Taking a break from the last round of edits to say...Yay for blog awards!

My regular readers know that life has been a bit crazy here recently.  I have been working on my EdD and this semester was (is) my last, which means that I had to finish my dissertation.  Easier said than done!  Let me just tell you that words cannot express how much I wanted to avoid this task.  I hear that is common at this stage in the process.  Common, but not useful.

Thankfully, one of the primary motivators was the fact that I actually edit dissertations and theses as a side gig to bring in a little extra money.  I enjoy editing, so that works.  Reading through the various dissertations also helped make me see that I could do this and I just needed to buckle down and get things done.  It was a good thing that I found my motivation because I learned at rather the last minute that I had ten fewer days to finish my dissertation than I thought.  Yikes!  I scrambled and got fewer than three hours' sleep each night for nearly a week and finished the draft for my committee.  Then I defended my dissertation to my committee.  Then I had more editing to do.  Plenty more editing to do.  By Friday morning.  Ugh.

But at least it's almost over!  And I decided to take a break on my last day of editing so that I could post a bit.  I miss being in BlogLand!  It's such a happier place than the Dissertation Dungeon of Despair.

Two lovely women who have made this week bearable are my lovely BlogFriends, Kelly at Blue Bird Sews and Jenna at Sew Happy Geek.  Kelly is someone that I imagine I'll probably run into in the real world because she, too, lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  She has a talent for sewing and gardening -- she's shared some gardening tips with me (Thank you, Kelly!) and puts some quilting tutorials on her blog (yes!).  Jenna is an expat living in the UK and I love reading her posts.  She shares a lot of tips about sewing and she is always so excited about it that it's giving me the desire to get back into that craft.  I'm not skilled right now, so I'm starting small with a mug rug for the mug rug swap that Jenna is hosting.  These lovely ladies received blog awards and decided to share the love.  Thank you, ladies!!  You made my week much better. :-)

Kelly shared the Stylish Blogger award with me.

The way that this works is that when a person receives it she agrees to link back to the person who bestowed the award on her blog, then tells seven things about herself, and then bestows the award on other blogs.

I shared seven random things about me back in February, so now I need to think of a few more...(so difficult...brain on overload...must...have...coffee...!).

1. This year I will celebrate my ten year anniversary.  I was married at a young age, which I really don't condone now because I experienced how difficult it is to grow up when you have to be responsible for yourself and someone else.  Thankfully, we grew up together, rather than growing up and apart, and we've made it a decade.  I love my Honey! (But seriously, kids, do yourself a favor and wait until you're in your 30s to get married!)

2. Even when I was a an extremely conservative and sheltered fundamentalist when I was growing up, I still had a bit of the rebel about me.  I wanted green streaks in my hair (which never happened), multiple piercings (does a nose ring count?), tattoos (four and counting!).  I also refused to wear a white dress for my wedding.  Why should I do that just because it's tradition?  I had a midnight blue evening gown that was my grandmother's modified instead and I wore that...and loved it.

3. I was home schooled for most of my life back when it was really not cool and home schooled kids were ostracized as the weirdos.  Then I grew up and decided to become a public school teacher.

4. I feel guilty because I have a tattoo of a lotus flower that represents my love for my dog (among other things -- it also represents my life trying to make something beautiful grow out of a muddy and cruddy past, but my furry baby's name is Lotus so of course it represents her, too), but I have nothing to symbolize my love for my cats (Hero, who passed away, Canvas, Bunny, Nicky, and Nora).  I'm not sure what to do to fix that.

5. I used to think that I would want kids, or maybe just one kid, and that I would adopt.  The older I got the more and more I realized that I have no desire for children of my own.  Or rather I should say that all of my students became my de facto children.  And of course I have my Baby and my Little Baby, two much-younger brothers I cared for when they were infants.  Now the littlest one lives here as he works on finishing high school by taking college courses, and so I have a teenager in my house every day.  That's good.  I really don't want children of my own, even though people look at me as though I am some freak of nature with three heads and five arms when I say that.

6. I don't like surprises at all.  If someone threw me a surprise party I would probably get furious and walk out the door because surprises make me so uncomfortable.  My mother thought that she threw a surprise party for me when I turned 16, but since she had me make all the food to feed 40 people it wasn't really a surprise.

