Good morning, friends! I hope you are all doing well. Life is pretty status quo right now. It is summer in Alabama, and we have been getting rain pretty much every day for weeks. I don't mind at all because I love rain, but a lot of people are getting really tired of it. It has been much cooler than normal, and I don't think too many people are complaining about that. Right now I hear thunder, so I am guessing that in about a half an hour or 45 minutes there will be a downpour.
I am still waiting for my dissertation to be published. As soon as I got notification from the registrar that I had met all the degree completion requirements, I submitted my dissertation to ProQuest, which is the company responsible for publishing theses and dissertations. Everything happened really fast at first, but once it was actually delivered to ProQuest, I didn't hear anything, so I went to the Q&A page and found out that it can take 8-12 weeks for the dissertation to make it into the database. Regardless, though, my degree should have been released and I should receive my diploma in the mail before too much longer. My graduation ceremony is this weekend. I really wanted to go walk in person, but my university decided to hold another virutal ceremony, so I will be watching online instead.
Right after I passed my defense, Dan emailed a couple of the administrators in the DBA program at CSU and asked them if I could possibly sit on a dissertation committee, and the program director emailed me a couple days later and asked if we could talk. She called me and told me that she would send me some training links and that after I complete everything, she will pair me with a mentor, and eventually, I will be able to chair committees. I have a lot of training to get through, though, and it is going slow because I am also working on my class. I think after my class ends next month, I will take a month or two off to focus on the training and get that finished. I have to take three IRB classes (Institutional Review Board, which is the body that governs ethical research practices), and one of the classes has 34 modules. I am about 1/2 way finished with my first, five module class. I have a long way to go, but I was told that I could take it as fast or slow as I want to.
In other news, Dan and I have decided to sell our camper and our truck. We really enjoyed camping when we lived in Omaha, but after moving doing here, losing my birds, and starting work, neither of us really has much of a desire to disrupt our lives to go out with it. Right now there is a camper shortage, so we should be able to sell it pretty quickly. We plan to take it to a dealer this weekend and have them sell it on consignment for us. We are going to take a bit of a loss, but right now it is doing no good just sitting in a storage lot. It is a really nice unit, so I would love to see someone use it. After the camper sells, we are talking about trading the truck for a Jeep. I have never had a fun vehicle. We are also talking about a convertible of some sort, but we like the utility of a Jeep. After the camper sells, we will make a final decision.
My kitties are doing really well. I had to take both of them to the vet (one on a Wednesday and one the following Monday). I think they had some kind of infection. The vet gave them an antibiotic shot and two different dewormers. I am still giving them one of the dewormers. I swear that it is a never-ending bottle. I have been giving it to them for a week and the bottle is still more than half full. I hope it magically empties in the next few days. They don't really mind the taste of the meds, but the do not like being messed with, so giving it to them every night is a two person job.
My final news is that I plan to book my cruise today. My mom finally figured out who she is bring with her and we nailed down the kind of room we want, so I wam working with a travel agent friend to try to get a good deal. She said she'd let me know today what she figures out for us. April and I will be heading to Disney World for five days in about six months. I am super excited about that trip. Last time we were there, April was sick and had a badly sprained ankle, so I am praying that this trip is less eventful and much more fun.
I just got my downpour, and now the rain is falling gently. I love the tropical downpours we get here. I live about an hour away from both Mobile and Pensacola, and I heard that Mobile is almost a foot above average for rainfall at this time of the year. A weatherman in Birmingham who I follow said that next week is supposed to be drier and warmer, so the rain haters should be happy. I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
IT IS OFFICIAL!!
