Since we got back...

we have been quite busy. here are some of the highlights. My brother and his wife closed on a new home in Austin. They are moving in and getting settled now. We are so happy for them and can't wait to visit. We also helped one of my mom's friends, Lucy, celebrate her 60th birthday with a surprise party. It was nice to be able to help her celebrate such a special birthday. I got invited to attend an academic excellence recognition ceremony at school. I am not quite sure why i got selected, but why not. I got my nails done, which was quite nice. I don't get to pamper often. :)

Now, we are getting Michael ready to start school in August. He just ordered his new laptop computer. YEAH!! We have also filled out all our loan information. So, we are waiting on all that to come so we can decide how much we each need to take out. I have been told that the American way is to be in debt and I feel that we are definitely fulfilling that role very well. :)

We also bought an ipod shuffle. Here is the story. So, my mom and dad walk for exercise each morning. one day my dad kicked this ipod shuffle while they were walking. he almost kept walking and then realized that it may be something cool. so, he picked it up and passed it along to me. we could not use it since we did not have the charger, so we bought a shuffle for ourselves (it comes with a charger) and now we have two. :) i think they are going to be great for jogging. jogging with the big ipod strapped to my arm is not so fun. i am really looking forward to using it.

other than that, i have talked with a bunch of professors to find out which classes to take in the summer and fall. I have decided to take a teaching practicum for the summer. so i will be working with a professor helping her to teach her summer course. I will actually get to teach part of the class, help with grading and develop new lesson plans while she helps me all along the way. this is a requirement if you want to teach during your phd work. i think it will be so helpful to actually get to practice teaching with a professor before being on my own. once i finish this course, I will be able to teach bachelors level courses on my own. During the fall, i plan to take my first statistics course and a gender and society course in the sociology department. we have to take 2 courses outside the school of social work during the program, so this will be my first.

Micheal is heading to amarillo on sunday to go backpacking with his brother. I am going to spend all day sunday studying. the end of the semester is just so much fun. anyway, i am off. i will write more soon.