7. I love having large gatherings of people over to my house to eat.  We have a First Friday Family Dinner each month because I love fixing food for people.  But I do not like to entertain anyone or feel like I have to be responsible for people socializing.  Please, eat.  Talk amongst yourselves.  I'll flit in and out and see to food needs and laugh and drink, but I can't promise undivided attention.

So...was that random enough?

Jenna gave me the Liebster Blog award.

This award is meant to be given to blogs that have fewer than 300 followers.  My job is to choose three blogs, but how do I choose just three?  Oy vey, the dilemma!

First of all, I'd like to return the favor to my lovely BlogFriends, so Jenna, I'm bestowing Stylish Blogger on you, and Kelly, you get a Liebster Blog!

Now to find a few more blogs...you ladies shall receive both awards:

Jenny at An Apple for the Crafter has a lovely blog with great crafting ideas.  She used to be a public school teacher, too!

Katie at Eye Spy DIY has lovely ideas and great tutorials.  Check her out.  You won't be sorry...unless you're like me and have no time but seeing her tutorials make you want to drop everything and craft, in which case...at least you've been warned.

Congratulations, Ladies!  And thank you once again to Kelly and Jenna!

A blog award, a tired lady, and a nearly finished degree

Today I had my dissertation defense.  Yay and yikes.  As you probably know if you follow my blog, I work in education.  For a number of years I was a high school teacher and now I work in higher ed.  That means that I stand in front of people for a living and I talk.  So why is it that I am always nervous when I have to stand and talk in a new context?  I don't tend to much makeup on a regular basis (just mascara -- and my tattooed eyeliner, of course), but on days that I know I'll be speaking in front of people then I put on the works because I end up turning the color of a tomato.  Seriously.  I can't wear dress shirts because I am worried about perspiration and so I end up in blazers and nylons (also usually foreign to me) in an effort to mask my nervousness.

Today was no exception.  I spoke in front of my committee and I was nervous.  Nevermind that I edit theses and dissertations and know that mine is pretty decent.  Nevermind that I have known the members of my committee for a while and I actually work in the same building as they do (although I don't really work with them).  I was nervous.  And it turns out I had a right to be.  I was hoping that I would hear Well done, good and faithful servant, but I knew that was unlikely.  Instead I heard "Fix these things and get the updated draft in by Friday morning."  That overshadowed the more exciting part -- I'll be done by Friday -- with the more immediate notion of additional loss of sleep between now and then.  Oy. Vey. Seriously.

In the meantime I try to remind myself that this was a good response, that dissertations aren't meant to be the be-all-end-all in research, and that I just need to be done.

In slightly more positive news, my contract at my work has been extended through July.  Yay!  It still means that I will need a new job afterward, but I have a bit more breathing room while I look for something (which will prove difficult because as of today there were fewer than 50 jobs in education in this state -- at least 50 jobs for which I qualify -- and all but three are more than a 60 minute one-way drive -- and I qualify for a lot, so that should give you some indication of the state of things here).

In much more positive news, Kelly over at BlueBirdSews gave me a blogging award today!  YAYYYYY!!!!  Wasn't that so incredibly sweet?  It made my day and brought this sleep-deprived, brain-befuddled girl a bit of a smile and happiness.  If you haven't seen her blog you really must visit -- and now that I know that she lives in the Northwest and grows eggplant (which I've never been able to grow successfully), I am definitely going to bug her for her secrets!  She also makes the most wonderful quilting tutorials that are perfect for people like me who want to quilt but have no idea how.

I will respond with my good blogger duties and post the award and a bit about me and then pass it along...but not tonight.  Now it's time to head to bed.  At least it's not 4AM this time. :-)

Cabinet Door Into Chalkboard

FINALLY!  I finished a craft project!  This hiatus from anything fun while I finished my dissertation was not pleasant at all.  The past weekend I was able to have time to get some things done, but considering I had ignored everything for a while, my to-do list was long and time for crafts almost nonexistent.  Thankfully, I had this project mostly done, which meant I had time to put the finishing touches on it and call it good (or good enough).

