Hi, hello there. A small hiatus while we were getting ready for Steph to head out to Minneapolis. Also my computer hard drive has crashed and so no computer for now. I'm house/dog sitting for some friends who kindly offered me the use of their laptop.

So several things I've been meaning to blog about.

First, and most important, Steph's dissertation defense was great. It was hard waiting all summer, but it was great. Like we thought, Greg Martin gave her amazing feedback and they were all incredibly encouraging. They said she needs to publish it, and that it oculd be career making. Yay Steph! The cool thing, and I think something that really put her mind at ease was that the majority of suggestions they made she had already talked to me about. She knew what needed to be done to move the project forward. She a total academic, and now she knows it and believes it of herself. She's humble. I'm not. She kicks so much ass! And I am so excited for her. So she is off to Minneapolis for a 9 month teaching gig. She left a couple of days ago and even though we are old hat at this long distance thing, we're still pretty sad about having to be apart once again. I'm more worried this time because it's me keeping our home base...taking care of the animals and such. But I know I can do it and staying here means I can keep my job, which I really like. Her next step is getting applications out there for assistant professor positions this fall. I am going to try and meet her in Memphis for a conference she's presenting at as well as a week/week and a half over the Christmas holiday in Chicago and Minneapolis. It should be fun. And even though it will be cold as hell, we love Chicago!

So my plan, once my trusty laptop is again up and running is to write a novel in nine months.

I am not excited to be bussing it around Albuquerque again, though I have to say, after being stuck ten miles outside of Roanoke, VA it's great that I can pretty much go where I want when I want. Also our neighborhood is so great, the studetn ghetto, but tons of coffee shops, great/cheap eateries, etc. Also the beautiful grassy campus is Chloe's backyard really. Great for long walks.

Before Steph left we joined Aggie and Sally at the Keb'Mo Robert Cray concert at Isleta Casino. It was an amazing concert. The venue was such a pleasant surprise. Once we picked up the tickets at will call we were told we would need to bus it to the location. We stepped outside and and boarded the bus. We'd never been to Isleta before and with the monsoon season at hand we had several concerns because it was an outdoor event. We didn't realize it and so weren't really dressed for sitting in the grass, if there was grass. It turned out so great. There were chairs set up outside and when they played we could see a sky full of stars, large moths and fireflies danced around in the light from the stage. It was pretty spectacular, and then the music, which was so amazing. The tickets were super affordable and I feel like we got more than our money's worth.

Well the ladies are home. I'll blog more when I have the chance.