Road Rage

What is the deal with South Carolina drivers?! Those of you who have visited know what I'm talking about. I almost wrecked 3 times on the way to the gym, and that doesn't even account for the four cars that passed me in a school zone - at 3pm - going like 45. Yes, I flashed my brights at them. I couldn't help myself! Seriously, the inept drivers here coupled with a total lack of any traffic enforcement have the potential to ruin any good day for me.

Shockingly, or perhaps not, that little rant is about all I have to report. I officially finished up with spring classes on Monday and I'm now just hanging out and working until May 12th when my Maymester class starts. Thins will officially kick back into high gear May 19th when I start my summer internship in the Office of Parents Programs.

We hope you're all doing well!

Oh gosh, here I go...

When I decided to become an English major in college I had no idea where that would lead me. I quickly discovered that the road would pretty much inevitably lead to grad school. When I started grad school I considered it as just a means to and end - that end being a job. However, after two years of graduate work I've discovered that I really like learning. Sick, I know, but this leads me to realize that it is also pretty inevitable that I will someday become Dr. Lindsay - yes- in the distant future I plan to pursue an M.Ed. or a Ph.D. Am I crazy? Maybe, but i do have the examples set before me of family members who have acheived this, which tell me that I can too.

That being said, I took my first step down the road to academe today. I submitted a paper for publication to a scholarly journal. Now, it's not astrophysics (Uncle Gary), but it is meaningful to my field. If you'd like to check out the journal you can go here: http://www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/. It's an academic advising journal. Clearly there's no guarantee that I will be published, but it's at least a first step.

Here's to many more years of research, writing, and tuition dollars to come.

Water Pressure...and a Disposal?!

So Nick and I moved into this rental home last July. At that time the disposal in our kitchen didn't work and the water pressure was non-existent in our shower. You may remember that this time last year I had long hair. Well, in August I chopped it all off because I could NEVER get the conditioner out of it. Seriously, my house made me cut my hair.

After almost a year of disappointing showers I told Nick that the only thing I wanted for our anniversary in May was water pressure in the shower. Well, when I came home today I was informed that a plumber was on the way! In less than ten minutes I had a working disposal and a virtual waterfall in the shower. Can you believe it?! I almost couldn't.

Here is a big, public THANK YOU to Nicholas for making our home so much more enjoyable to live in.

Wedding Pictures

The fab five are ready for our big trip down the aisle
Pi Phi Angels
Parents Pic
Fabulous husband!
Love my daddy
I actually convinced Nick to dance at the reception!

We had a blast! Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Justin Sanderson, who, incidentally, are STILL honeymooning in Tahiti.

Celebrity Sighting

First, please be assured that we will post soon with pictures from Leslie and Justin's wedding. But...we thought you would all like to hear about our celebrity sighting this evening.

Nick and I were picking up a few things at EarthFare for our fajita feast tomorrow night when we saw a beautiful woman in the produce section. We pondered for a moment; she definitely looked like someone. And then it hit us! This actress is in town filming a movie (Nailed) with Jake Gyllenhall, James Marsden, Catherine Keener, and Tracy Morgan. She is currently rumored to be dating a former boy-bander who has made it big as a solo artist as well. Any guesses???

Well, Nick and I spent a half hour tonight shopping with Jessica Biel! We thought that was pretty cool and wanted to share with you. Happy weekend!

A Year of Ribbons

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "a soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon." If the proliferation of different-colored ribbons I have seen and worn this year is any indication, then my peers and I have certainly fought the good fight.
I think of this theme on this day, April 16th, as my heart goes out to two of my good friends who, Virginia Tech alumnae themselves, lost loved ones in the massacre one year ago today. We honored them last spring by wearing orange and maroon ribbons pinned to our chests for over a week. A silent symbol which proved our solidarity.
Months later, I woke up one lazy Sunday morning to hear that several students from my campus were dead, killed in a beach house fire. For this occasion we students wore black ribbons pinned to our chests, an outward sign of our mourning. Those brothers and sisters of the students who were killed wore their colors pinned to their clothes for weeks, the cheerful Tri-Delta blue and yellow, the regal SAE purple and gold.
Just a few weeks ago when another student died here, tragically, his fraternity house was emblazoned with a giant black and gold ribbon.
We wear ribbons for other things too. Red for AIDS or heart health awareness, pink for breast cancer. I received a purple one for domestic violence awareness week just yesterday.
I don't have anything particularly profound to say about all these multi-colored ribbons. I have been proud to show my support for causes I care about, and I have been moved by banding together with my fellow students in recent times of trial.
I do hope that next year I will not have to wear quite so many ribbons.

As a footnote to this little essay, if you have not read 19 minutes by Jodi Piccoult please do. I think she has some interesting things to say about how we treat each other.

Relay for Life

HESA Team
Cocky!!!
The Hall Fam before it started raining
I'm really sad here. It's about 1am, and the chair I have been sitting in has broken...while I was sitting in it!

On Friday night Nick, Finlay, and I participated in Relay for Life. We did this in memory of my grandpa, GT Reitmeier and Nick's Grammie, Linda Hall. We also walked in honor of my grandparents, Herbert and Mary Ila Colvin, Nick's Grandma, Ginny Bowlin, and my dad, Mike Reitmeier, all survivors.



It promised to be a great event, pictures above. However, bad weather set in around 10 pm, and we were all relegated to a tiny gym in the old PE building. Sitting up all night in a steaming hot gym with 700 other people (a number that rapidly dwindled as the night wore on) as bands play too loudly is not really my idea of a good time. Nick and I stuck it out, though (Fin spent the night with the Marshes) for all those listed above.



The rest of the weekend has been spent in preparation for the Sanderson - Ferguson wedding next weekend. I can't believe we'll be in Texas this time next weekend. For those of you who we'll see soon, we can't wait!



We hope you all had a great weekend. Enjoy the pictures!

Nick's News

Yesterday marked a turning point in the Hall house, as I registered for the last time (until I start that PhD sometime in the distant future) and Nick received his books for his very first classes in grad school. That's right...by sometime in 2009 or 2010, depending on Nick's deployment schedule, Nick and I will both be proud recipients of master's degrees.

Nick will be earning his Master's of Stategic Intelligence (I am guessing that this is an MS degree?) through American Military University, courtesty of the USAF. The best part is that all the hard work he did in Intel School paid off by buying him about 12 or 15 hours of credit.

It makes me really proud to think that when my kids have to check off the boxes for their parents' "highest degree earned" they will be able to check the "Master's degree" box for both, at the very least.

Hope you're all having a great day!

You know your blog updates are getting bad when even your little brother chastises you for posting too infrequently. So just for you, Mark, here is a new post. I haven't felt particularly inspired to post in the past week because although I have had a few exciting moments I don't have any pictures to prove it.

This past weekend I was in Dallas for Leslie Ferguson (soon to be Sanderson)'s bachelorette party. I had a great time with my girlfriends, ate some good Mexican food, and got a tiny taste of my home state. I'd like to give a special shout-out thank you to Anne, who hauled me around, to and from the airport and all the events, and even let me use her shower. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from the event so I will have to rely on Katie Francis to provide them for me. Until then, you'll just have to use your imaginations.

This weekend Nick and I will be participating in Relay for Life with a team from my grad program. I'll try to take some good pictures there to share with everyone.

I do apologize for my lack of posting, but with only five weeks left in the semester, you can all imagine that I am pretty busy. I hope it's as bright, warm, and sunny there as it here, and I hope you all have a splendid day!