One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

Don’t let my last post about the worst semester of my life fool you, we did manage to squeeze in a little fun this summer.  Actually, my husband managed to squeeze it in for us entirely on his own.

On May 14, 2011 we celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary.  We are so lucky to have a happy and successful marriage.  These past six years (or eight if you count the year we dated and the year we were engaged) have truly been the best of my life.  I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone but Judd.  God sure did have a great plan when we picked the two of us out for each other.  

As you all know, I was in throes of two statistics courses by the date of our anniversary.  Judd, knowing that I needed a little pick-me-up, made our anniversary so special. 

We had already decided to keep things simple this anniversary.  We bought two Groupons for $50 towards $200 worth of merchandise at a local retailer to put towards a major furniture purchase.  We agreed that the furniture Groupons would be our presents to each other.  Or, at least, that was what I thought.

After a long week at work and school, I awoke on Saturday morning to find a chocolate cake from the same bakery that made our wedding cakes (Olexa’s) and a card (made on stationary Judd created just for the occasion) on our kitchen counter.  I also found these two in the kitchen waiting on me. 

  

 

The envelope read, “To my darling “Gail” on our 6th Anniversary.”  This probably could go without saying but my full name is Abbygail, so that’s where he got Gail as a nickname.  See the card he designed for me.  I loved it.

 

The inside of the card had check boxes for coming gifts he had planned.  He noted that I should use the card to check off when each occurred.  One box noted a surprise trip…

Judd truly is an amazing husband.  He loves me unconditionally.  I am so thankful for him.  He made our anniversary really special. 

Thank you, Dear.

My Summer by the Numbers

Can you guess who submitted her last final paper for the semester today???

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The end to this summer semester could not have come any sooner.  I. AM. EXHAUSTED.  The good news is I just simultaneously finished the last two statistics courses of my life.   Wow, that feels really good to say.  Of course, grades haven’t been posted yet, but I am hoping for the best.

I’ve missed keeping up with all you through the blogosphere.  To catch you up to speed on my life over this summer, here is a recap by the numbers.

Number of weeks in the semester: 12

Number of classes: 2

Number of graded assignments due over the 12 week semester: 69!!!

Yes, you read that correctly.

Number of pages of reading material: 1000s

Seriously, more than I can calculate.  Some weeks there were 300+ pages in addition to 3 or 4 graded assignments.

Number of statistics final exams: 1

Number of final papers due: 3

Number of pages for the first paper: 17

Number of pages for the second paper: 59

Number of pages for the third paper: 28

Number of jobs worked full-time while taking these two classes: 1

Number of blog posts written over the summer: 1 (wow, that is so pitiful.  Do you forgive me?)

Number of times tears were shed: I am embarrassed to comment on that one.

Number of days until fall classes begin: 13 (a.k.a. – not enough)

Ugh.

I read an article not too long ago in The Chronicle of Higher Education about how doctoral students often develop anxiety and paranoia complexes as a result of the constant pressure and judgment they face every day.  I whole heartedly agree with that claim.  To read the article click here.  It was pretty interesting.  Also, what the article describes is me in a nutshell at this particular point in time.

Also, the article mentioned this really great comic strip website for Ph.D. students.  I included an example below because it is really fitting for this stage of my life.  What this comic strip expresses is SO true.  For those of you who are experiencing this or have experienced it, does it make you want to laugh or cry because I am not sure?  Source: www.phdcomics.com

How To: Make Your Own Old Glory

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Hello dear friends,

My how I’ve missed you. I have had so many posts in my head over the past few weeks that I have really been wanting to share with you. I wanted to get this one in before Independence Day. I’ll try to quickly crank it out. Here goes…

This post is a little project I’ve been working on for probably a month. I have only had snippets of down time here and there between work and class assignments. Lately, I’ve been filling them with painting.

Last summer I did a post about some items from Pottery Barn that I thought would be cute for Judd’s parents’ farm. One of them was this.

I thought it would be so cute to paint a true-to-scale flag to hang on the porch. I think the PB one was made of wood. But, I knew we had lots of old tin stored in the barn from when the roof was replaced. I asked my father-in-law if he would mind for me to take a piece home to paint. He thoughtfully obliged and even helped me to pick out a piece that was already cut to the right size.

I used the following items to create my flag.