Here is a picture of the two cabinet doors I bought at the Habitat store for $1 each.

See that ugly door on the left?  I saw it and immediately thought "Chalkboard!" I still had a bit of chalkboard spray paint (best invention ever) leftover from various craft projects, and I had a tiny bit of bright yellow spray paint left for the border.

I cut the bird shape out of contact paper and placed it on the cabinet as I spray painted and then removed the contact paper and painted the bird.

Here it is!

Now what should I do with it?  That's my problem with crafts...I never plan ahead!

Check out my Party Pages for where I like to link my craft projects.

Read This, Not That

The so-called BBC book list is making its way around Facebook and the blogosphere again.  The first time that I saw the list -- over a year ago -- I remember wondering what the selection criteria was for the books on the list.  How could Bridget Jones' Diary be on the same list as Dracula and Great Expectations?  Why does Da Vinci Code get a special mention but nothing for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein?  Why did the Chronicles of Narnia (series) and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe appear as separate entries?  Something smelled fishy.

Of course I ignored the fishiness for a while.  I participated in the "challenge" and didn't do so well.  Plenty of books were works I started but then put down either because I was busy or bored or because the book was just horribly written (just because it's a classic doesn't mean it's good writing).  Other books that I read I found were a complete waste of time and I hated them.  Some books I loved.  And so when the list started circling again, I decided to figure out what the selection criteria was and then see if I could improve the list.

From what I can tell, the book list does not actually exist.  Or, more accurately, it exists but is not BBC.  In searching the BBC website, there are two articles about 100 books, one written in 2004 and one written in 2011.  The 2004 article is very similar to the pseudo-BBC list -- they have about 2/3 of the book titles in common -- but that list was a survey among readers of their favorite books.  I guess that could translate into 100 must-reads, but not necessarily.  It would, however, explain why something like Bridget Jones' Diary made it on to the list.

I am fairly convinced that this BBC list making the rounds on Facebook and blogs has no connection with the BBC.  The list is too vague in its purpose and criteria.  And so instead of worrying about how I don't measure up to this list, I've decided to create my own.  At least my own list for novels -- to have the category opened to any book would make it far too difficult to choose 100 titles.  Maybe one day I'll create a list for top non-fiction, too.

My Version of the so-called “BBC Book List” – 100 Novels to Read*

1.     Outlander (and the whole series, seven books right now) – Diana Gabaldon  This is hands-down the best historical series I’ve ever read.  I love it and can’t put it down (which can be a problem when the books are huge).

2.     The Book Thief – Markus Zusak. I’ve read plenty of books about the Holocaust and genocide.  I have to – I wrote a thesis on the subject years ago.  But this book was one of the best novels set during the Holocaust.

3.     Maus – Art Spiegelman.  This graphic novel about the Holocaust was very well done and the first graphic novel that exposed me to the genre.  As a whole, the genre is not my favorite, but I do like a few graphic novels and memoirs now.

4.     A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hossini.  This author is best known for The Kite Runner, but this book was so much better.

5.     The Kite Runner – Khaled Hossini

6.     The Queen’s Fool – Philippa Gregory.  I love all of her books, but since this was the first one that I read it holds a special place in my heart.

7.     The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova. Hands down this is the best story about Dracula ever.

8.     The Monk – M.G. Lewis.  This is better known as one of the first full-length gothic novels.  You’ll never guess, after reading the content, when this book was written!

9.     Tom Jones – Henry Fielding

10.  The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman.  Terrifying.

11.  The Master & Margarita – Mikhail Bulgokov. One of my favorite memories with Honey is when I had to read this book for a class – Honey started reading while I was doing something else and then we both sat together and read through it because neither one of us wanted to relinquish the book!

12.  Dead Souls – Nikolai Gogol

13.  Buddenbrooks – Thomas Mann

14.  No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – Alexander McCall Smith. Every time I need to feel good and just enjoy life, I turn to this author.

