Graduate School is over...

So... it's official, I have taken my last class for my master's degree at UAB.  However, it will not be official to me until I receive that pay raise and a diploma in the mail.  UAB does not offer commencement ceremonies in August, therefore I must wait until December to walk.  I do not have a problem with this, because I will already be there since my sister, Katie ,graduates in December.  I might as well get credit, so I am going to walk. 

I'm very curious as to what I am going to do with my time now that I do not have to focus on school work.  I am not going to know what to do with myself.  I am trying to talk Spencer into buying me a monogramming machine.  (Hint Hint)  Anyway...I really need to post some pictures of Spencer's birthday, but I thought I would update everyone with my school status first. 

Check back for Spence's birthday pictures. 

Our New House on Laredo Drive

Okay, so I have been promising to show some pictures of what we have done.  I took a few today so I am going to share what I have. 

This is the front of the house (obviously)

  This is our wonderful 40ft. back porch that Spencer built about three years ago. 

This is the view from up near the street.

Here's Buddy sunning in his new backyard.  I love being able to let him out and not have to watch him.  It's fenced in so he can't go too far.

Piper taking it easy in the shade on the porch.

Bella dug herself a hole to lay in.  Apparently it's hot outside.

This is all the brush, Spencer, my parents, and myself pilled up for the city of Hoover to pick up.  We just did a "little" cleaning up. 

A view from on the deck.  It is quiet massive.  Great for entertaining. 

Our family room.

The view of the family room from the kitchen.

  The dining room.  I love the blue walls.  Normally I am not a big fan of blue, but this particular shade turned out to be fabulous!!!

Another view.

Okay, so that about sums up what we have done so far.  We still have some pictures and mirrors to hang, but we are definitely in the house.  

We've Moved In

Now, of course not everything is its place, but we are in!!!  Today was completely exhausting once again.  My parents came over and thought they would help tidy up the yard.  It was major destruction.  They trimmed tree branches, cut down trees, used the weed eater, mowed grass, etc.  Needless to say the yard looks great.  But, we weren't finished here. Since my dad brought all of his tools, Spencer thought we should go down to the Deo Dara house and spruce it up as well.  That was a lot of work too!  We cut the grass, edged the sidewalks, blew the driveway, sidewalks, and patio, trimmed the bushes and Dad killed all the weeds and stuff he didn't like with this magic concoction he came up with.

Spencer and I then came back home and unloaded the truck with a few of the things we had left.  (We have still yet to bring the stuff in the garage) We also attempted to set up the washer and dryer.  It's set up, but now I think the washer is broken.  I am going to have to look into that tomorrow.  Then...Spencer and I took cold showers (the gas still has not been turned on) and sat down to watch some cable, now that we have it.  But, it doesn't work at all.  We are thinking we have a bad cable line.  Last night the cable sparked, Spencer said cable lines are not supposed to spark.  So this another issue Lindsay is going to have to look into.  If it is not one thing it is another.  But, I have access to the Internet so I can work on my school work and finish graduate school on Thursday, so I can't complain too much.  Once I get things a little more organized I will take pictures and post them.  Check back soon!

Shout out to Mom and Dad:  Thanks a million for your help in the yard!  It looks great, and you can see the front door!

Katie's Poem for Dr. Burns

Ode to the Bee

On my page lies the bee,

I chased around the yard ‘til he exhausted me.

I finally caught him in an old fruit jar,

And watched him die on the kitchen bar.

I hope his life was worth it all,

In the name of science he gave his all!

I taped his butt upon the page,

For Dr. Burns to have a gaze.

His life will be remembered each and every day,

If all this trouble results in an A.

By: Katie Belcher

July 23, 2008

 

So, my sister had to write this poem for science class.  I thought it was rather funny so I decided to post it to the blog.  Hopefully she will receive an A for all of her troubles. 

We're Moving In.....It's official

Okay, so Lauren just connected me to the Internet through my router!  She is an absolute GENIUS!!!!  Spencer and I have had this router since March and it has never worked.  All it took was a real woman to make this work.  I of course am not computer savvy, but apparently Lauren is.  So....Shout out to Lauren, Thanks a million!!!

Now, that I am connected to the Internet I can blog about our adventures of moving into the new house.  Of course, I don't have any pictures available at the moment.  But, later on in the weekend I should have some available. 

Tonight will be our first official night at Laredo. Spencer asked some of his employees to come over and help us.  They are doing an awesome job.  Betty, April, and I (oh, and Owen and Henry) did the majority of the moving during the week, so all the guys had to do was move the really heavy stuff.  Lauren and Russell are also over here helping us as well.  So....I just thought I would update everyone on our progress, pictures will be coming soon.  Goodnight :)

A Little Stressed?

Okay, so I am not sure I could add anymore to my plate. Currently I am finishing up with the last two weeks of graduate school.  WooHoo!!  While this should be a very enjoyable time, it's not!  Not only am I finishing up with final projects (I'll get to that in a minute), but we are moving.  As I am sure you have read in a previous post, we are once again moving up the street.  The major move will take place this weekend.  However, Spencer's mom (Betty) and I are cleaning and moving small things in anticipation of the "Big Move."  It's just crazy around this place.  I feel as if my nerves are about to pop out of my skin.  Our current house is a wreck because we are of course packing up things, and the other house is empty and things need to be taken there.  I feel as if my life has been turned upside down, and I have no control.  If you cannot tell, this somewhat upsets me due to my somewhat anal personality.  I can be very impatient at times because I want things done NOW!!!  And we all know it doesn't always happen that way. 

