I'm here

I've been meaning to post something here for weeks now.  I really am alive.  I really do have a life beyond my children -- though that is, for the moment, my favorite part.  So here is, in brief, a list of things I've been doing in the last few weeks:

• I got a crown today.  Unfortunately, not the kind with pretty jewels that goes on my head.  Rather, one that goes on my tooth.  A top molar.  It began as "a little decay around this old filling here," which led to replacing the old metal filling with a new slightly larger one.  As soon as I could feel my tooth again, I had pain.  I thought it would go away.  But the filling was too large and had to be ground down twice.  The pain didn't go away.  It hurt to drink anything, even room temperature.  I could eat anything on that side.  Sometimes, it just hurt.  They replaced the filling.  I tried to give it time to feel better, but it just got worse.  I started having pain up in my cheek, and sometimes it made it hard to sleep.  So I went back -- again -- and had a root canal, which is what led to the crown today.  The first appointment was in June, so I've pretty much spent the summer dealing with tooth pain.  Here's to regular brushing and flossing.
• I went back to school.  Summer break is truly over.  The kids are settled in their rooms at daycare.  I visit Emme every day and Oliver once a week at lunchtime.  I have class Monday afternoon and evening, Wednesday afternoon, and Thursday morning.  I teach Thursday afternoon.  I'm doing research on my own and with my advisor.  It's a busy week.  So far I think it'll be doable.  The spring semester is always calmer than the fall, so I know if I can make to Winter Break, it gets a little easier.  
• I observed in an Epidemiology class yesterday.  I learned all about a pellagra outbreak in the Southeast in the early 1900s, and the role that race and SES played in relative risk.  Which was really interesting.  And made me glad I'm not a doctor -- or an epidemiologist.
• Wes and I painted our bedroom a color called "Silverberry," which is a silvery mauve that looks lavender in natural light.  Wes and his mom are refinishing the two pieces of furniture in the room.  Wes took some of the fancy out of it so it's simpler lines, and now they're stripping the finish and leaving it with a more barn wood look.  I'm looking for new pulls, something like burnished nickel or gun wood.  We bought new window hardware and drapes.  I've looked at linens.  Now we're trying to find a bed, but we want something upholstered, and it's hard to find nice upholstered beds that aren't insanely expensive.  It can only get better than it looked before, but I'm hoping it comes together and actually looks nice.  I have a tendency to get nervous halfway through decorating a room that it's not going to come together.  But historically -- like with the nursery and the garage apartment -- it has, so I guess I shouldn't second-guess myself so much.  Finished pictures to come, but probably not for a while.
• I hosted two -- yes, two -- cohort parties for school.  One Saturday, we had the PhD students in my department and their families over.  We were hosts only for that party, so the food came to us.  We ended up with lots of extra dip, soda, and -- ugh -- Bud Light.  The following Monday I hosted all the students in the master's program I work with.  These are all students in the class I teach.  I made two lasagnas, and everyone else brought a side.  I pushed everyone to take food home so we didn't end up with lots of leftover sides and cookies.  Fortunately, though, we did have leftover lasagna.  Yum.

So that's me.  There's lots more I could say about the kids and all the fun we've been having, but I do that all the time.  The fall should be fun -- especially after the weather cools off (high of 77 on Monday -- and rain! -- yay!).  So I'm here, and I'll try to remember to post more here, too!