Kids visit

As you know from a previous post the kids were with me for the past week or so. Grant came first, for a few days, then both of them stayed this past week. We did a lot of fun things - went for a hike, went kayaking, went to the pool, played charades, got school clothes - and ate some unique food for them - Indian, Thai, and Mexican. Tamar is my best chef friend so she also came over and made some delicious meals as well. She made saucy asian meatballs with rice, tostados, chocolate covered pretzel bites, and baked french toast (my absolute favorite!).

Natalie also enjoyed coming to class with me for a few days. She sat right in front and took notes during mine and Tamar's lectures (Tamar was a guest speaker this week). Natalie then wrote a nice essay summarizing the information. I tell you, she did a better job than most of the students in my class could have. Hopefully she will send it to me soon so I can post it.

Grant started writing a novel. He has read several zombie books and watched all sorts of thriller/horror movies so of course the book is about zombies. Hopefully when he finishes it I can post some of it here too. Today they went back to Jax and I cannot wait to get some sleep!

Natalie helping Tamar in the kitchen

Grant working on his novel.

Gonna be A LOT of saucy asian meatballs...

Yum!

The final plate, garnished and all.

These are pretzels with p-nut butter and brown sugar in between and then dipped in chocolate. SO GOOD

Dinner for the second night - shrimp tostadas.

Graduation surprise and housework

This weekend my parents and brother came up to help do some housework and take most of my things down to Jacksonville for storage while I'm away. My brother and dad installed a new french door (my sliding glass door had broken) and fixed a toilet while mom did a whole bunch of yard work. Grant helped by cleaning out the gutters and Natalie was around for odds and ends. Brendan was also able to come over and help move/load furniture and boxes. This week the kids are staying with me to hopefully have some summer fun before I leave. I have a TON to do this week (teaching and taking a class really take it out of me) so hopefully we can squeeze some fun in there somewhere. Today I am trying to catch up on emails and class stuff and Natalie is being a super helper by grading my students' exams for me (just the multiple choice, I'll do the short answer...).

In other news, I got a fun delivery on Saturday. It's a cookie cake from Sabrina, one of my all time favorite people. She addressed the card to 'Dr. Mabizkit' (pronounced MA-Biz-kit). It is telling of how long we've been friends, I think we made up that joke sometime early in high school. Natalie read the cookie cake and said "does that mean good-bye or something in another language?" Something like that... Thanks Sabrina!!

Charlie Houdini

The other day when I came home I heard a loud metal bang as I opened the door. Charlie enjoys being in a metal crate sometimes so I figured he just came running out of that when I opened the door. When I walked into the kitchen, however, I found the oven door open and the bottom of it covered in dog hair. Charlie was in the oven! I don't know how long he stayed in there but thankfully I don't think it was long and the door didn't (I think) close back on him. It had been thunder storming so I am pretty sure that was what prompted him to hide in the oven. It was funny and also a little scary at the same time.

Today when I found myself in similar situation. It had been thunderstorming and when I came home Tank came running to the door but not Charlie. Tank ran into the kitchen and I followed thinking Charlie was probably in the oven again. I heard shuffling in the cabinet and this is what I found.

Hiking in the rain

Yesterday Brendan, Grant, and myself went for a hike at Watson Mill, a state park about 30 minutes away. It was a fun adventure, we pretended like we were characters from LOST and then talked about what we would do if we were really stranded in the woods. It very quickly turned into "who would we eat first" and Grant and I battled it out to convince Brendan we were the most valuable. Then we went to the shoals where Brendan and Grant slid down the rocks. I've been there a few times before and had my fill of slipping and risking breaking an ankle. We ended the night with some Indian food (Grant's first experience) which was quite delicious.

An eventful trip to Florida

The past few days have been full of excitement – some parts better than others. It all started on Thursday, the day before my doctoral defense. My parents and the kids were set to come up that afternoon to install a new door and do some general fix-it things around the house. Instead, Wednesday night my mom felt ill and ended up spending the night in the ER. After several tests, the doctors determined it was her gall bladder and that it needed to come out right away. She went right into surgery Thursday evening and stayed in the hospital until Friday. With dad not being able to talk, Kevin and I alerted the masses and were able to get the family on board pretty quickly. Then, Friday morning was my doctoral defense - I passed! I gave this event its own post. 


