25 Things About Me
1. After living 29 years in Alachua County, Florida, I moved to Knoxville in 2006 for a Ph.D. program at the University of Tennessee.
2. I love living in Tennessee since we have seasons, and the mountains are gorgeous.
3. I do not miss living in Florida, and I really don't want to move back to Florida at this point in my life.
4. Things I miss about Florida: Publix, family and friends, uncrowded days at Disney, alligators, UF's campus beauty at night (not necessarily in that order :))
5. I'm married to a wonderful man, and I'm the human mother of two cats.
6. We want to have human children, but I want to finish my degree first.
7. I do not like steak, but I love pizza.
8. I do not like beer, but I love wine.
9. I am completely deaf in my left ear and have been since birth.
10. I am left handed, and I've been told I have nice handwriting.
11. I enjoy writing and teaching, which is part of the reason I'm in a Ph.D. program.
12. I enjoy watching college and professional football and college basketball at times, but I don't have much interest in baseball. I also enjoy watching NASCAR races and have been to the Pepsi 400 in Daytona.
13. I grew up on a farm in Alachua, Florida, and our neighbors are Hare Krishnas.
14. My aunt lives in a house across the road, and my father was born in that house in 1939.
15. I learned to drive a stick-shift when I was about 8 years old, but I've since forgotten. I used to drive my dad's truck around the farm when I was young, helping him herd our cows.
16. I have a younger brother who is 8 years younger than me named Jason. My mom thought about spelling it Jayson, but she realized his name would never be spelled correctly. Thanks mom!
17. I have a sister-in-law (my husband's sister) named Allison, but my mom insisted using a "y" instead of an "i" in my name.
18. My parents thought about naming me Jody Beth, so I would have grown up as Jody Beth Beutke. My dad had thought about naming me Albert if I had been a boy. I'm glad neither of those things happened.
19. I grew up watching soap operas and I still watch The Young and the Restless along with other shows including ER, The Office, 24, and reruns of Beverly Hills 90210, the Brady Bunch and more. I can't imagine not having a television. I also watch a variety of news programs.
20. I have always loved school, and I'm a true nerd, but that doesn't bother me. My husband is also a nerd.
21. I have been to Europe and visited Luxembourg, France, Germany and Belgium. My husband's step-father is a Luxembourg native who lives in the U.S. now, but his entire family still lives there.
22. I love many kinds of cheese, but not a kind Luxembourg has called Kach Keis, which is a soft cooked cheese that has the consistency of rubber cement but looks like something that came out of your nose. Sorry, but it's just gross. I love blue cheese though, which my husband detests since it's "rotting cheese."
23. I have been to Hawaii on our honeymoon and loved it. I would rather live there than Florida.
24. I tend to be a neat freak and detest fingerprints that can be seen on mirrors, microwaves, television and computer screens. I hate it when people touch my computer screen and leave a fingerprint.
25. I cut coupons from Sunday's paper and use them, and I comb through ads and try to buy most items on sale.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Last Weekend of Studying
I'm in the middle of taking my comprehensive exams that are testing me on all that I've learned during my Ph.D. studies. I've received tons of much appreciated advice about how to study and what to study. I've actually enjoyed studying...to some extent because I've had the chance to read a lot and start fitting the pieces of all that I've learned together in some type of understandable puzzle. One of my professors told me this is the smartest I'll ever be in my life.
Another professor and friend from my days at UF said to me on Friday, "Allyson, this is the last weekend you will ever have to study, ever!" I thought about it, and realized she's right. While I do have the daunting task of writing a dissertation, writing additional research articles, preparing to teach classes, and attending conferences, I'm finished taking classes, and this is the last time I'll actually be studying to take an exam. (Unless of course I decide to get another degree :))
This thought makes me nostalgic since I've always enjoyed studying and learning new concepts and ideas. I think back to all the exams I've studied for during my life, and I wonder how many tests I've actually taken. But these exams are the most important to some extent, and I'll be glad when I am finished on Friday. I appreciate all the well wishes and positive thoughts sent my way.
I take my next exam Tuesday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. so I'll miss the live presidential inauguration, but we have a DVR, so I'll record it and watch later that afternoon. It's hard to believe that while I'm sitting in conference room and typing on a computer for four hours that our next president will be sworn in to office. Of all the presidential inaugurations I've been alive for, this is the most historic one. I'm sorry I can't watch it live, but as Barack Obama endures one of his first tests as president of the United States, I'll be taking one of my final ones...on paper that is.
Another professor and friend from my days at UF said to me on Friday, "Allyson, this is the last weekend you will ever have to study, ever!" I thought about it, and realized she's right. While I do have the daunting task of writing a dissertation, writing additional research articles, preparing to teach classes, and attending conferences, I'm finished taking classes, and this is the last time I'll actually be studying to take an exam. (Unless of course I decide to get another degree :))
This thought makes me nostalgic since I've always enjoyed studying and learning new concepts and ideas. I think back to all the exams I've studied for during my life, and I wonder how many tests I've actually taken. But these exams are the most important to some extent, and I'll be glad when I am finished on Friday. I appreciate all the well wishes and positive thoughts sent my way.
I take my next exam Tuesday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. so I'll miss the live presidential inauguration, but we have a DVR, so I'll record it and watch later that afternoon. It's hard to believe that while I'm sitting in conference room and typing on a computer for four hours that our next president will be sworn in to office. Of all the presidential inaugurations I've been alive for, this is the most historic one. I'm sorry I can't watch it live, but as Barack Obama endures one of his first tests as president of the United States, I'll be taking one of my final ones...on paper that is.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Go Gators!
