Save the Date...

Tyrone Wells will be performing at St. Martin's on Saturday, January 21st...I believe at 8 p.m. I just wanted to give a head's up since it is so soon after school starting back up. Watch for advertising around campus. I saw him at NACA in Portland when we booked him...he's one that you'll want to see. You can check him out ahead of time and hear his songs by either clicking on his name to link to his website or you can check out his Myspace if you are into that!

Hope to see you there!

Gearing up for Spring Semester...

I just had to come comment on how great it is that our validation is now electronic. As the first day of validation came and went, I was thankful that we no longer had to stand in long lines waiting for our turn at the registrar, then financial aid and student accounts. Instead, I had one piece of paper to drop off (which was totally easy since there was only one other student in Old Main at the time) and then head off to buy books. Kudos to the administration for making the process so much simpler.

On another happy note- I am thankful that, despite the fact that I am taking 18 credits, I only had to pay half as much for books this semester.

Are inventors getting less creative or is retro really chic?

The past few years I have noticed that my favorite toys, like Strawberry Shortcakes and My Little Ponies, have become popular again. At first, I found it a cool similarity that I could share with my daughter. I enjoyed introducing her to the same toys as I had played with and even passed on a few that I had saved from when I was little. I watched the many characters like the Care Bears and Cabbage Patch Kids have fallen once again into the spotlight while other characters from the 80's like Rainbow Brite caught a glimmer of hope as they graced the store shelves once again only to be clearanced a month later. True, not all of the fads have made it full circle, but as my daughter unwrapped a Rubix Cube and an Atari from under the Christmas Tree, I couldn't help but wonder if retro really was chic or if the inventors were just hitting creativity blocks and were therefore pulling from the Toy Hall of Fame in hopes of remaking a hit. So, while I would like to wish the Rubix Cube a happy 25th Anniversary (in 2005), I find the toy/puzzle just as annoying now as I did back then...but the part that matters is that Kristin enjoyed the gift and has spent hours turning the little rows on the block while she holds onto the hope and illusion of someday making all of the sides match in solid colors again.

Happy 2006!

Well, 2005 is over and it is the start of a new year! I am excited for 2006. I don't know why, but it feels like it's going to be a good year.

I am happy to be home and getting back into the normal swing of things. It felt like we were constantly "on the go" over the holidays and didn't get much accomplished at home. We haven't spent a weekend at home since prior to Thanksgiving. As crazy as it sounds, I can't wait for school to start so that my life can slow back down. Kristin starts back at school tomorrow, so life should balance back out.