15.  Winter Solstice – Rosamund Pilcher

16.  The Winter Queen – Boris Akunin. One book in a Russian mystery series that is quite enjoyable.

17.  The 19^th Wife – David Ebershoff

18.  Douglass’s Women – Jewel Parker Rhodes

19.  Across Five Aprils – Irene Hunt

20.  My Brother Sam Is Dead – James Lincoln Collier

21.  Sam the Minute Man – Nathaniel Benchley

22.  Much Ado About Nothing – William Shakespeare

23.  Romeo & Juliet – William Shakespeare

24.  Hamlet – William Shakespeare

25.  Let’s just have this line indicate more Shakespeare, in whatever form that may be.

26.  Pride & Prejudice & Zombies – Seth Grahame Smith (and Jane Austen)

27.  1984 – George Orwell

28.  Animal Farm – George Orwell

29.  We – Yevgeny Zamyatin

30.  Utopia – Thomas More

31.  The Crucible – Arthur Miller

32.  The Inferno – Dante

33.  Canterbury Tales – Geoffrey Chaucer

34.  The Decameron – Giovanni Boccaccio

35.  The Moonraker’s Bride – Madeleine Brent

36.  The Treasure of Montesegur – Sophy Burnham

37.  Bridge to Terebithia – Katherine Patterson

38.  Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

39.  A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

40.  To Kill a Mocking Bird – Harper Lee

41.  Covenant with the Vampire – Jeanne Kalogridis. My favorite trilogy about Dracula.

42.  Year of Wonders – Geraldine Brooks

43.  The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd

44.  The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver

45.  The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

46.  Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell

47.  The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis All the Chronicles of Narnia are good, of course.

48.  The Bad Beginning – Lemony Snicket This is the beginning of my favorite children’s series

49.  Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

50.  Native Speaker – Chang Rae Lee

51.  Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

52.  Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery

53.  Little Women – Louisa May Alcott

54.  Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime – Mark Haddon

55.  A Spot of Bother – Mark Haddon

56.  The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold

57.  The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

58.  The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

59.  The Color Purple – Alice Walker

60.  Possessing the Secret of Joy – Alice Walker

61.  Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston

62.  Johnny Got His Gun – Dalton Trumbo.  This is probably the most powerful anti-war novel available.

63.  The Ruling Class (a play) – Peter Barnes

64.  Semmelweiss (a play) – Jens Bjorneboe

65.  S. A Novel About the Balkans – Slaveka Drakulic

66.  The Foreign Student – Susan Choi

67.  The Red Tent – Anita Diamant

68.  Seven Days to the Sea – Rebecca Kohn

69.  The Bonesetter’s Daughter – Amy Tan

70.  The Plague – Albert Camus

71.  Paradise Lost – John Milton

72.  Persepolis (graphic novel/memoir) – Marjane Satrapi

73.  In the Time of the Butterflies – Julia Alvarez

74.  Portrait in Sepia – Isabel Allende

75.  The Dress Lodger – Sheri Holman

76.  Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff – Christopher Moore 

77.  The Secret History of the Pink Carnation – Lauren Willig

78.  The Courtesan – Susan Carroll

79.  The Feast of Roses – Indu Sundaresan

80.  Thursday Next – Jasper Fforde

81.  Pilate’s Wife – Antoinette May

82.  The Alienist – Caleb Carr

83.  In Her Shoes – Jennifer Weiner

84.  Beloved – Toni Morrison

85.  Cry, The Beloved Country – Alan Paton

86.  The Robe – Lloyd C. Douglas

87.  Ben Hur – Lew Wallace

88.  Angel on the Square – Gloria Whelen

89.  The Devil’s Arithmetic – Jane Yolen

90.  The Cage – Ruth Minsky Sender

91.  Night – Elie Wiesel

92.  The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri

93.  The History of Love – Nicole Krauss

94.  Motel of the Mysteries – David Macaulay.  This book reminds me to keep everything in perspective.

95.  Oh the Places You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss

96.  Weslandia – Paul Fleischman This is my favorite children’s book of all time – the best picture book ever. I give it to everyone I know as a baby shower gift.

97.  The Speckled Monster: A Historical Tale of Battling Smallpox – Jennifer Lee Carrell One can learn a lot of history through this account that has fictionalized things to make it more readable.