It was great to see the Florida Gators win a third national football championship Thursday night! We've been in Knoxville for the past two, but David and I were both UF students when the Gators won the title in 1996. I know not everyone agreed they should be the national champs since Utah is undefeated, and Florida lost to Ole Miss at home earlier in the season.
I agree we should have a playoff, and president-elect Barack Obama feels the same. In an interview with "60 minutes," he said, "If you've got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there's no clear decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system."
When UF clinched the title, Obama again said he supports a playoff system. While he congratulated the Gators, he said, "If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles. That's why we need a playoff."
He and others who feel the same way make a good point, but for now, it's nice to be on top again. Go Gators!!!
I agree we should have a playoff, and president-elect Barack Obama feels the same. In an interview with "60 minutes," he said, "If you've got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there's no clear decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system."
When UF clinched the title, Obama again said he supports a playoff system. While he congratulated the Gators, he said, "If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles. That's why we need a playoff."
He and others who feel the same way make a good point, but for now, it's nice to be on top again. Go Gators!!!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Happy Birthday Mom!
Today is my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom! Wish we could be there to help you celebrate at Outback tonight. Enjoy your steak! We love you!
Monday, January 05, 2009
Finally Fixed?!?!
UPDATE: The water heater is NOT fixed. We had to reset it again this morning after David took a shower. I think we're both too annoyed and frustrated right now to call the rental agency AGAIN for fear of what we might say!
We live in a rental house in Knoxville, and while it was built in 2005, we've had numerous problems with it. The most recent was the water heater that stopped making hot water in mid-December. We called the rental agency, and they sent someone who arrived one evening at 7 p.m. and told us there's a red reset button that hopefully just needed to be reset, and that would solve the problem. It did need to be reset, and the hot water quickly returned, but after two showers and a dishwasher run, no hot water again. So we reset the button a couple more times and realized something else was wrong. To make a long story short, it's taken four repair trips to hopefully and finally fix the water heater. The top and bottom heating elements and the thermostat had to be replaced. I'm still not sure why all of this was necessary since the water heater is only a few years old.
In addition to that problem, we've had two stove burners short circuit, an ice maker that leaked water in our top freezer and bottom fridge, a leaky toilet, clogged drains (when we first moved it, David cleaned out the bathroom sink drain and found enough hair to cover a furry animal!), and closet shelves that have fallen twice. With the shelves, it took them more than a month to come out and fix them for the second time last summer. The carpet is thin, and all you have to do is look at one of the walls, and it makes a mark.
Some of you might also remember how our porch almost slid down the hill a couple of months after we moved here.
It was a Saturday and had rained all day, and about 4 p.m. when it stopped, I stepped out onto the porch, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the air conditioning unit leaning and realized the porch was also learning. They fixed it but not very well. Finally last summer, they came back and redid our porch and our neighbors' porches. The workers, however, thought our back hill was a landfill since they left all their water and Gatorade bottles and trash. Some of it we could pick up, but most of it was too far down the hill to get.
While we've had our share of problems, I'm glad we're renting this place. If we owned it, we would have spent a lot of money in home repairs. They probably built this house in day or two at the most. They were still finishing our subdivision when we moved, and I remember seeing houses going up in a matter of days, but the workmanship is not of high quality. David and I both have rented a series of apartments that were built in the 1970s or even earlier, and while you can see the numerous paint jobs, we never had as many issues with our rentals as we've had with this house in Knoxville.
The saving grace is the view of the small mountain ridge that I look at whenever I'm frustrated about something else breaking.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our hot water heater troubles are over for now and placing bets on what will need to be fixed next!
We live in a rental house in Knoxville, and while it was built in 2005, we've had numerous problems with it. The most recent was the water heater that stopped making hot water in mid-December. We called the rental agency, and they sent someone who arrived one evening at 7 p.m. and told us there's a red reset button that hopefully just needed to be reset, and that would solve the problem. It did need to be reset, and the hot water quickly returned, but after two showers and a dishwasher run, no hot water again. So we reset the button a couple more times and realized something else was wrong. To make a long story short, it's taken four repair trips to hopefully and finally fix the water heater. The top and bottom heating elements and the thermostat had to be replaced. I'm still not sure why all of this was necessary since the water heater is only a few years old.
In addition to that problem, we've had two stove burners short circuit, an ice maker that leaked water in our top freezer and bottom fridge, a leaky toilet, clogged drains (when we first moved it, David cleaned out the bathroom sink drain and found enough hair to cover a furry animal!), and closet shelves that have fallen twice. With the shelves, it took them more than a month to come out and fix them for the second time last summer. The carpet is thin, and all you have to do is look at one of the walls, and it makes a mark.
Some of you might also remember how our porch almost slid down the hill a couple of months after we moved here.
It was a Saturday and had rained all day, and about 4 p.m. when it stopped, I stepped out onto the porch, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the air conditioning unit leaning and realized the porch was also learning. They fixed it but not very well. Finally last summer, they came back and redid our porch and our neighbors' porches. The workers, however, thought our back hill was a landfill since they left all their water and Gatorade bottles and trash. Some of it we could pick up, but most of it was too far down the hill to get.
While we've had our share of problems, I'm glad we're renting this place. If we owned it, we would have spent a lot of money in home repairs. They probably built this house in day or two at the most. They were still finishing our subdivision when we moved, and I remember seeing houses going up in a matter of days, but the workmanship is not of high quality. David and I both have rented a series of apartments that were built in the 1970s or even earlier, and while you can see the numerous paint jobs, we never had as many issues with our rentals as we've had with this house in Knoxville.
The saving grace is the view of the small mountain ridge that I look at whenever I'm frustrated about something else breaking.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our hot water heater troubles are over for now and placing bets on what will need to be fixed next!
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