block

I’m trying to do NoBloPoMo where you post at least one thing to your blog every day for the month of November.  Tonight, I just can’t come up with anything meaningful to write about.

Auburn is playing Georgia right now.  For some people, this is the big rivalry and it’s apparently the oldest rivalry in the South, but to me it’s just the game before the Auburn v. Alabama game.  I actually like Georgia and pull for them on occasion.  Their coach is a good Christian man and I hate to see this game most likely determining their bowl eligibility.

I’ve got a lot on my mind.  I really wish it was Thanksgiving Break already because there are things at home that I need to be taking care of.  I need to be at home so I’m in the loop and not down here worrying when I can’t get anyone to answer the phone and tell me what’s going on.  I don’t like hearing that hospitals and ambulances are involved in a situation and then not being able to get any more information for hours and hours at a time.  Five years is too long and I’m so ready to be back in North Alabama where I can get home when I need to be there.

Well, that’s all for tonight.  Hopefully, I’ll be less anxious tomorrow and will be able to write something interesting and insightful. 

Please pray for my family.

TGIF

I’m so glad today’s Friday!  I have so much to catch up on this weekend, but it will make next weekend and all of the following week so much more worth it!

I took an exam for my Integrated Accounting Applications class today.  It was a take home and we had a week to set aside a four-hour period of time to complete the exam.  I hope it went well, but we’ll see sometime after next Wednesday (the final day to turn in the exam).  I still have a presentation the day before we leave for Chile and it will require a lot of work before my group is ready to present.

Yesterday, I finished one project for my Governmental Accounting class, but I plan to finish my other project for that class tonight or tomorrow.  It’s a special project that graduate students have to complete because this course can be taken for either graduate or undergraduate credit.  I also have a test in this class on Wednesday.  The test only covers one chapter of material, so there’s not as much to study, but since it only covers one chapter, the questions will be much more specific.

I also need to start my Corporate & Partnership Taxation project.  It’s due three weeks from yesterday.  That sounds like a long time, but I have to keep in mind that one of those weeks is Thanksgiving week and I am unlikely to actually work over that week.  I also have a Corporate test on the last class day (the day the project is due), so I need to catch up on my reading to be as prepared as I can before I begin reviewing and really studying.

My final class is Advanced Audit.  I have a case to finish because class was interrupted Wednesday by a fire alarm.  Also, my group has our final presentation on Wednesday.  After that presentation, I just have to attend class for the other groups to present, but I don’t have to do anything.

I know this is a boring post, but it was really an excuse to lay out what I have to do to finish these classes.  Sounds like a really fun next few days, doesn’t it?

I’ll try to post something more light-hearted and fun in the next few days!

Fetch!

Emma could play fetch all day long.  She has a collection of toys in my living room and all of them can be used when playing catch.

Until last week, her favorite toy was one of these foam practice golf balls.

Unfortunately, she decided it would also make a tasty snack.  She was playing with it one day and, before I knew it, there were little pieces of yellow foam all over my floor.  I don’t think she really ate any, but she definitely enjoyed shredding it into little pieces.  This is very unlike her.  Since we adopted her, she’s never been interested in destroying things.  She’s never eaten shoes or ripped her soft toys to shreds.  I guess she was bored and wanted some attention!

This past weekend when we all met in Birmingham to celebrate Uncle Mark’s Birthday, Emma got a present too even though it wasn’t her birthday.  Mom found this:

Tiny tennis balls!  They are about the size of a golf ball, but are made just like regular tennis balls.  This is absolutely her new favorite toy!  It fits in her mouth perfectly, unlike her regular tennis balls that she carries by the fur, and it’s so much fun to play fetch with.

I think it’s great that companies are starting to make smaller versions of toys for dogs.  Otherwise, I would have to buy cat toys for my very cat-like dog.  I already call her kitty, so I don’t need anything else that might give her an identity disorder! :)

Happy Veterans Day!

When I think of Veterans Day, my very first thought is of my own Grandaddy.  Of course I think of the other Veterans and those that are currently in our Armed Forces, but my very first thought is of my own sweet Grandaddy.

Grandaddy served in the United States Army from 1941 to 1945.  He fought in many major engagements in World War II.  It’s truly a miracle that he survived and returned home in one piece simply because of the number of major battles he was present for.  He received a Bronze Star and a Silver Star for his service to this country.  He does not want accolades for his military accomplishments.  To him, he was simply doing his duty to God and Country.

Grandaddy lived in horrible conditions and saw things no person should ever have to see during his military service, but he has never voiced any complaint about being drafted and serving overseas.  He actually has said feels he should express his thanks for the government allowing him to go to college through the GI Bill.  I think the way he has lived his life and provided for his family is the most appropriate way to express his thanks.

