FAVORITE THINGS: K edition

We've spent much of this week being with friends (K's buddy and his family were here for a couple of days because they were without power), playing in the snow, cleaning, and doing A LOT of singing. Our Pandora Sound of Music station has been getting a lot of air time. It appears that K's "Do Re Mi" phase has been replaced by a "Favorite Things" phases.

On Tuesday morning, I caught her singing My Favorite Things while cleaning / dusting. Thankfully she indulged me and started over again so I could capture the moment on video.


on Vimeo.

We've also been singing the ABC song a lot. This video from Sesame Street featuring Tilly and the Wall has become a household favorite. D has also been spending a lot of bath time teaching K her letters. Each night they take a picture of all of the letters and numbers she is able to name. When they started this ritual a couple of weeks ago, there were five letters in the picture. Last night I captured this:

Yes, my baby knows nearly the whole alphabet. I'm so proud.

In non-singing related news, we've been able to get outside some this week and enjoy the snow / ice. K went sledding for the first time on Thursday. She was the first of her three friends to take a ride down the hill. I was so proud.

I love the look on her face in these photos. Yes, the top one is a little blurry, but we were sliding quickly along the icy hill. And I didn't have time to make a lot of camera adjustments before passing my camera off to a friend before our ride.

Much fun was had and that is what is captured in the photos.

A FRIENDLY FOOTBALL REMINDER

Just a friendly reminder that the Steelers are playing in the AFC Championship game this weekend.

I expect you to be praying.

I expect you to watch.

I'm blessed with a friend (and Eagle's fan) who wants to watch the game with me.

HERE WE GO...

FAVORITE THINGS: part III

We are definitely a less is more type of family.

We truly enjoyed the Christmas season and take great pleasure in giving gifts, making gifts and receiving them. For K, we wanted to make Christmas special, but also wanted to keep the focus on the birth of Christ. We tried to do three gifts - just like the gifts from the three wise men. In that spirit, she received some foam letters/numbers and a storage submarine for the bathtub; new crocs, underwear and legwarmers (key items to promote potty training); and a bike.

The bike was definitely a favorite.

She also received EleFun from her friends, E & R. As you can see, it is a lot of fun!

FAVORITE THINGS: part II

This post isn't so much about a favorite thing, but a favorite person...

On Monday, December 20th I successfully passed my dissertation proposal defense. With my presentation and the Q&A behind me, I can honestly say it was a very positive experience. On the day of my defense, I was a mess, to say the least. Three hours before my presentation, I had a dress rehearsal in front of one of my classmates. During said rehearsal, I discovered that one section of my proposal (dealing with analysis of gene-environment interactions and a possible three-way interaction) was extremely confusing. I panicked, but my good friend helped me to simplify my thoughts and reword my slides. With less than an hour to go until my presentation I was fairly calm - I ate lunch and goofed off on my computer. I began my final preparations about 20 minutes before my presentation was scheduled to begin and I freaked out. I forgot to make copies of my slides for my committee and I started to sweat.

I watched as my committee members, faculty, and students entered the room.

I started sweating even more.

I was so glad I went with the black and white dress with a pattern on it instead of the solid black dress. I'm sure I would have had visible salty-sweat rings around the colar and under my arms had I worn the black dress.

I was visibly nervous.

That is when one of my committee members came up to me and spoke these magical words:

"You are ready for this. We wouldn't have let you come this far if we were not sure you could pass. Remember to talk slowly. Take a moment to think before answering any question. And remember to smile. You know more about your topic than anyone in the room. Be proud."

She completely put me at ease.

She smiled as I began my presentation. And she smiled throughout.

She asked me tough, but fair questions. And she always prefaced her questions with a complement. For example, she'd say something along the lines of, "you did a wonderful job explaining X, could you provide the same level of detail about Y."

Her tone and encouragement were life-giving.

She saved me from possibly losing my mind before and during my defense.

On top of that, she volunteered to be one of my official readers for my final defense. This means she will have to read, edit, and provide constructive input for my entire written dissertation within two weeks of my final defense. This is a huge and time-consuming responsibility. And she volunteered with a smile on her face.

She is definitely my favorite teacher of 2010.

She is also on her way to being my favorite teacher of 2011...

This morning I bumped into her and instead of greeting me with a customary "Happy New Year", she greeted me with, "at the end of this year, we'll be calling you doctor."
Talk about making my day.

I'm going to finish my PhD in 2011.

Three cheers for my favorite teacher and all of her words of encouragement both this year and last ---

hip-hip-hooray! hip-hip-hooray! hip-hip-hooray!

FAVORITE THINGS: part I

This December ended with quite a bang. In the final 10 days of the year, I successfully passed my dissertation proposal defense, celebrated my 33rd birthday (or Candy Cane Celebration as Jill likes to call it), celebrated the birth of Christ, enjoyed friends and family, had my last supper at More's, and rang in the new year. Many stories need to be told and pictures need to be shared. To do so, I'm going to write a five-part (possibly more) series highlighting some of my favorite things that happened or I received during the last ten days of 2010.

Part I: my new favorite running gear

I ran a lot in 2010; 1105.24 miles to be exact. And I have plans to run more in 2011 (more to come on goals for the new year in the days to come). For my birthday, D got me a pair of Vibram Five Fingers running shoes. The whole barefoot running movement has really caught my attention and the five fingers look so cool. I was thrilled when I received a pair as a gift. I spent time at my parents house just walking around in them and then experimented with them on the treadmill. It took a little while, but I started to like the way they felt on my feet. Yesterday I went out for my first real run in them. And I LOVED them. I liked feeling my feet hit the pavement; feeling the cold ground beneath me; and the soreness on my bottom and in my lower calves. I'm looking forward to running in them more - including a race sometime this year!

D also got me Chi Running (the book) as a Christmas gift. 

I'm hoping to improve my running, strength, and enjoyment of running in 2011.

I've also wanted a Garmin running watch for the longest time. And over Christmas I scored on on craigslist for half price. The guy I purchased my Forerunner 305 from had only used it three times. It was still in the box and in perfect condition. HUGE SCORE! 

Yesterday I went out for a run with a new playlist, new Garmin, and new Five Fingers (for the last mile of a 4.5 mile run). It was awesome.

I love my new gear! 

My new shoes, new garmin, and new book are high on my list of FAVORITE THINGS from the last ten days of 2010.

K loves my new shoes, too. Here's my little future marathoner trying on her first pair of Five Fingers.

LOST

The final season begins on Tuesday. Since we don't own a TV, we'll be watching it online, and probably not until Thursday. Needless to say, I'm so excited. But also so sad to see it coming to an end.

The previews look amazing. Check it out.