• tin
• f0am stars
• Rustoleum white spray paint
• red, blue, and white acrylic paint
• painter’s tape
• small paint brushes

Luckily, the tin and paint were things I already had. I found the stars and painter’s tape at Wal-mart. I created this whole project for only a few bucks.

First, I cleaned the tin with a damp cloth and let it dry. Then, I took the tin outside and spray painted the entire front side with a few coats of white Rustoleum paint. When the paint was dry I brought it back in and put it on my dining room table. It’s just way too hot in Alabama to do anything outside for very long. :)

Next, I measured the flag in order to make sure I could fit 13 even stripes from top to bottom. My stripes were about 2” apart. I put down painter’s tape over the stripes that I wanted to remain white. I started from the bottom because I knew I needed six stripes underneath the stars.

Once the bottom stripes were marked off, I began using my foam stars as templates to make sure I could evenly align and fit the 50 stars. The stars had a peel-off sticky backing. Because the tin was corrugated the stars didn’t stick down perfectly; however, they did adhere enough to stay in place while I held them down and painted around them one by one.

When the stars were in place I added some tape along their right edge. Then I carefully painted several layers of navy paint around each star.

Once the navy paint was dry, I removed the stars. I used a small paintbrush and some white paint to touch up just a few little areas. Voila, 50 white stars. Note, this picture was before the touch-ups of white paint.

Then, I taped off the rest of the stripes and filled in the untaped areas with several layers of red paint.

This was after the first layer of paint.

This was after about 4 or 5 layers of paint. Just call me Betsy Ross.

What do you think? I can’t wait to put it to good use.

Judd and I wish you and yours a very fun and safe Independence Day.

School Is Definitely Not Out For The Summer

Hello friends,

This is just a quick post to let you all know that I haven’t given up on blogging.  I love it.  I miss it.   Most importantly, I miss you.  It’s been three weeks since I last posted. 

Why haven’t I posted, you ask?

Here’s why. 

I’m simultaneously taking the two highest level research methods courses (a.k.a. statistics) offered in my program this summer while working full-time.  These courses have already caused tears to shed and have created hours spent reading, researching, writing, calculating, interpreting, and analyzing.  Frankly, I’m exhausted and it’s only June.  My classes started May 10.  Unfortunately, they last until the first or second week in August.

It’s going to be a long summer.    Please add me to your prayer list this summer.  I’ve come to the realization that I can’t do this on my own and without God’s help.  It seems as though I’ve tried that lately. 

I haven’t posted an update about my school progress in a long time.  This semester is the beginning of my third year in my Ph.D. program.  I plan to finish all of my courses, write my first three dissertation chapters, have my proposal meeting, take comps, and get admitted to candidacy this school year.

Once I am admitted to candidacy (which happens after passing comps) I will get IRB approval and will then be allowed to begin collecting data for my research.  It’s going to be an important and stressful year. 

I hope to spend the following year collecting data, interpreting data, and writing my results (i.e. finishing my dissertation).

If all goes according to plan I should be able to finish this nightmare degree in two years (this year and next).  Hopefully, I can have my dissertation public defense either spring of 2013 or summer of 2013.

Please don’t lose faith in my blogging capabilities.  I hope to post at least a few times over the summer.  Blogging is my stress reliever.  It is my time to think about fun things and pretty things and things that DON’T involve focus and concentration.

I sure wish this is what my professors mean when they tell us to study.

Pinteresting

I spy with my little eye…..

lots of posts about Pinterest.

The first one I saw was on Nest Egg.  This post was the first I’d heard about it.  I almost requested an invite that day but decided against it.

Then, the very next day, I saw another post about Pinterest on Blueprint Bliss.  I considered it a sign that I couldn’t seem to escape this thing.  So, I asked for an invite on day two of my Pinterest sightings.

Boy am I glad I did.  It is amazing!!!!  It is like one giant virtual inspiration board for everything from design, to kids stuff, to entertaining ideas, and much more.

As you may have already figured out, you have to be invited to join (but it’s free).  If you would like an invite to Pinterest just leave a comment with your email on this post and I’ll send you an invitation.

Here are a few things I have “pinned” the last few days.

