America's Birthday Week

Last week we had the opportunity to head up north to visit family. As usual, it was fabulous! We bounced around from house to house and each place was full of adventure. With my dad and stepmom we went fishing, swimming, and barbecued. With my MIL and SFIL we went to City Creek Center in downtown SLC and we went to the zoo. With my mom we played with my 6 cousins, went to the Great Salt Lake, and visited my grandparents. We also played Smart Ass and made German chocolate cake (GCC), which we ate with roasted almond fudge ice cream from the BYU Creamery. I know you're jealous. Expect for Lish, because he doesn't like GCC. I know. There must be something wrong with him.

Anyway, enjoy the visuals!

Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

That should probably be my title when I turn 30. But I am not quite there yet. Lish is though. Just made it on Monday. Maybe his title should have been "The Dirty Thirty," because he's a boy. And boys are dirty. I guess since he's 30 though, he's a man. On the outside. Still a boy on the inside. I think that's how most men are. Agreed? Yeah.

We had a wonderful celebration to mark this end and beginning of a decade. We kind of celebrated all weekend. Karen and Scott came down for the weekend on Thursday. With them, they brought this little beauty:

I know. Be jealous. Be very jealous. Lish has wanted a tank like this for a long time. And he thought he'd never get one this big. He said, "I know it's cheesy, but it's like a dream come true." It was so fun to see his face when he found out what we had gotten him. And then to see his face when he saw the fish. And again when it was all set up. And then again when he was arranging and rearranging the decorations and plants. And then finally after we went out and bought lights for it. And of course throughout the rest of the weekend. Even yesterday, as we were pulling not the garage after going to the gym, he said, "Whitney, I really love my fish tank." That makes me happy.

Not only did he get the fish tank, but he also got the basketball that he's been wanting for about 6 years. He's kept asking for it, but I'd always get him something else. When my dad asked what they could get him for his birthday, my first response was, "Brown dress shoes. His are old." But then I thought, that's what I want him to have, not necessarily what he wants to have. So I changed my answer. The first thing he did when he got that ball was write his name on it. He hasn't used it yet, but he will tomorrow night, and I'm sure he can't wait!

Along with all the gift spoiling, Lish had some amazing food this weekend. We went to our favorite Thai restaurant for his birthday with Karen and Scott, then on Sunday I made these little devils. And of course we had cake, but this year we did a little variation and had cake pops. Yum! Lish is loved.

If Wishes were Fishes...

. . . Then Lish's came true! There's a lot to catch up on (I know, go figure), but for now, just enjoy this, because we definitely are:

Happy birthday weekend Lish! I love that you were so excited about this gift. It was like watching a kid in a candy shop.

Settled and Living It

Man, I am awful with this blogging stuff now. I'm going to stop apologizing for not blogging, because it seems to be a habit of mine now. Maybe I've already said that too, but maybe saying that is another habit of mine. I don't know. Where am I going with this? No where. That's where.

Anywho, since our crazy summer, life has settled. And it's lovely. Well, it was a weird struggle for me, but now it's lovely. It's been nice to stay at our home for longer than a two week period. And to figure things out, such as paint colors, what nick-knacks should go where, our leaky toilet that we had to replace, and our roof that was also leaking that we had to get fixed. Ah, the joys of home ownership!

The weird struggle I mentioned earlier went like this: We had been gone so much over the summer, and had so many visitors, and Lish's schedule was such that he got to be around more often than usual. But when we got home from all those trips and the new semester started, I felt alone. And I was stressed. I'm not even "alone" for that long. Lish's schedule is still awesome in the fact that he can be home to help out a lot. And he is home helping out a lot. But I just had to transition back to that stay-at-home mode.