98.  Frankenstein -- Mary Shelley

99.  North & South – Elizabeth Gaskell

100.                 Persuasion (or Sense & Sensibility or Pride & Prejudice) -- Jane Austen

*I invite you to compare, comment, or create your own.  Also, you'll notice that I didn't comment on every title and why I chose it -- eventually I realized that would be too much work.  I also provided a blend of fiction, everything from a child's picture book (Weslandia) to modern (20th century) classics (The Plague) to chick lit, so there should be something for everyone on this list. And the last three titles are italicized because while I've started them I haven't finished, but I do love the story lines and intend to finish reading...one day....
**UPDATE (4/9/11): I woke up this morning and realized I forgot to add Frankenstein to the list.  Now that problem is solved! 

The reason why I've been in hiding for about a week

There is a reason why I haven't blogged recently, a reason why my house is a mess, a reason why I've ignored everyone and everything for a week: I was finishing my dissertation.  I needed to have it submitted to my committee, and for some misguided reason I thought that I had ten additional days in which to finish.  I don't know why I thought everything was due April 22.  Maybe it just sounds a lot like April 12, the actual due date.  Regardless, I had a lot of work to do between last Wednesday night (when I found out) and now. 

I have had a total of two, maybe three hours of sleep each night since I discovered the true deadline.  I took time off work so that I could finish and I had so much to do that I worked 16-20 hours a day on it.  But it's done.  I submitted my work to my committee.  We meet April 12 to defend it.  My fingers are crossed that they like and accept it without too many revisions.  I want to graduate this month.  I want to be done.

It seems a shame that so much time and effort goes into a major production and then it's never seen.  In all actuality, I don't mind that people won't read my dissertation -- I just want certain people to know that they appeared in my acknowledgments because I love and appreciate them.  Since I can't shout the acknowledgments from the rooftop (or I could, it would just be drowned out by the school sports across the street), I wanted to share them here.  I've modified names for privacy's sake, but these people know who I'm talking about.  I love you all.
*************

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Ken ---, for reading countless pages, providing ample feedback, and for making me laugh as I struggled to complete this dissertation.  You have the patience of a saint.  Dr. Amy --- and Dr. Gary ---, my committee members, also deserve warm thanks for gently pushing me toward my end goal and a dissertation defense.

My colleagues at ---- have been very supportive and caring throughout this last year as I worked to finish my dissertation.  Two who deserve special acknowledgement and sincere gratitude are Dr. Scot --- and Dr. Gary ---.  Scot, thank you for walking into my office every week to ask about dissertation progress – I was motivated by the thought that I should report something positive!  And Gary, thank you for demonstrating to me the true meaning of mentor and listening ear; I will not forget those lessons.

I must thank my wonderful husband for putting up with me as I worked to complete this degree.  His constant questioning and pushing for me to be done helped keep me going in the last few months when I really wanted to give up and stay home.  It is with great pleasure that I can say, “Don’t worry, Honey, the degree is terminal.”

Bestie #2 was always ready to listen, commiserate, and when all else failed she knew what I needed: “Let’s go shopping!”    She is also the person who kept me from giving up in the quantitative data (statistics) class, and for that she deserves a specially blessed afterlife.

Bestie #1 reminded me that I could finish this dissertation and when I had writer’s block she encouraged me to rant on the page, knowing the rant would eventually turn into ideas for chapters four and five.

A--- deserves a special shout-out for always telling me that I am a genius and for believing I could do anything.  She is the world’s best cheerleader.

T----- and M-----, my lovely writing group ladies, understood when I was cranky because of academic writing and they still loved me enough to hold me accountable.  When I would much rather write a novel (or anything else), they told me to sit down and spend that time writing the dissertation.  Ladies, you showed me that I have wings and then told me to fly.  You will always have my love.

J----- makes an excellent cup of coffee and provides even better conversation.  Our relationship is living proof that a conservative and liberal can peacefully coexist and even be good friends (although I do still think you’ll eventually come over to my side!).

My family has always believed that I could do anything.  Mom, you were right – I did become a doctor, just not the kind you originally thought!

Finally, I would like to thank the participants who agreed to share their time and insight to make the research within this dissertation possible.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

DEDICATION

For all my students who have shown that through determination and hard work they can overcome obstacles and reach their goals: this is for you.  Your success is inspirational and I will always be your cheerleader.