Hello, friends. I just had to stop in and announce that IT IS OFFICIAL!!! I am Dr. Corcoran! I defended my dissertation on Wednesday, June 2nd. I made the revisions my committee recommended that evening and emailed it back to my chair before bed that same night, and on Friday, June 4th, my chair emailed and told me that the program director of my college had approved my dissertation with no further revisions, which he said has never happened in the 50+ dissertations he has been the chair for. At that point, it was forwarded to the dean for final approval, and I was really hoping that I would hear something by Friday evening, but I didn't. The dean's part of the process is a formality, but that is what makes it official, so until I got the email saying I was Dr. C, I couldn't claim the title. What a journey it has been. And yeah, I should take a nice long break, but I have already signed up for another class. I started a Master of Public Health degree at the university I work for about 3 1/2 years ago (before I started working there), and I decided I want to resume it because I get a 90% tuition discount, so I started my new class on Wednesday. My ultimate goal is really to be a health educator. I have been interested in health for many years, and with obesity at epidemic proportions, both Dan and I have a heart for helping people escape the trap and learn how to not only lose weight, but maintain the weight loss forever and get their health back. With a Ph.D in educational leadership and an MPH, not to mention the holistic health coaching certificate I am working on and my own weight loss, I should have decent crediblity, so we shall see what happens in a couple of years after I finish my degree. In the meantime, I am very happy with the job I have now and have no intention of leaving at least until after I finish the MPH.
I brought my kitties home on May 8th, so they have been with me now for a month now. They are really super sweet. Their names are Charlotte (Charleigh), the tabby, and Isabella (Bella) is the calico.
Bella was a bit standoffish when I first brought her home, but she has really warmed up to me and now she loves to sit in my lap and purr until she falls asleep. Charleigh initially was the one who wanted to be with me all the time, but as she gets bigger, she tends to want to sleep on my desk or on a chair next to me. Emma likes Charleigh a lot, but she tends to growl at Bella. Dan thinks Emma might think that Charleigh is Mimi, the kitten I resuced from my back yard about five years ago. After I was unable to find her a home, my daughter decided to adopt her, so Emma and Mimi basically grew up together. Mimi is also a tabby, so it is possible that Emma feels a kinship with her. I have only let them see the birds a couple of times because they really want to get them and the birds are a little too curious about them.
I finally went and got my hair colored a week and half ago for the first time in about a year. I got it done last summer when I thought I'd have to go back to work, but after they announced I was going to be permanently remote, I just let it go. The whole top of my head is pretty much gray now, and I was getting a bit tired of looking old. Here is a picture of what I had done. I didn't get it cut. It is very long now. It is down to the middle of my back and I let most of my bangs grow out, but I decided to cut a small fringe because I think I look younger with bangs.
In other news, April and I will be taking two vacations next spring. We are going to Disney World for five days in early February, and then we are going to take a cruise with my mom in early April. Disney is about 7 1/2 to 8 hours from where we live, and the port for the cruise ship is an hour away, so all within driving distance. I am really excited about going back to Disney. Last time April and I went in 2013, she got really sick and our two day vacation turned into one decent day and one really sucky day sitting in our hotel room. I am praying that since we will not be flying, she will not get sick. She does not travel well for some reason. My mom has wanted to take a cruise for years, and she was supposed to go with some of her friends to celebrate their 70th birthdays, but their plans fell through, so she asked if we would go with her next year. We will probably do a 5 day cruise to Mexico. Hopefully it will be better than the cruise Dan and I took in January of 2020 when we were fogged in at port for over 24 hours and never made it to Mexico. It was sad.
I hope y'all are doing well. I will make some blog visits either tonight or this weekend.
I brought my kitties home on May 8th, so they have been with me now for a month now. They are really super sweet. Their names are Charlotte (Charleigh), the tabby, and Isabella (Bella) is the calico.
I finally went and got my hair colored a week and half ago for the first time in about a year. I got it done last summer when I thought I'd have to go back to work, but after they announced I was going to be permanently remote, I just let it go. The whole top of my head is pretty much gray now, and I was getting a bit tired of looking old. Here is a picture of what I had done. I didn't get it cut. It is very long now. It is down to the middle of my back and I let most of my bangs grow out, but I decided to cut a small fringe because I think I look younger with bangs.
I hope y'all are doing well. I will make some blog visits either tonight or this weekend.
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Kitties!