Also, I miss having friends. Lish made me promise him a couple weeks ago that I would ask someone out for a lunch date. So today, I asked out two different girls to lunch. Through facebook. We'll see what happens. I miss having a social life. I'm working on it. I felt myself going into a bit of a depression a month or two ago. But as I was sitting in church this past Sunday, I was looking around and thought, "This is my home ward. This is my ward." For some reason, it lifted me out of my funk. I had a renewed aspiration to make friends. And to get out and do stuff. And it felt good. I feel good. And that's happy.

In other news, Lish's semester is going well. He's teaching five classes, which is keeping him busy. But he has no classes on Fridays, which is great for us. Lots of time with our favorite man! There was a meeting last Friday with the Utah State Board of Regents, and they approved the Bachelor's degree that Lish wrote and worked on last semester. It's the first degree offered in the state of Utah that is a Criminal Justice degree with an emphasis in Criminology. I'm so proud of him!

Yale is adorable. He is getting his two upper teeth right now, so his nose is so stuffy. It's sad. He's crawling like crazy. He crawls away from us (because he can't run yet). His balance is getting so much better. He can stand for a few seconds at a time. And he's walking around tables and other furniture. He's growing up fast. We love him and love being able to spend so much time with him.

Here is an adorable picture from when we went to the park last week. It's always the perfect way to end a post.

Two Months and Such

I'm playing a little game of catch up...again. I seem to do this quite often, but at least that means I'm probably being productive with the rest of my life. Right? Yeah, we'll use that excuse...

First:

Yale went in for his 2 month check up last Thursday. I can't believe he's already 2 months old! He's not a newbie anymore. And he's a Lil' Chubbo. Yes, that nickname still works well for him. He measured at 23 inches long (50th percentile), his head was in the 60th percentile, and his weight? 13 lb, 3 1/2 oz. (90th percentile). So, we know he's eating well, gaining 5 pounds already and all. We love our little chunky man cub! He's getting much stronger and he's awake more during the day. I enjoy his awake time. It's fun to play with him. He's generally a pretty good sleeper too. Except for last night. And the night before. I think he's still getting over the shock that his mom would let some stranger poke him with a big needle, not once, but twice. Yes, I'm a mean mom, letting someone do that to him.

Second:

Boo to the Steelers not winning the Superbowl. I'm not a huge Steelers fan, but Lish is, and I'm a huge Lish fan, so I support the Steelers. We had some prop bets going, and I did not bet well. I got 10 points for guessing that the color of the Gatorade that would be dumped was orange, and getting that one right doubled my points. Yeah...
But Lish won with double what I had. How's that for a math problem for ya?  
(Spoiler: He had 40 points.)

Third:

Being at home and such gives me time to think about stuff I haven't thought much about. This has led to many random thoughts and questions. I'll work on this as a post for some time later, because really, the things I think are pretty intriguing. You wouldn't be reading this post otherwise.

Fourth:

I'm not sure how many of you got the chance to watch the documentary on Brooke Wilberger they did on Dateline this past Friday, but her story took up the full two hours of the show. We sat down to watch it and didn't expect it to be that long. They did a good job with it though. I was happy to have known her and to have had her in my life. She was amazing and her family continues to be such a great example to me of never giving up hope and being able to forgive. Her family is so wonderful.

Fifth and Last:

Lish has been working like crazy on his dissertation. He's in the final home stretch. You know, the one where you can barely see the light at the end of the tunnel but you're racing to get there so the light gets brighter and bigger every day? Then you have to take some steps back to fix some stuff, but then when it's fixed you're running even faster? Yeah, that final home stretch. He has been working so hard and has been so diligent. I'm really proud of all the things he's accomplished.

Well, that's about it for now. Someday I'll be good about blogging again...someday.

First Day of School

Lish's first day of his new career was today, his first day of school as an offical professor! I am so proud of him! Of course I had to do the classic first day of school picture, even though this time around he isn't the student.

And today was my first official stay-at-home-mom day. I say that because Lish wasn't working full-time before and since Yale came along, he has only had to leave to go to work twice. And it was lovely. I love this little guy. Here are some pictures from when I was playing with him today and then from the walk we went on. It was really more for me, because he just slept the whole time. But how cute and chunky is he?! Seriously. Makes my heart melt!

