So much to talk about!

*Fair warning, the formatting was weird on this one when I cut copied text over from word. I'm not going to spend the time investigating why or how to resolve it, so...happy reading! 


Hello there! 

I remember reading in a book once that you could either write about life, or you get out there and go live it. Folks, we have been living life the past couple of months to the fullest! Hence the lack of writing about it :/ 

But I was kindly prompted by a family member to update the blog as it has been a while. So....let's see. 

Cass started second grade in early August and lost a front tooth yesterday. The tooth fairy made a visit right on time and Cass awoke to another $2 bill. That tooth fairy, just amazing. 

Savvy is now a blue butterfly in her preK/daycare. She has a birthday coming up! 

Biscuit is a happy dog and continues to keep guard, watching for tasty tidbits to fall from the table. 

Like y'all we grieved and prayed over all of the awfulness going on in our world all over the place. We decide to do something and be proactive. We invited like-minded people over to our house to talk and that evolved into an actual working group committed to having a positive impact and making a contribution to community policing in Reno. Stay tuned for more updates on that later! 

Matt Smith is contemplating the world and his role in it. He seems to be in a very yogi state of mind. With the big questions. Who am I? Am I making a difference? Ohm....

And here I am, can you contemplate those big life ideas and fold the laundry? Yes? Why thank you sir. ;-) 

All jokes aside, the semester has begun and Dr. Smith's support in shifting to primary caregiver so I can work on this dissertation is in full effect. And much appreciated!

I started my last class in this program! Now some of you are wondering, how is it she is so far in her program and still in class? I have an answer for you! You may find it funny. I didn't think it was funny at first, but I'm slowly coming around to see glimmers of what could be humorous. 

At the beginning of this journey, 3 years ago, I was advised by more than one person that there was a class I did not need to take. The content of the class is how to be a doc student. Not required by the grad school, highly encouraged in our college, it appeared I would not need to take it because I had done my masters here and was already very familiar and comfortable with resources, faculty, etc. Fast forward a few years and through some organizational changes, there is a new group of folks advising me who insist this class is required and mandatory for every PhD student in the college. 

I was frustrated by this decision. And quite bitter as I watched some of my peers skirt this class, and some continue to do so! My inner whiny spirit appeared, "That's not fair! Why do they get to skip it and I have to take it?" 

Then I had a chat with my inner whiny spirit. Not everyone's journey is the same. True, the time I must spend on the tedious and all consuming homework in this class could be spent on my actual research. But, I did space out this last step. I don't have to defend in November, I could shoot for January instead and still meet by 2017 goal. Brightside- I get to meet more interesting people. 

So, I started this class yesterday. The syllabus is chock full of assignments requiring I do things I have already done but am not allowed to submit because they are already done. I started to feel inner whiny spirit come awake and I just had to tell her:

 "Self, suck it up. Do the work. Pass the class." 

This will be my mantra for the next 16 weeks.  And all of the negative energy I could spend complaining about it or fighting about it is wasteful and unproductive. 

I just can't see how we can continue to live life to the fullest if inner whiny spirit is not in check...

Sparks Police BBQ! 

"Momma, I'm going to save my allowance to get a motorcycle helmet so I can ride with daddy."

"I turned on the lights!" 

The girls have passports! Now to plan a fun trip for the whole family, maybe next year. I hear Costa Rica is lovely :-) 

Savvy is in a big girl seat! Both girls have long legs. 

Our campus library has study carrells, first come first serve. I signed up on the wait list last year and got one this year! My own little office where I don't have to put stuff away...

All of my notes and everything just spread out all over with no kids or dogs moving things :-) This is heavenly!

On our way out the door...

Many labs and tests later, my heart doc just cleared me of anything heart related! Yippee! She did however say, because of the symptoms, frequency, and intensity she is 99% sure it is Pleurisy. Now that we've ruled out my heart, we move on to my lungs. Whenever the pain hits, I can take motrin and it will be kept at bay, but they need to figure out if anything is infected and what the underlying cause is. I only need to go to the ER again if I have a fever with the pain or if I pass out. She was surprised that whenever tested I have very low blood pressure, apparently most people would be passing out but I am special and just have lower then normal blood pressure, which could explain the levels of fatigue I experience. She did advise me to keep my inhaler on hand in case it triggers an asthma attack, but was very complimentary of how heart healthy I am.:-)