[sierra wyethia aka mule's ear]

Woah, hello blog. I'm sorry I have been neglecting you as I try to keep my head up in the craziness of the Fall semester. 

Real life has been a lot more appealing to me than blog life.

I always feel like the real beginning of the new year comes in late August/September, not January.

Maybe it's because this is my 21st (I think?) straight year of school...

This "new year" has brought a lot of changes so far

-Year 2 of grad school (no classes yay!)

-TA-ing 60 undergrads

-living indefinitely with Ben in my tiny cave apartment

-starting thesis work

-thinking about big girl jobs

Plus I have been dealing with a dental saga

I had a really bad cavity. Yeah...I'll spare you the gory details.

I've met a nice dentist, endodontist, and periodontist here.

Learned that root canals aren't that bad. But crown extension surgery is a little more nasty.

Lesson: don't put off your x-rays. floss. get some ACT.

The weather is finally cooling off now and it feels like September should feel. I am so ready for scarf, jacket, boots, and pumpkin season. 

Well, I'm off to lunch and hopefully a fun hike in the mountains!

Happy Labor Day weekend :)

a little visit to Michigan

In the short space of time between coming home from California and heading back to Pennsylvania (which flew by wayyyy too fast) Ben and I made a roadtrip to Michigan to spend a few days at his mom's new home.  It was a perfect mini-vacation, filled with sunsets, ice cream, blueberry picking (and of course pie making), beach walks (so cliche but nice), and new kittens.  Michigan in the summer is pretty amazing, and the blueberries can't be beat (by PA's blueberries, at least).

late summer

You know when you come home from a giant trip and you have one week to see all your friends and family, unpack, take care of appointments, and reorganize before jetting off onto the next journey?

That is what my life has been lately.

I have lots more gorgeous photos and tales to share of California and now Michigan as well, but they will have to wait a bit because the internet at my house is deathly slow and won't upload pictures. 

Today I am packing the remnants of my summer life and tomorrow morning bright and early I am making the dreaded megaroadtrip back to Pennsylvania to start the new school year.

I am very excited for this year. I have the feeling that it is going to be one of those years that is absolutely amazing, even though I know it will also be super challenging in a lot of ways.

This is my second and last year of my masters program, so I will be writing my thesis and getting ready to look for big girl jobs !! I am also going to be the teaching assistant for an undergrad course in climatology, which will be an adventure in itself.

The part I am most looking forward too, though, is having Ben around. He is finished with his Teach for America stint in Baltimore and his MAT at Johns Hopkins and is moving up to State College so we can fiiiiinally be together, after two years of long distance. I know that we have been making the right decisions for ourselves, but these past years have been hard. Luckily I feel like we have grown closer together and have learned to appreciate our relationship so much, and it is going to be so amazing to have him in my day to day life again.  Aaaaa ok time to burn some CD's for the drive.  See you from PA!