 

So this all means that we have moved and are finally settling into our new place! We love it here. We really enjoy our condo and the area it's in. Plus, we live close to some of my extended family, and we have other family that stays here quite often so we will get to see them often. I think this place will really work out nicely.

PS. Yale giggled for the first time this morning. He started shaking and making a weird noise and it scared me before I realized what it was. And then I about died from an overdose of cuteness.

We've Got Some News

Lish got a job! He interviewed with Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, and they liked him so much, they offered him a job. And he accepted. Whole-heartedly. We're so excited! When they called him with the offer, they asked if he was still interested. He responded, "110%!" Then they offered it to him and Lish said, "I'll take it!" They said, "Don't you want to hear what your salary will be first?" So they told him, and he accepted it again!

The thing is, they want him to start in January. We just found out about this a week ago, and we'll be moving in 2 weeks. Kinda crazy. We decided to take a trip down there so Lish could get the books for the classes he'll be teaching, fill out some paperwork, and so we could find a place to live. Mission accomplished. And Yale was great for his first trip of many down there. Because we will be making that drive a lot over the next several years. And yes, we will be living there for several years. It's close to family, it's a teaching school, Lish will get to help convert the program from an Associate's Degree to a Bachelor's Degree, the weather is wonderful and life will be grand!

It'll just be busy for these next few months, for Lish anyway. He'll be teaching three separate classes, finishing his dissertation, defending said dissertation, writing up the Bachelor's program, and being a husband and father. But, he's pretty amazing so I don't doubt he'll excel at all of it. We're thrilled about this opportunity and can't wait to start our lives down there!

Jam Day 2010

My dad and stepmom make jam twice a year, strawberry in the Spring, raspberry at the end of Summer/beginning of Fall. This year, Lish and I joined them.

Lish was so excited. He had never made jam before and homemade jam is DELICIOUS, so maybe that's why he was so excited...?? I don't really know. Anywho, he showed his excitement by making something in lieu of jam day.

"Jam Day 2010"

"Holler!"

(Sorry for the blurry pictures. They were taken on a phone. And yes, that is a picture of Lish there.)

Yep, that's my husband! I just love him!

And Jam Day 2010 turned out to be a huge success! We made about 75 jars worth of delicious, scrumptious, mouth-watering raspberry jam.

A Little Family Update

(This is an email Lish just sent out to our family today. Thought some of you might like to know what's going on as well. Beware: It's very long!)

Hello Family!

I hope this email finds you all doing well and enjoying spring time. Whitney and I are trying to enjoy it here in Tally before it turns to the hot-box that is the summer. I figured it was time I sat down and shared all that has been happening with Whit and I these last few months. So much has happened that it has gotten to the point that I cannot remember who we told what, so if this is repetitive to you, consider yourself one of the lucky ones (or unlucky ones if you hate really long emails).

As all of you know, I went on the job market this last year to test the waters. Although I have only been working on my PhD for 3 years (a feat that normally takes 4-5 years), I had been lucky and was able to be in a position that I could have been done a year or so early. With this in mind, I sent out job applications thinking that maybe I could land a job earlier than anticipated. If not, I could extend my dissertation work and try again the next year without having a gap in my resume. The process has been pretty long as most applications for jobs that start in the fall of 2010 were due in the fall of 2009. I made what is called a short-list (the top 2-3 candidates for a job) for 5 different schools and was invited to visit their campus. And as Lady Fortuna would have it, I was offered one job at Gannon University in Erie, PA.

