Phinally Done!!

I did it! It wasn't all that bad, really. The seminar was a little rough because I was so nervous and not feeling well, but I got through it. I then had my committee meeting and started getting a migraine, which I haven't had in YEARS. I actually saw flashing light that covered one of my committee member's faces. After the committee meeting, we went back to work and they planned a little party for me with champagne and cake and food. Unfortunately, I got too sick to stay and had to leave early. I felt like a jerk! Oh well, it's all over. One of my friends took some pictures:

The awesome cake--I had some today...it's good.

I really didn't feel good. Look how pale and sweaty I am. Ugh.

This was taken AFTER I got sick. I wasn't feeling well at all.

Defense today!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

2pm today--pray for me!

Dissertation turned in.

I turned in my dissertation today. I feel a little sick to my stomach. I also feel a little out-of-body. Weird. Here's the announcement that was sent around campus today:

Keep praying for us! It works!

House is sold!!

What a crazy week! We started by interviewing agents for our seller's agent. Here's how the nights went this week:

Tuesday we interviewed the agent that sold us our house in 2002.

Wednesday we interviewed an agent that's a friend of mine from church.

Thursday I had a meeting with some Missouri state legislators.

Friday, the agent from Tuesday came back with another agent. The other agent immediately called one of his clients. She came over and within 15 minutes, they called me and asked if they could come back at 5:30pm. I said yes. At 6:30pm, we interviewed another agent, who's a friend of a friend. At 7:30pm, the agent from Monday called and said we'd have an offer on Saturday.

Saturday (today), we got an offer on the house--for MORE THAN WE ASKED FOR!! Amazing! And it's a couple just like us--he's a PhD student and they have a family. I'm so thrilled for both of us. I really think God answered our prayers on this.

So, we close on the house on June 20th (D's 6th birthday). We'll be moving to Colorado on that day!

HOORAY!

Sending another draft of my dissertation to my boss today. Have to turn it in on Monday! Keep praying--He's obviously listening!

Still working on the last chapter.

One last chapter. Seriously. Ugh. I'm staying at work tonight until it gets done, regardless of the time. Yesterday was a rough day. My USB drive that had a lot of data on it broke. I nearly passed out. I've gotta get it done.

Aaron's working on getting a job. He's got several prospects. Hopefully, he'll have some interviews scheduled in May so we can go, he can have interviews and we can find a place to live.

I have some pictures to post. They might have to wait until after the defense.

One chapter left AND WE DECIDED TO MOVE TO COLORADO

So, I've only got one chapter left on my dissertation. It looks like I will be finished with my first draft by Friday. Hallelujah! That gives me an entire week (plus a weekend) to revise, revise, revise. I won't say it's my BEST work at this point, but I'm pretty proud of it. Hey, at least it's almost finished.

AND FOR THE BIG NEWS: we've decided to move to Colorado. Last night during the NCAA final game, we talked it over. It's a beautiful location, a good job with a great lab and will really further my education by leaps and bounds. It's scary moving to an area without family, but I think we'll be fine. SO, anyone up for Christmas in Colorado this year? :)

Fixed the dryer (again)

Our dryer has been something of a pain lately.

A year ago or so, the heating element went out in it. The dryer would turn on, but never get hot. Aaron and I spent the better part of a day taking the thing apart and replacing the element ourselves. I remember feeling so proud of doing it ourselves and saving so much money.

A month ago, our dryer broke again with the same symptoms. We assumed it was the heating element again. We took it apart and put in a new heating element and it still wouldn't work. Turned out it was a couple fuses, which my step-father helped me replace. The dryer worked for a couple weeks.

The dryer broke again, but this time it wouldn't even turn on. This time, it was the "hot dog" fuse. Rick again helped me replace it, and the guy at the parts store told me to check our dryer vent, which I did and it seemed fine. The dryer worked for a week.

Broke again, same symptoms. I'm getting frustrated at this point. I got a new fuse and talked to the parts guy at some length (btw, they're great. If you live in Columbia and need appliance parts, go to Maytag Direct on Paris). I took apart the dryer last night and cleaned out the fan. I'm sure that's why it was breaking. It was FULL of junk.

HERE'S MY SUGGESTIONS OF THE DAY (if you read nothing else on this blog, read this):

1. Did you know you need to clean out your dryer vent at least once a year? I didn't. Find out where your dryer vents to the outside and clean it out. This is one of the number one causes of house fires.

2. Have you ever taken apart your dryer and cleaned out the insides? I hadn't. I think this is something that should be done once a year, maybe once every other year. You wouldn't believe the pile of gunk I pulled out of ours--probably six cups worth of lint and hair and sand (still not sure how sand got in there). It probably had never been cleaned out (I know we never cleaned it out and we've owned it for seven years).

Anyway, off my soap box for the day. Goal for this weekend: at least one more chapter of the dissertation done. Wish me luck!

Beautiful new carpet!

We got our new carpet from Lowe's installed yesterday in the master bedroom and D's room. The old carpet from our bedroom was DARK blue and very worn. The carpet in D's room wasn't too bad, but it had been installed poorly and was bumpy. SO, new carpet in and some new pictures: This is a view from my master bedroom door, you can see the new carpet, the new wall color and the way we rearranged the furniture.
This is the new bedspread/pillows Mom got for me for my birthday/christmas present. Very luxurious.

Writing...writing...writing...

Not too much new to report.

I've been writing on my dissertation a ton lately. I've got two chapters down, three more to go. I'm working on these last three all at the same time. I'll work on one for a couple hours, get bored and switch to another. With each day that passes, I'm more convinced I'll actually finish.

Aaron and I painted the kitchen cabinets and installed new hardware. I'll have to get a picture. It looks great. We also have a sliding glass door on the back that had lost its seal and gotten condensation between the glass panes. We figured out (with help from a great neighbor) that a local glass company can come out and simply replace the glass, which will save us about $700 by not replacing the entire door. We are getting new carpet installed in our room and Donovan's room on Thursday too. Busy, busy, busy.