 

 

 

University of Alabama Law School - Tornado Relief Fund

The very serious and grim reality of the devastation felt from deadly tornadoes by the citizens of my home state of Alabama over the past week or so has prompted my last few posts to have a much more serious tone than the usual fluffy discussions on decorating, family, dogs, crafting, etc.  Over the past several days, Judd and I have been reminded time after time of how fortunate we were to have escaped the wrath of the storm and how in need so many in our state truly are at this time.  Please bare with us as we discuss topics that really matter and that may offer ways to help during this difficult time for so many.

This morning I received an email from a friend I’ve had since middle school.  She is one of the FAB.  This friend, Susan, is a law student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa (a city that suffered widespread damage from a tornado with at least an EF4 rating on April 27, 2011).  Her email noted a relief fund set up by the students in the Law School at UA.  If you have been looking for a way to help, this is an option for you.

I cannot even attempt to articulate to you the situation in Tuscaloosa.  I have not seen it with my own eyes.  Susan, however, was there when it hit and has remained there to help with the clean up efforts.  Her boyfriend’s apartment was destroyed.  Thankfully neither Susan or her boyfriend, Charles, were harmed.

Since I cannot relay the message from my own account I will share Susan’s words with you instead.  See the message from her email below.

“My dearest girlfriends,

First of all, please know that I'm not asking any of you to donate to the following relief fund, as I know you have many other expenses to worry about.  I thought, however, that you might be able to forward to employers or others that have the means to contribute. I realize that disaster relief might not be getting much publicity, given the recent capture and killing of Bin Laden, but what you have heard and what I've told you is absolutely true--the devastation is widespread and total in many areas. We helped an old couple the other day who had been in their home for 58 years--and now its gone. Yet, our residents' spirits are high and almost everyone has a good attitude about rebuilding. The faith of these people is amazing and awesome.  But the fact is that these people need help. 

This fund we've set up at the law school has three purposes. First, the funds will be used to help our students and staff who have lost their homes, property, etc. And it will go only to those in true need. As I told some of you, Charles's apartment was destroyed, but he's just fine, and won't need assistance.  Rather, it's for those who have literally lost everything, and those who cannot access insurance payments either because they don't have it (lots of us students don't have renters insurance) or it will just take forever to come through.  Second, the funds will be used to support the law school's general volunteer efforts. We have been out everyday since the tornado hit helping each other and the community. The poorer areas of Tuscaloosa were not as fortunate as many of us were to have so much help and financial support. We have been buying garbage bags, boxes, tools, etc. to help people salvage their belongings, and food and water to sustain the volunteers and to pass out to victims, and even gift cards to give to people to buy the necessities. Finally, the residual cash will be donated to the Red Cross who will probably be here for the long-term recovery.

My friend, Will Booher, is Student Bar Association Treasurer, and he is in control of the money.  I vouch for his integrity, as I know misuse of funds is often a concern of donors.  Again, please don't feel like I'm asking you to give. I'm just trying to spread the word. I attached a picture, too, just to give you an idea as to what happened. That used to be homes, and that picture is what it's like in a lot of different places.  Remember in Twister when Helen Hunt says "You've never seen it skip that house and skip that house, and then come right after yours"? That's what happened. Some places just have a few branches in the yard, and other entire little communities have been literally wiped out.  And this is not to evoke sympathy or make you think that everyone is dead...most people are alive by the grace of God, and now they need our help to rebuild.

The link below is to a Paypal Account (UA Law SBA) where anyone can pay via credit card.  Having a Paypal account is not necessary to use this method of donation.  Here is the link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7PMDWKD3SQYUE

Thank y'all, in advance, for passing this link on!  And thank y'all for checking on me after the tornado hit.  I am so glad that all of y'all that were in the tornado's path are safe as well! 

Love,
Susan”

I hope that by posting this I am helping to aid in the relief effort by spreading the word about this organization.  Please continue to pray for the victims of this storm.

Raining Cats and Dogs???

Yesterday was the first day it has rained since the deadly tornadoes swept through Alabama.  As I mentioned in my last post, we found debris in our yard from the storms.  It was heart breaking to think about the fact that the insulation, shingles, plastic, foam, and wood we picked up were parts of someone’s home, business, or place of worship.  During the storm, our across-the-street neighbor actually saw a whole door floating past her house.  We are so fortunate.  So many in our state are suffering in a way that we cannot even grasp.