Although I was impressed with some of the aspects of Gannon, Whitney and I decided to reject their job offer. This was not a decision that was made in haste. We took ample time to sit and discuss, and sit and discuss, and sit and discuss (Whit can attest to this). I also ran this decision by my advisers and mentors and they were all in agreement about this particular position. Gannon University is a school that has its professors carry an extremely heavy teaching load. They teach what is referred to as a 4/4 load, which means each professor teaches 4 classes in each semester. (To put this in perspective, both BYU and FSU have their professors teach a 2/2 (this is offset by a heavier research load). Ideally, I'd like to be at a school that has a 3/3 policy. These universities focus more on teaching than research, but ask each professor to spend a more balanced amount of time doing both activities. I was lucky enough to make the short list for two schools like this (Towson University and The University of West Georgia), but did not get the job at either place. As another side note, The job at West Georgia was cancelled about a month ago due to budget restraints so we are glad we didn't get that offer after all!) The 4/4 teaching load is troublesome for a new professor who wants to move jobs within a few years because it sucks away anytime they may have to do research. Ultimately, this hurts their long-term marketability as they would not be a well-rounded candidate for a new job. With this in mind, we made the tough decision to say no.

Having rejected the job offer from Gannon, we moved into "What-Do-We-Do-Now" mode. Although we are not completely certain yet, we have narrowed our options down to 2: we will either stay here in Tally for another year while I finish and apply for jobs or we will move back to Utah for the year while I finish and apply for jobs. Our preference is to try and stay here because it would be a bit easier for me to finish if we didn't have to go anywhere, although I am very confident I will finish anywhere we go. The trick is getting the college to fund me for another year. Our college offers some students assistantships or scholarships to help them get through school. I was lucky enough to get one a few years ago. The problem with these assistantships is that they are only guaranteed for 3 years. Many students in the past have been able to secure a fourth year of funding, but like many institutions, FSU is experiencing budget retraction and there is less funding than there has been in years passed. Currently, we are waiting to hear if I can receive an extra year of funding. If that can fall into place, we will stay here. If not, we will head west. I have talked to my major professor (the guy in charge of my dissertation work) and he is very supportive of both of our options. In fact, he had to move the last year of his dissertation as well so he has been through this and knows how to work through it. To sum it up, we are not choosing between good and bad options, but good and better options.

I am confident that this next year will be great for us no matter where we end up. I experienced some success in a really tough job market and I will be a better candidate this next year with another year of work to put on my resume. We have thought a lot about these decisions and have received some great advice from people-in-the-know on these things. In fact, my major professor patted my back the other day and said, "You have made some tough, but really good decisions lately." That made me feel good, because it is easy to doubt decisions you make that seem so large and important. Thank you all for your love and support. The latest we will know about my funding here at FSU is May 10th, so we will keep you all in the loop as soon as we hear anything.

Love,

Lish

Silly Husband

I have a confession to make. Lish and I watch American Idol religiously. (No, that is not my confession.) My favorite part about watching American Idol? Watching Lish. Why? You'd know if you watched him too. Whenever they sing a song he knows, he always juts out his chin, sticks his tongue out a little, and mouths the words during the chorus. It makes me laugh every time. He reminds me of a little kid. I just love him!

Lish had a Birthday

Shout hooray!

It was a great birthday too, if I do say so myself! His birthday was on Friday, and of course I had to work that day. So I woke up early that morning and got ready for work, but I headed out to the grocery store first. I picked up some cinnamon rolls and some chocolate milk (his favorite breakfast) and made those for him so he could eat them when he woke up. That night we didn't do anything too special. We had an Easter primary activity for the kids in our ward, so I had to go help with that right after work, and Lish came to help as well. Afterward, we just went out to dinner with another couple and just chatted. It was low key, but fun!About a month ago Lish told me he wanted to have a BBQ with some close friends for his birthday. So we held that yesterday. We had a great turnout (everyone who was invited came) and we had a lot of fun! We went to the park and made some burgers and hot dogs, ate a lot, let the dogs play, and enjoyed being outside. It was a beautiful day and a great birthday party!

(The delicious cupcakes I made, thanks to these girls.)

I hope Lish knows how much I love him and how much his family and friends love him. And I hope he had a magnificent birthday!