Yes, We ARE Still Alive!

Hello Everyone! I was thinking I would login and the blogger program would ask for multiple forms of ID as I have not been here in a while - and really I have no excuse...aside from the small problem of work and my back getting in the way. The last six months have been a little different than previous ones. The most obvious change is that Justin came home in August from Iraq, and actually MOVED IN with me. We decided we had been married long enough that moving in together really was the next appropriate step. You may be wondering how this has gone? Oddly, aside from some territorial issues with MY closet and MY room and MY bed, pretty good. :) The two cats on the other hand are still working things out. Caroline was nice enough to bring Squishy back "home" in September...Squishy was elated, Cleo was homicidal. It has been several months now...and well, it is a good thing that neither of them has claws. Cleo turns out to be a BIG BULLY. Those of you that she runs and hides from might be surprised by this, but trust me - it is true. Some days Squishy can coexist in the room with her peacefully - other days she gets "whapped" for bring withing a 20 foot radius of Cleo or anything she feels is hers...and well, everything is HERS. We are making progress though, as slow as it may seem. The cats will beg for treats together...and then actually take turns eating most of the time. So see - progress!

Justin started school this semester at Ferrum where I am. This works out well because he get a tuition waiver because I am a Faculty Member, and gets paid monthly by the GI Bill. Well, in theory he gets paid monthly. Right now the DOD is so far behind in processing the GI Bill stuff that they owe us for six months of school. We are quite blessed though that we did not have to pay much out and not get paid like a lot of people. I recently read an article on the delay in the processing of applications and found that each application takes about two hours to process, and there were about 30,000 of them to begin with. Maybe by the end of this semester we will have the money they owe us...? The good thing that I can say is that Justin did get a 4.00 in his first semester with 16 credits. That is a lot better than I did my first semester of college! Justin is looking forward to the next semester where he has a few more challenging classes (he thinks!).

I have honestly spent a lot of time dealing with my back this semester. Those of you with any sort of long term health problem know that sometimes there are "bad" months and there are "good" months. Around the time Justin got home I went to visit him at Fort Sill before he was released to move. While I was in the Detroit airport I fell down a Jetway (those things are steeper than they look!) This led to some increased pain, and oddly, it has been that way ever since. I have had a lot of problems with my legs being numb when I walk (both of them) and just a lot of fatigue. When you are really tired, well tired begets not moving and being "deconditioned". So, I bought a swimsuit and we are going to be going to the YMCA and walking in the pool a lot this semester - causes less stress on the muscles and makes it easier to exercise. I am thinking that will help things a lot - at least according to my pain doctor who I have been seeing for a while. So here is hoping for a better "back" year.

For anyone who is waiting on my Christmas Card/Letter - umm yeah I am working on that. I think that it may be Christmas Cards for Valentine's Day at this rate, but it is the thought that counts right?

For those of you who are football fans, yes - I do have a bit of an opinion on the firing of Mike Leach at TTU. Leach is a BYU Alumni which gives him and his family a few more ties to me personally. I knew his family when I was living in Lubbock and going to church there, even though I did not know him that well personally. Having a faculty position I would have hoped that if I were in Mike Leach's position and on suspension that the administration would have actually did a full investigation into the allegations. Students, like Adam James, are known to exaggerate things. That does not mean those things are right or fair, but when you call your parents it is your chance to vent and complain. I think this is what he did. Then his father did something that was totally inappropriate - he used his position in the media to get what he wanted - which was someone punished. TTU saw it as a way out of the 800K payout to Leach and the $1.6 Million contract buyout...so they fired him for "cause". This is when the story unraveled a bit...and it is sad. I think that Mike Leach did a lot for the TTU Football program, but perhaps it is a good time for a change? I only say that because there is no recourse, but it CAN be something positive. I also believe it will be something VERY positive in a monetary way to Mike Leach when all is said and done. The death threats to the James family are a bit much in my opinion, and totally inappropriate. Although it is encouraging to see the students stand up for something they believe is not fair. Here is one such example of that:



Not really my type of music, but I think that it sums up the situation well. So much for football season. BYU and TTU won bowl games. Sounds great to me despite the large amount of drama surrounding it.

Now looking toward vacation! Justin and I (and Jason actually) are going on the second voyage of the NEW Norwegian Epic in July to the Western Caribbean. It is a 7 day cruise and the ship is going to be amazing! I am not sure I will actually want to get off - aside from the fact that I want my passport stamped! We are leaving on July 23rd, so it will be a nice break before time to go back to school. If you want to see the ship you can at epic.ncl.com!

I might add a little more to this later, but I need to get some other things done right now...hopefully this is enough updating for the current time frame. I will be back to tell you about my Christmas and going to see the nieces, it was the best. I hope that this finds everyone safe and well, until next time!

Allison