Are y'all amazed that I'm writing again within a month of my last post? I am sitting at my desk watching a cat video and trying to get motivated to work on my dissertation. I have to proofread and format it, and then it will be ready to submit to my chair. I should be super motivated, but I'm not. I've just been too distracted with other things (kittens), and work wore me out this week. All I can say is that I am thankful for weekends!
In my last post, I included a picture of Charleigh, the kitten I was planning to bring home. A few days after I posted that picture, we went to meet the kittens, and April and I both fell in love with all the females. She was flip-flopping between the other two, whose names were Brie and Dumpling. She finally decided that she would just take them both, even though she was hesitant about caring for four cats, so I talked to Dan and he acquiesced and said I could bring two home (he's such a softie, lol). A few days later, Lexie, the lady from work, who lives in a strickly pet-free apartment, got found out, so April offered to take mama cat and kittens until they were weaned. Lexie quickly rehomed the boys even though they were a bit too young to be without mama, and April and I picked up mama and the three females on that Saturday evening. April kept her for about a week and half, and when mama cat stopped paying a lot of attention to the babies because she went into heat again, we took her back to Lexie so she can find her a new home.
Anyway, as we watched the kittens interact, we noticed that Dumpling and Brie were pretty much inseparable, and Eclair liked to be off by herself. I really had my heart set on Eclair, though, so April went back and forth trying to decide whether she wanted to keep Brie or Dumpling. She finally decided on Brie, but I realized that Eclair would probably do better without her sisters than either Dumpling or Brie, so last night April and I decided that I will take those two and she will keep Eclair. Here is a picture of my babies.
Dumpling and Eclair are very similar in that they are both tabbies, but Eclair is a little darker and has more or a tortie look to her while Dumpling is more striped. I haven't completely settled on names yet, but I am thinking Eloise (Ellie) for the tabby and Roxanne (Roxy) for the calico. I was going to name Dumpling Charleigh, but it just isn't sticking because Eclair is Charleigh. I had started calling her Ellie, so I think she is going to have to keep that name, and Brie does not look like a Charleigh (not that I really know what a Charleigh looks like). It is possible that I will bring them home today. I am pretty much ready for them, so I will let April decide when she thinks Charleigh (new name TBD) is ready to let her sisters go.
Today is the three year anniversary of moving into this house. A lot has happened in the last three years; hurricanes, remodels, losing pets, etc., but in spite of some sad months, I am still very happy to be here. Today Dan and Ben are going to the beach to talk. I ask for your prayers for Ben. He has gained a lot of weight and Dan wants to try to make him understand that his life is going to be very difficult if he does not get his diet under control. He has asthma and I worry because he is short of breath pretty frequently. As an asthmatic myself, I understand how carrying extra weight can make things worse, and that is part of the reason that I was determined to get rid of the 30 extra pounds I was carrying around. While they are out, I am going to April's house to help her clean, and I may be bringing kittens home with me. :) In the meantime, I am off to read a couple pages of my dissertation. I am contemplating taking a few days off work next week to try to finish (or nearly finish) the dissertation up.
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
In my last post, I included a picture of Charleigh, the kitten I was planning to bring home. A few days after I posted that picture, we went to meet the kittens, and April and I both fell in love with all the females. She was flip-flopping between the other two, whose names were Brie and Dumpling. She finally decided that she would just take them both, even though she was hesitant about caring for four cats, so I talked to Dan and he acquiesced and said I could bring two home (he's such a softie, lol). A few days later, Lexie, the lady from work, who lives in a strickly pet-free apartment, got found out, so April offered to take mama cat and kittens until they were weaned. Lexie quickly rehomed the boys even though they were a bit too young to be without mama, and April and I picked up mama and the three females on that Saturday evening. April kept her for about a week and half, and when mama cat stopped paying a lot of attention to the babies because she went into heat again, we took her back to Lexie so she can find her a new home.