All of that debris makes one wonder.  What else landed in our neighborhood?  Could a cat have landed there?  Sadly, over the course of the last few days people have been found miles away from their original locations.  Therefore, it is highly likely that, indeed, a cat could have landed in our neighborhood too. 

You see, last night, the cat question became particularly pertinent.  As Judd and I walked towards our house from the driveway with groceries in our hands we spotted a little and very dirty calico cat sitting on our front porch trying to get out of the rain.  I am a sucker for animals.  Judd is too.  However, the last thing in the world we need is another pet.  Judd promptly said, “Don’t feed her” as he walked in the door.

I dropped off the grocery bags I was holding in our kitchen and immediately went outside to check on the kitty.  She very quickly started loving on me.  She was so sweet.  As soon as I stepped outside she started rubbing her soft head and boney body against my legs and hands.  She felt so thin.

When I sat down on our porch swing she jumped right into my lap.  I motioned through the window to tell Judd that she seemed hungry.

My husband, Judd Langham, who is allergic to cats and who also told me not to feed her, quickly came outside with some of Cole’s dog food for her and some water.  He brought the food out on a  Tupperware lid.  We crushed it up into smaller pieces.  Gosh, I sure do love that man and his compassionate heart.

As soon as he put the dish down the kitty frantically started eating.  She must have been starving.  It seemed to me that she was someone’s cat at one time and not just a wild stray.  She was not afraid of people and she knew how to “love” a human.  I wish I could have sat in that swing all night holding her.  She seemed so content to finally have a lap to sit on.

Sure, she could really be a local stray.  However, we’ve never seen a cat on our porch or in our yard until now.  She also really could be a storm victim.  We’ll probably never know.

She broke my heart when I finally went inside.  She sat outside of our front door all night meowing.  I took the photo below while looking through the window on the front door.

I know it is a long shot, but if anyone recognizes this cat please let us know.  We will do our best to return her to her owners.   

Prayers Needed For Tornado Victims

Hi all. I am just checking in with you.  Judd and I, as well as our families, are fine; however, so many in our state are not.  As you have probably heard by now, powerful storms rolled across Alabama yesterday.

We are so fortunate to have been spared from the storm’s wrath.  We did find debris in our backyard.  We think it was from the city of Tuscaloosa.  What we found was mostly housing insulation and chipped wood.  The same system that swept through Tuscaloosa wreaking havoc also came through Birmingham.  It was just a few miles north of where we live.

So many people in our state and throughout the southeast are hurting today.  Please keep them in your prayers.  The death toll continues to rise.  It is horrific.  The university where I work (UAB) is the only level I trauma center in the state.  The UAB hospital took 134 patients during the night.  As I sit here at my desk today I hear ambulance sirens every few minutes.  We know so many who were affected.  Please, please, please pray for the citizens of Alabama.

We are so thankful to our friends and family who continuously checked on us throughout the evening and who provided us with updated news.  We love you and appreciate your thoughtfulness and concern.

I have attached a news article from NPR on the devastation here in Birmingham.  Click here to read it.

Also attached is a video from CBS news of the devastation at first light this morning.  Click here for the video.

Currently the death toll for the city of Tuscaloosa alone is 36 dead.  600 others were injured.

The death toll for the entire state is so much worse and continues to rise.

Click here to see a list of ways you can help the tornado victims.

Rest

How did you spend your weekend celebrating the resurrection? 

We spent ours in Judd’s hometown—Brewton, AL.  It is such a lovely place.  I’ve posted about it many times.  It is a small town where no one ever seems to be in a hurry (which is such a nice reprieve from my everyday life).  Maybe in actuality the locals do feel the same stresses that I feel at home.  But one thing is certain, I am not a native Brewtonian, so when I am there I leave my work, course load, professional and scholastic pressures, and every day stressors at home.

I don’t have any pictures to share for this post because I did not pick up my camera one time while we were there.  Instead, we rested.  It. Was. Nice.

We spent good quality time with Judd’s parents, brother, sister-in-law, and grandmother.  We went to the farm two days in a row.  We all worked on a few tasks; however, it was pleasurable work.  We worked with our hands to make a place that we love and share even better.  We played a little too.  Our time at the farm consisted of boat rides, fishing, sunbathing, watching the dog swim, alligator spotting, rattlesnake spotting and killing, porch swinging, four-wheeler riding, and work that involved firing up the old blue Ford tractor.

