Saturday, September 29, 2007

What a Saturday

This morning started off like any normal Saturday. But it just seemed better. I'm sure my good mood began because Scott and I got to sleep in until seven. That's late for Emily. But also, I loved waking to the house nicely chilled with the widows open. I think Autumn is my favorite season followed by Spring, both of which are longer here than I am used to. Everything is just so fresh and airy when you can leave the windows open and the air conditioner off.

Emily and I made monkey bread together while Scott got ready for his class. It turned out great, and Emily loves making things in the kitchen with me. He had breakfast with us before heading out. I had a women's ministry meeting at our house, and then Emily's friends stayed for lunch and to play. Our playroom was a wreck, but looked like a playroom should. After picking up a bit, she took a long nap, and I got to spend some time reading before Scott got home, and Em woke up.

We grilled outside for dinner, and now we're watching Toy Story. I am the only one who has seen it here, and I guess I forgot how cute it is. Emily loves it and Scott thinks it is pretty cute too.

Once Emily goes to bed, we have some blended fuzzy navels in the freezer. Yum.

I haven't even stepped foot in the car today, the laundry is still piled up, there's homework to grade, and the bathrooms all need to be cleaned, but I've had a great day playing. Oh, and the Gamecocks beat Mississippi State, but that's just icing on the cake. :)

Thursday, September 27, 2007

It's Been a While . . .

During the summer I tried to get better about posting but this semester has been brutal so I won't be posting all the much. And if I'm that busy than Malisa is picking up my slack.

My reading schedule has been pretty demanding this semester. The amount is quite extensive but it's not the most I've had. It's mainly WHAT I'm reading. One of my classes is Anthropological Inquiry. I was excited about this class but I've been disappointed due to the teacher's lack of teaching. Each week she has apologized for not doing a good job of explaining some pretty difficult concepts to understand. So far we have read people like Darwin, Marx/Engles, Durkheim, Mead, Foucault, Spencer, Tylor, Malinowski, Boas, etc. These are the foundational people in anthropological thinking. I have little background in anthropology so understanding social Darwinism, functionalism, historical particularism, etc. has forced me to do lots of research on my own. My teacher's explanations are just as clear as these people's writings. I will admit one thing - I understand atheistic perspectives a bit better. I'm not going in that direction but it's a perspective that's important for me to understand as it pertains to culture and sociocultural perspectives.

My other two classes alternate on Saturdays so I have class all day every Saturday. They are my typical education courses - challenging but comprehendible. So I teach my Reading Assessment on Tuesday and head to my anthropology class. I supervise student teachers on Wednesday. I have anthropology again on Thursday leaving my Monday and Friday. Except in two week I will begin volunteering at an orphanage so that will take up several hours a week.

What's hard to imagine is in December I will begin studying for my comprehensive exams so I will begin my dissertation this time next year.

So sorry I won't be posting as often but I will be trying to read everyone's blog as often as possible.

Scott