Anyway, as we watched the kittens interact, we noticed that Dumpling and Brie were pretty much inseparable, and Eclair liked to be off by herself. I really had my heart set on Eclair, though, so April went back and forth trying to decide whether she wanted to keep Brie or Dumpling. She finally decided on Brie, but I realized that Eclair would probably do better without her sisters than either Dumpling or Brie, so last night April and I decided that I will take those two and she will keep Eclair. Here is a picture of my babies.
Today is the three year anniversary of moving into this house. A lot has happened in the last three years; hurricanes, remodels, losing pets, etc., but in spite of some sad months, I am still very happy to be here. Today Dan and Ben are going to the beach to talk. I ask for your prayers for Ben. He has gained a lot of weight and Dan wants to try to make him understand that his life is going to be very difficult if he does not get his diet under control. He has asthma and I worry because he is short of breath pretty frequently. As an asthmatic myself, I understand how carrying extra weight can make things worse, and that is part of the reason that I was determined to get rid of the 30 extra pounds I was carrying around. While they are out, I am going to April's house to help her clean, and I may be bringing kittens home with me. :) In the meantime, I am off to read a couple pages of my dissertation. I am contemplating taking a few days off work next week to try to finish (or nearly finish) the dissertation up.
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
Friday, April 16, 2021
World's Worst Blogger
I am officially the world's worst blogger. Life has just been really busy, and time flies. Since I last wrote, I have basically finished up my dissertation. I just need to format things and proofread for typos and other mistakes. I will probably turn it in to my chair in about a month, and I should be finished completely shortly thereafter as long as my committee doesn't want me to make a bunch of changes. Dan ran all my statistics for me, so I will need him to explain everything to me before I defend, but it shouldn't be too hard because I have a pretty good idea of what is going on. I am pretty excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel :)
In about the middle of January, we started tearing into our floors, and I am happy to say that after a couple months of mess, my house is pretty well back to normal. We have a couple of closets to do, and Dan has to reinstall the quarter round around the baseboards, but those are minor projects. I also need to paint most of the house, but we decided to wait until fall. I want to enjoy the summer and not be fixated on home improvements, and Dan worked so hard that he really deserves a break. Since I am permanently remote, I decided to turn the room that was the bird room before Ben moved out into my office, and it turned out really nice. I painted the walls a neutral beige color and it made the room warm and inviting. I bought a couple of bookshelves and a printer cabinet, which make it feel like an office. Now I just need to hang up a couple of pictures and I will be finished.
After almost three years of living in Alabama, Dan and I finally found our gumption and got back on the WFPB wagon for good. We had so many false starts over the years. The only advantage to the false starts is that I didn't let myself completely go, but I never could make it past a month or so before I caved and we went out for Mexican food and margaritas. My last margarita was on February 19th, which was my year anniversary back to work. The next day, I started eating healthy and I never looked back. Once I realized that I was in this for life, I decided to sign up for a holistic nutritionist certificate program, and I started last week. I probably should have waited until I am finished with the dissertation, but I have six months to finish it, and because I care about it, I shouldn't have any trouble keeping myself motivated. I have been coaching my supervisor. She finally decided that keto wasn't working for her, which was my opportunity to tell her about WFPB eating. She was desperate enough to try it because of some health issues, and she is completely ecstatic about the results so far. She thought she would add a little meat back into her diet after about three weeks, but she is feeling so good that she has no desire to eat it now. I am so stinking proud of her. I do whatever I can to encourage her, and I think she really appreciates it. It has definitely helped us bond further, too.
Aside from all that excitement, I have three pieces of recent news. Two are not that exciting, but I am pretty excited about one of them. First, I got my COVID vaccine last week. I got the J&J vaccine just before the paused its administration. I am not too concerned about adverse side effects. Aside from feeling dizzy right after I got it, I had no pain in my arm and no illness. My kids got the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and they both felt a little rough today, but I think they are feeling better now. Second, on Wednesday we drove to Pensacola and watched a hockey game. I went to a couple of hockey games about 25 years ago, and I forgot how much fun they are. I will definitely go see more games next season. Finally, at the beginning of May, I will be adding a new addition to my little family.