On Sunday morning Judd and I attended Easter worship service with his parents at their church.  It is a quaint rural church.  There were eleven people in the choir.  The simplicity of it all was refreshing to my soul.  The congregation does not have the same “amenities” that are found in our Birmingham church. 

They don’t have a state-of the-art sound system, or special lighting, or an orchestra, or a large screen and projector to display the scripture and the words to hymns.  Instead, they have a passionate pastor and a God-fearing congregation.  They sing from actual hymnals while Judd’s mother plays the piano and they read scripture by holding His Word in their own hands.  It’s a no frills way to worship and I LIKED it.  After all, worship, praise, and learning the Gospel are all we are supposed to be there for anyway.

On our drive home to Birmingham I reflected on our weekend and on our worship experience there.  It was a back to the basics time for us.  It was so refreshing to to really hear the sermon without audiovisual distractions, without having to worry about filling out the sermon outline, without having to listen to the pastor’s voice via lapel mic., and without having to squint to see the pastor from a balcony view.  Instead, it was an up close and personal experience.  I was hanging on every word.

I’m not knocking the high-tech outlets that larger churches use to reach their members.  Like I said, our home church has all of those things too.  It was just nice to have a reminder of what is really required to worship:  You and God.

Coincidently, this morning my cousin sent  me today’s Girlfriends in God e-newsletter sponsored by crosswalk.com.  It contained the following prayer.  I felt it was so appropriate for me.  Maybe it will be fitting for you as well.

“Father, forgive me for the arrogance that keeps me on the run, trying to prove my worth. Teach me how to rest in You, Lord. Help me learn how to say “no” to those things that keep me from sitting at Your feet. Give me a hunger and thirst for You that can only be satisfied by time alone with You. I love You, Lord.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.”

How To: Make A Burlap Bulletin Board

As you may know from some other posts, my husband, Judd, is a landscape architect. Recently, he expressed interest in having a few bulletin boards to put in his studio. And, since I love a project, I volunteered to make them for him. I wanted to use something with a natural feel given his profession. I thought burlap would give just the right amount of texture and earthiness.

The bulletin board project was really easy. However, make sure to iron your fabric before you get started. I forgot and had already stapled a good bit before I thought about it.

Other than an iron, here are a few things you will need to get started.

• cork board (I used an old one Judd’s mom sent with him to college)
• fabric (in this case, burlap)
• scissors
• staple gun
• staples
• tape measure
  

To measure your fabric, lay it out so that it covers a few inches past each side of the board. Make sure you will have enough fabric to pull around to the back side and staple. Then cut where needed. If you want to be really exact or particular use your measuring tape to make sure you have the same amount on each side.

In an attempt to “keep it real” here at TLP I’ve included the picture below. Things are not always as pretty as they appear in blogland. As you can see here, I work best when sitting on the floor, between our dog and my husband, in our living room. We were watching a movie in our less than spotless house. My apologies for the shadow in the pictures. Cole’s dog fanny was casting a shadow on my project. You would think that the sound of a staple gun in use would be enough to wake him. Nope.

The next step is to staple the fabric to the back side of the wood frame starting in the middle of each side. Make sure to pull the fabric taut. Save the corners for last.

Fold each corner to ensure that it is sharp and flat. Play with the fabric until you get each corner just the way you want it. You can think of wrapping a present when folding the corners. It is kind of the same concept.

When all staples are in place, trim the excess fabric from around the corners and along each side.

It should look a little neater when you are finished.

Flip the board over to make sure it is smooth.

Now you have a few options on how to dress up the board a bit. You can keep it plain, just the way it is, if you like a more simplistic look.

Or you can use a piece of the fabric that you trimmed off of the back to make a burlap bow. I attached the bow with a flat push pin.

Or you can use the same piece of trim to add a stripe down your board. Although I thought the bow was cute, I’m pretty sure that was not the look Judd was after. :) Below is what I decided on for his pin up board. There were four flat push pins left in the board from when Judd had it in college. I decided to re-use them as nail heads running down the strip of fabric. I stapled each end of fabric on the back of the board and evenly distributed the “nail heads” on the front.

He can use this little detail to wedge in photographs, notes, etc without having to poke a hole in them. I hope he likes his board. What do you think?