October 2012 - Riedel fam update

And we're back!  So, another 14 months later, here I am again.  And, once again, so much has happened in that time span.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Gavin turned 2 on August 10.  He is going to a great little preschool on Classen Road and is enjoying it very much.  He has yet to talk very much, so we had him assessed by a speech therapist, who turned around and told us that he was actually above the regular intelligence level of kids his age.  Of course we knew that, but it was nice for that to be confirmed.  I think he will eventually come around with his speech.  Tonight, when reading "The Mixed Up Chameleon" by Eric Carle, he said "purple" and "yellow" while we were saying the colors of the rainbow - without being prompted!  He also said "Noah" while pointing at the picture that our friend Amanda Rogers painted for him in his room.  Joy!
• Derek successfully defended his dissertation in late June this year and officially has his Ph.D. now.  He will walk the stage this December, but since that day in June I have had to call him "Dr. Riedel" whenever we are in public....just kidding.  He continues to stay very busy with teaching (four classes this semester!) and also coaching his track and cross country runners.  UIW is planning to go Division I next year, so he has his work cut out for him!
• I am still working hard on my MLS degree.  In fact, I am almost done!  I am in the middle of my next-to-last semester right now, which includes a class on Rare Books and an online internship with the University of Houston Digital Libraries.  It is a tough semester but I feel like I am handling it okay so far!  Next semester I just have one more class and then my comprehensive exams, then I should graduate in May.
• I got a new job at UTSA!  After working at the Academy for Teacher Excellence for seven years, I applied for and got a job as a Research Award Administrator with the new Research Service Center for Math and Physical Sciences at UTSA.  Basically they decided to split up the central grants office and make six of these service centers (one for each college/area) to better serve the faculty.  I started September 1 and it has been great!  I am learning a lot and am excited to be in on this new initiative.

That pretty much brings us up to speed.  And now I must go do homework.  Thanks for reading!

I'm back!

After updating my profile on Facebook this evening, I discovered/remembered my blog - ha! I guess it's been about 18 months or so since I last posted on here, and of course a lot has happened since then. Most important: I have had a baby! His name is Gavin, and I am ashamed to say that I am so far behind in blogging that he just turned 1 this past week (August 10). He is a very handsome little boy, with blue eyes and light colored hair. He is starting to walk a lot this week, which is exciting for all of us. He is very vocal and very wiggly, always moving and looking around and babbling to us as he takes everything in. He loves to be outside and to be around people. He is truly adorable! Derek thinks we should enter him in baby modeling contests, but I tried that and apparently they charge $20 each time you submit a picture, so we dropped that real fast.

In other news, I started a new graduate school program last spring, this time at the University of North Texas (UNT) to get my Master of Library Science (MLS). My plan is to graduate by 2013 and eventually get a job in an academic library, archives, special collections, museum, or something along those lines. I've been going kind of slow so far, only taking one class at a time. That is pretty much all I can handle now, since I work full-time (still at UTSA, same office) and have a family and home to take care of. I'm enjoying it though, and as September draws near, I look forward to going back after having the summer off.

Derek continues to work on his PhD - he is ABD at this point (All But Dissertation). He hopes to complete that by next year. I'm pretty sure he will be the only track coach I know with a PhD! He is gearing up for the cross country season right now - in fact, we just had the team over this evening for BBQ.

Work is going well - I'm the head admin associate in my office now and I enjoy the people I work with. As with any kind of grant work, there is always a lot of change and last-minute tasks, but it keeps me busy and on my toes. This September 2011 will mark my sixth year at UTSA.

After reading through some of my earlier posts, it makes me nostalgic. I hope to stay more up to date with my posts on here. I think if I have some followers and/or comments, that might help (hint, hint!). Until next time, everyone!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm so excited - it is that magical time between Thanksgiving and Christmas when decorations and lights and parties and food and Christmas specials on television abound. What's even better is that this year, it is actually cold! In Texas! We put up the decorations in the house and even managed to get the lights up outside. Everything is so festive - yay!