At work we have a message board, and a lady posted that she has six kittens that need homes. April has been wanting to add a new female kitten to her home, so I sent her the lady's contact information and she sent an inquiry, but she didn't get a response, so today I reached out to the lady and they started texting back and forth. April sent me some updated pictures that she got, and I fell in love with this little girl. I asked Dan if I could get her and he finally relented, lol. We may get to go meet them on Sunday afternoon. I haven't settled on a name yet, but on my short list is Charlotte (Charleigh for short), Olivia (Livvy), and Theadora (Teddy). I was also considering Delilah, Dinah, Bella, Chloe, Kiki, and Thomasina. Maybe when I see her, I'll just know what her name is. Right now, her name is "Eclair." :D
Well, that is about all I have for now. With my track record, I'll just say that I will see you all again in about six months, lol.
In about the middle of January, we started tearing into our floors, and I am happy to say that after a couple months of mess, my house is pretty well back to normal. We have a couple of closets to do, and Dan has to reinstall the quarter round around the baseboards, but those are minor projects. I also need to paint most of the house, but we decided to wait until fall. I want to enjoy the summer and not be fixated on home improvements, and Dan worked so hard that he really deserves a break. Since I am permanently remote, I decided to turn the room that was the bird room before Ben moved out into my office, and it turned out really nice. I painted the walls a neutral beige color and it made the room warm and inviting. I bought a couple of bookshelves and a printer cabinet, which make it feel like an office. Now I just need to hang up a couple of pictures and I will be finished.
After almost three years of living in Alabama, Dan and I finally found our gumption and got back on the WFPB wagon for good. We had so many false starts over the years. The only advantage to the false starts is that I didn't let myself completely go, but I never could make it past a month or so before I caved and we went out for Mexican food and margaritas. My last margarita was on February 19th, which was my year anniversary back to work. The next day, I started eating healthy and I never looked back. Once I realized that I was in this for life, I decided to sign up for a holistic nutritionist certificate program, and I started last week. I probably should have waited until I am finished with the dissertation, but I have six months to finish it, and because I care about it, I shouldn't have any trouble keeping myself motivated. I have been coaching my supervisor. She finally decided that keto wasn't working for her, which was my opportunity to tell her about WFPB eating. She was desperate enough to try it because of some health issues, and she is completely ecstatic about the results so far. She thought she would add a little meat back into her diet after about three weeks, but she is feeling so good that she has no desire to eat it now. I am so stinking proud of her. I do whatever I can to encourage her, and I think she really appreciates it. It has definitely helped us bond further, too.
Aside from all that excitement, I have three pieces of recent news. Two are not that exciting, but I am pretty excited about one of them. First, I got my COVID vaccine last week. I got the J&J vaccine just before the paused its administration. I am not too concerned about adverse side effects. Aside from feeling dizzy right after I got it, I had no pain in my arm and no illness. My kids got the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and they both felt a little rough today, but I think they are feeling better now. Second, on Wednesday we drove to Pensacola and watched a hockey game. I went to a couple of hockey games about 25 years ago, and I forgot how much fun they are. I will definitely go see more games next season. Finally, at the beginning of May, I will be adding a new addition to my little family.
At work we have a message board, and a lady posted that she has six kittens that need homes. April has been wanting to add a new female kitten to her home, so I sent her the lady's contact information and she sent an inquiry, but she didn't get a response, so today I reached out to the lady and they started texting back and forth. April sent me some updated pictures that she got, and I fell in love with this little girl. I asked Dan if I could get her and he finally relented, lol. We may get to go meet them on Sunday afternoon. I haven't settled on a name yet, but on my short list is Charlotte (Charleigh for short), Olivia (Livvy), and Theadora (Teddy). I was also considering Delilah, Dinah, Bella, Chloe, Kiki, and Thomasina. Maybe when I see her, I'll just know what her name is. Right now, her name is "Eclair." :D
Well, that is about all I have for now. With my track record, I'll just say that I will see you all again in about six months, lol.
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