There are still "small" things to be done as Spencer would say, but we all know how long a Roden minute is and how usually our small projects are not that small.  The fridge, dishwasher, and washer and dryer still must be moved.  This is stressful because Spencer always says it won't take long and it ends up being a MAJOR project. 

I am also concerned about the fact that we haven't turned on cable at the new house.  Not because I want to watch TV (when do I have time for that?), but because I need access to the Internet for school projects.  Hopefully, Spencer will handle this matter tomorrow. 

I never realized how much "Stuff" one couple could possibly have.  We have only been married three years, but it looks like 30!!!  Luckily the house on Laredo Drive is larger so every little thing will have it's place, for now that is!

Well, school is finally coming to an end.  I really thought I was finished with major projects, however I receive an email today from my professor and she attempts to explain how to complete our final.  It seems very confusing and basically just something I do not want to think about at this time.  However, we all know I will work through it and finish, it's just really crazy with us right now. 

So, if you are looking for a community service opportunity, I am sure helping Spencer and Lindsay move counts!  :)

I Passed My Comps!!!

Comps is a comprehensive exam that consists of three questions that must be responded to in written format.  You have three hours to answer three questions and you do not know the questions ahead of time.  You have an idea of the topic, but you are not sure of the exact questions.

Comps are given the semester you are expected to graduate.  I took Comps as an undergraduate student at UAB as well as a graduate student.  Comps are UAB's way of determining whether or not you know what you are talking about when it comes to theories and theorists.  Questions can consist of topics such as: alternative assessments, process vs. product, balanced literacy program, modernism vs. postmodernism, principles of teaching, teaching models, etc.  So you can only imagine I did a little bit of studying :)

I am very relieved this step of graduate school is over.  It is a big relief off of my shoulder.  Now I am just counting down until the 31st day of July, which will be my last class as a graduate student!!! 

Remodeling Laredo Drive

So, if you don't know by now, Spencer and I are once again moving.  And once again we are only moving up the street.  We love this neighborhood, I guess we just can't decided on what house we want to live in.  Hopefully this time it will be for at least 4-5 years.  We are moving into Spencer's parents old house.  The house Spencer lived in the entire time we dated.  The renters just moved out and we are busy doing some minor remodeling in preparation of our move in.  Spencer did the majority of the remodeling before the renters moved in, when Betty and Sandy were trying to sell the house.  We just decided to scrape the ceilings to make them smooth, repaint several rooms, and enlarge the laundry room to make a mud room.  We will be able to move in a couple of weeks.  Our goal is to be moved and settled before I have to go back to work. 

This is the den.  You can see where the ceiling has been scraped. 

This door and wall around the door came down and the wall to the left of the door extended down.  I'll have to take more pictures to make this more clear.  But, right now this is what has been going on with us. 

My 15 Seconds of Fame

So, let me begin my saying, "This was all Spencer's idea."  He came home one day, actually I called him as I was leaving UAB from taking my Comps.  He asked me to pick up a Sharpie and a bright piece of poster board.  I ask him why, and he said because he has a car sitting in our front yard that he is going to give away if someone will purchase our house for what we are asking.  I like to believe Spencer knows what he is talking about and has our best interest in mind, so I stopped and picked up a Sharpie and a bright orange poster board. 

So, for the last couple of weeks we have had a Ford 500 sitting in front of our house with a sign that says, "Free with the Purchase of this Home."  Well, apparently Brenda Ladun lives in our neighborhood and saw what we were trying to do in order to sell our house.  She thought it was interesting and suggested to Ebony Hall that they do a piece on incentives to buy a house. 

Spencer and I were up at Laredo Drive making decisions on what we wanted to do to it before we moved in when we got the call.  It was Ebony Hall and she was in front of our house and wanted us to comment on camera what we were doing to try to sell the house.  Spencer told her that we just weren't comfortable talking on camera.  We decided to head back down the hill to see what was going on.  Once we got there and started talking to her she convinced me to go on camera.  So I did. I don't have the video of what I said, but if you check out my friend Cassie's blog she does.

I have had many people say, "I saw you on TV trying to give a car away!"  So then I must tell this story all over again.  :)

 

Mom's 50th Birthday

Well, on June 28 my mother celebrated her 50th birthday with friends and family at the lake.  My parents have their camper set up on Lake Guntersville and enjoy visiting every weekend from March until October.  Here are few pictures I took from this exciting milestone!!

This is one of the poster's her friends created.  It was placed on the sign at the front gate.  As you can see Riverview Campground is the home of happy campers!

 

My sister, Katie and myself posing for a picture

My mom and I toasting to her 50th birthday.  She has sparkling apple cider and I have the "real stuff." 

My mom's sister, Allison (my aunt).  She lives in Vienna, VA.  Can you see a family resemblance?

The campground lit up at night.  I thought this was a pretty cool picture.

Mom's yummy birthday cake!  Well, at least everyone else said it was yummy, everyone knows I don't eat sweets.

Mom just opened her gift from Joycie.  Allison said it is called a "what not."  Apparently it is just one of those items you receive as a gift you are supposed to use to help decorate your house.  As you can see Mom is a little confused on what to say about her new "what not."  It will go perfectly with her new ironing shoes Joycie also gave her.  (Just ask and I will explain) 

Happy Birthday Mom!  I hope it was a great one!