After a few more meetings I had my car packed and was ready to head to FL to see mom and try to take a little break from school. On my way between school and the house I stopped at Brendan’s and as soon as I got out of the car I hear all of the air spewing out of my rear tire – it went flat!  After Brendan changed the tire in the 1000 degree heat I headed over to Goodyear to get a new one. I decided not to travel at night and postpone my drive for Saturday. Then, Saturday I got up and started my drive to FL. About half way down, my car overheats! I pull over, add water to the radiator and reservoir and continue my drive. It continued to run hot all the way home and I had to stop several times. It took me almost 2 extra hours to get home. I was hot but poor Tank was in the car with me and he was really suffering. Every time I stopped to put water in the car I had to get him some water too.  Needless to say we made it home safe and I will be taking one of my parents’ cars back to Athens when I leave. 


Mom is doing well, recovery seems to be pretty quick and she is in very little pain. Dad is also doing well. He doesn't have a voice but I think he is pretty easy to understand. Maybe I just know him well enough to be able to predict what he would say. I also try to always find food that he can eat and so far this trip I've found re-fried beans, guacamole, butterscotch pudding (one of our favorite flavors), mandarin chicken, chow mein noodles, and beef/broccoli. 


Here's a video of dad telling Dewey to do tricks. It is pretty impressive to watch Dewey respond even though dad can't talk. One of Dewey's go-to responses is to howl when dad wants him to do a trick but funny enough, dad can't 'speak', Dewey doesn't either!

Dr. Melissa Bright

Friday was my dissertation defense day. The defense is partly about my dissertation, which was about statistical techniques for comparing physiological activity in mothers and their children (yawn, I know), but also the last chance for my committee to ‘test’ me about anything I should know before earning a PhD. I got some typical questions such as “what would you change about this study?” “who cares about this information?” and some very abstract questions like “define behavior.”  So, I guess it’s mostly official, I am Dr. Melissa Bright. I don’t feel like it will sink in until graduation day, or maybe even after. I have met all the requirements for graduation so technically I could do nothing more between now and August 4^th and I will still earn the PhD. Friday didn’t feel too much different than any other day and I certainly don’t feel any different. Maybe it will sink in the first time I introduce myself to someone (probably in an academic setting) as Dr. Melissa bright. I’ve written it three times in this post alone and it still feels the same…

This is a little motivational sign I made for myself about a year ago to remind myself that all I have to do is write (that's the basis of a PhD, really) to finish and get to Australia. I had 4 major benchmarks and I crossed  off each one as I finished them. 

Happy 4th of July!

Fourth of July is my absolute favorite holiday of the entire year. I love fireworks, the heat, being on the water, all of it. This year, however, I chose to ignore the holiday. First, who let the 4th fall on a Wednesday? I, like many other people, had to work the day before. Second, my defense is tomorrow (the 6th) so I needed to practice. Third, I found out that I didn't get the post-doc funding I applied for (to work at Johns Hopkins University) so I was a bit bummed about that and really interested in getting working on my revision application. Finally, my family was set to come into town today so I had a lot to do around the house. I was still able to spend a few hours by the pool with Tamar, followed by some delicious watermelon and an early evening run with Shirn (Brendan's sister-in-law). Tomorrow is a big day so today I'm going to practice one more time, get in a nice run, and maybe take some nyquil to ensure I get good rest.....

Dentist visit and Walky Dog

This week Charlie had his first dental cleaning. It's something that many dogs never have done, mostly because it can be expensive but also because owners don't generally realize their dog needs it. Poor dental health can lead to poor all over health in dogs just like in humans, such as bacteria to the heart, liver problems, etc. At his last check up his vet noticed a good amount of build up on his teeth and recommended a cleaning. For the procedure I took him in around 7:30 in the morning, they started the procedure around 9 and ended around 11:45a. He was sedated for the entire thing so they keep him in the office until around 4pm for observation. When I picked him up he was very excited to see me (who wouldn't be?) and the vet said he was the favorite pet of the day. I have a feeling they say that to many (if not all) owners but I just know they meant it with me.

So excited to be home. 

Look at those pearly whites.

That same day I received a package I ordered a week or so ago. I've been wanting this toy for a long time and I finally did it. It's called a WalkyDog, a special device for walking your dog while riding your bike. I love taking the boys out on bike rides but have in past had to hold the leash in one hand. Riding that way has never been a problem, we've had no major accidents, but I just really really wanted the Walkydog. I bought it from a mom and pop company TheDogOutdoors and in the box with the device was a dog treat - how special! Because I got it on Charlie's dental day Tank tried it out with me. We love it!

ps. Brendan put the video together. I was just going to get a simple shot and call it a day but of course the film maker needed to jazz it up.