Updates in the life of Mary

A lot has happened since my last post - Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, Spring Break, Easter...and those are just the holidays! But as the spring continues to thaw the chilly earth and the wild flowers begin to bloom across the Texas countryside, I look back and marvel at how much my life has changed!

First of all, Derek and I bought a house on the Northeast side of San Antonio. We closed on December 4 and moved in later that week. We love it! It is so nice to have a house to come home to, a garage to park your car in, a large kitchen, a large laundry room, a large empty room (we haven't got a lot of furniture) and and more than one bathroom - will wonders never cease! We have our own yard (front and back) with a porch out front and a deck out in the back. I can't wait for the summer!

Also, I graduated in December with my Master's degree in History. It's been a few months since then and I actually kind of miss going to classes, seeing my friends, talking with professors, etc. It was over too quickly in my opinion. However, that does not mean I want to go back to school right now. NO way!

Otherwise, the spring semester is in full swing. Derek is busy teaching, coaching and taking PhD classes at Incarnate Word. He has had a track meet nearly every weekend since mid-February, and while I always try to go to as many of his meets as I can, this spring has been hard because of my lack of vacation hours left at work. However, I was able to make it these past two weeks (at UT and Rice, respectively) so I feel better now. I have fulfilled my duties as a coach's wife!

As far as future plans for now, I'm continuing the search for a history-related job (and YES, I have applied to teach, but no one wants me). In May I'm going with Derek's family to California for a week-long vacation. Otherwise, I'm just hanging out, enjoying my life and wondering where it will go next...

Back off, Christmas!

That's what I feel like during this season. As soon as October hits, it's all about pumpkins and orange/black decorations and candy. That's all well and good, but then as soon as October 31 is over, here come the Christmas decorations in the stores! I understand that it is all a marketing technique to get us to buy more now AND later, but sometimes I feel like standing up and screaming, "People! Don't you realize that you are forgetting something???"

I have to admit, I do love Christmas, probably more than Thanksgiving. I just feel so sorry for poor Turkey Day, squeezed in between two flashier, cooler holidays that get a lot more of the popular vote, especially with the kiddos. Even the traditional Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade is trumped at the end by the huge sleigh and reindeer pulling Santa Claus.

It's just nice to slow down, get a few days off from work or school or whatever, and gather around the table with family and friends to share a large meal with way too many casseroles and pies. You know?

So, when that radio station starts playing Christmas music the week before Thanksgiving, don't listen! Or just listen every so often. Or do like me and just turn it to that particular station on the radio in your shower, so that you only listen to it a few minutes of the day.

Of course, the day after Thanksgiving is fair game...

The final stretch

This semester has gone by really fast for me. Mary, you say, the semester is only like half over! Well, my semester is almost over. In fact, after November 3, I will be done with graduate school and will lack only crossing the stage on graduation day December 15. That is because my comprehensive exams are that day.

I have to say, I have done well in graduate school, making A's in all my classes but one, and I got a B in that one. However, these comprehensive exams, or "comps" as they are fondly known as, are really starting to make me nervous.

It's not actually a huge thing - you just show up to school on a Saturday morning, write two essays, and then you are done. You get to leave and your professors stay there and grade your essays. Then you either get a "fail," "Pass," or "high pass."

I would like to get a high pass, but frankly my friends, a "Pass" would be just fine right about now. I am just so ready to be DONE. And I better pass - I've already bought my cap & gown.

In the good ole' summertime...

Finally, after two months of literally TORENTIAL rains, the Texas sun is back - with a vengeance! Yes, the summer is finally here - but it's already August! Well, better late than never, I guess.

You better believe I definitely plan to take advantage of it too. After many dreary months of work, work, school and work, the last week of August is going to be my week of fun in the sun - Mom is coming to San Antonio and then she and I are heading off to the coast for several days. I plan to read a book and some magazines, sit by the pool, walk on the beach, get a tan, go out to dinner, sleep late, and maybe see a couple of chick flicks with Mom. Then, we return to join up with the boys in SA for fun times on Labor Day weekend. I'll tell you what - life does not get much better than this!

I hope you have had some vacation this summer - if not, the summer is still young!