I have a hard enough time being 5 hours away from home, but I can’t imagine being an ocean away from home with absolutely no way to get home or even call home.  I can’t imagine how frightening that had to be.  I can’t imagine telling my family goodbye, not knowing if I would ever see them again on this Earth.  But Grandaddy did it.  And through it all, he survived.

Grandaddy selflessly served this country.  He fought to make the world a better place for future generations.  For that, I am thankful.

I love you, Grandaddy!

Hello, Hurricane Ida!

Hurricane (now Tropical Depression) Ida made landfall yesterday and we have gotten a lot of rainfall, especially over the last 12 hours, as a result.  Many parts of the grounds outside my house are flooded and the parking lot is full of standing water.   We haven’t gotten much rain lately and there was actually a burn warning last week, so I guess we needed all the rain from Ida.

Unlike many people, I actually like rainy days as long as I don’t have to be out in it.  Sometimes, I don’t even mind being in it if it’s not raining hard and I can wear my rain boots so I can splash around without getting my feet wet! :)

Emma, on the other hand, seriously dislikes rain.  She is not one of those dogs who likes to romp around and get all wet and muddy.  I guess that’s the prissy little poodle coming out in her!  She was upset, to say the least, when it started raining harder just as we went outside this morning.  Her bad day got worse when I deemed it necessary to dry her off with the hair dryer.  I think she was saying, “Two baths in less than a week!  What did I ever do to you?”

Anyway, the rain should be over before I have to go to class at 3PM, so I can’t complain.  I can stay inside and do homework and pick up the house a little bit and not feel any need to go outside in the rain.  If I didn’t have so much work to do, it would also be a perfect day for Emma and I to take a long nap!  I won’t be getting a nap today, but if I don’t bother Emma too much, she will get the nice rainy-day nap that I love so much!

Is it Thanksgiving Break yet?

I’m counting down the days until I leave Auburn for Thanksgiving Break…we are at 10 days and counting and it won’t come soon enough.  This semester is really wearing on me and I need a break from group projects and tests and basically class in general.

I feel like more and more things are getting piled on me basically in teacher’s attempts to cram everything into the last three weeks of the semester.  Now, in addition to the four tests and four projects/presentations I knew I had before the end of the semester, I now have a 5-7 page research paper, a powerpoint presentation, an executive summary of the 5-7 page research paper and a 3 page reflective paper all due between 11/30 and 12/7.  I know 5-7 page papers aren’t a big deal, but it’s just adding more work into an already extremely limited period of time.  Since we’re going to be in Chile for half of our Christmas Break, I’m going to fully enjoy my Thanksgiving Break and I don’t plan to do schoolwork.  That may not be realistic, but that’s what I would like to do in an ideal world.

I so look forward to crossing things off my to-do list!  It’s not even funny how much that makes my day!  Maybe, if I work hard for the next couple of hours, I might get to cross something off tonight!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Mark!

Tomorrow is my Uncle Mark’s 50th Birthday!  I think, with guys, it’s okay to give their age! :)

Mom and Dad drove down from Florence and I drove up from Auburn so we could all meet in Birmingham for a family lunch.  Since we couldn’t spend the day with him tomorrow, we wanted to do something special and make a little fuss over him today.  We picked up Jim ‘N Nicks takeout and went to a park so we could visit without pressure for the table and so Emma could come and play!  It was a beautiful day and a perfect time to enjoy some family togetherness!

Especially over the past year, Uncle Mark and I have gotten much closer.  I even lived with him for nearly three months after he generously offered his home to me during my internship last winter.

We typically have long phone conversations.  One hour is on the short side for us!  I have to plan for phone conversations most times because I know we will have lots to talk about.

He’s always around if I need something.  If I’m stuck in traffic in Birmingham, he always knows a way around it.  If I have a photography question, he’s there.  If I want some pictures made, he does it—even posed pictures which he really hates to do! :)

He’s always been special to me.  When I was a little girl, I always claimed the seat next to him at the table and always had to ride in his car when we went somewhere.  I just wanted to spend time with him since he lives in Birmingham and I used to not see him very often.

I don’t have any pictures of him because the photographer doesn’t like to have his picture made.  Instead, I will post a favorite picture of his dog, Heidi, who I claimed as mine when she lived with Aunt Nancy.

Heidi had a big birthday last month, too.  She turned 16!

Turning 50 is a big deal in our family.  I’m so happy he’s made it to this point and I hope for many more happy and healthy years!  I love you, Uncle Mark!