de socero nostro . . .

We received four packages from Amazon.com this week - all of them presents from Daniel's dad, Scott! It was like Christmas! I had fun picking them up from the rental office, because the woman gave me a very stern "Will you have money to pay rent this month?" look and said in her sweetest, most saccharine-sweet voice, "My, you have been doing alot of on-line shopping!" I tried to explain that they were gifts, but she didn't believe me. :)

Daniel received very cool blue tooth headphones, a live Pixies DVD, and I received two Loebs (Marcus Aurelius and Livy - yay!) Thanks, Scott!!!

So, that was the highlight of the week. In other news, it's getting to be about that time when I have to write millions of papers! The first one is for my Ancient Origins of Religious Conflicts class. A wonderful class, by the way, but very difficult. Pray for me!

Also, things for Daniel at the stuio are on an upswing! Let's keep praying! He went down to two days at the studio, as opposed to five, which turns out to be a good thing. We have more time together, and he has better shifts (during the day, so generally more sessions).

We're going to carve a pumpkin today, so I'll post pictures of our attempts later today. Happy Halloween!

It's pouring in Nashville, and I'm sitting in the grad seminar room looking of out its very old, very large windows. I love rainy days,although here it means you will automatically be 20 minutes late to wherever you are going, because everyone drives around 25 mph here with the hint of even a sprinkle of rain. But it made for a lovely time in the car with Daniel on the way to school.

Having Mom here was wonderful. It's nice to familiarize family with your life - now she knows what Vandy looks like, and where we like to eat, and what our apartment looks like so that now when I talk about these things, she knows what I'm talking about. :)

Mom couldn't catch a flight into Nashville, so Daniel and I decided to drive to Chattanooga to pick her up (it's about a two hour drive). The drive was wonderful. It's mostly through forests and over a couple of rivers, not many cities at all. Daniel and I think we'll do it again over Thanksgiving break. There's alot to do during the drive itself. For instance, the Jack Daniels distillery and Tennessee's two or three wineries are along this route. There are also many natural wonder-type stops which would be fun. On the way in we stopped to buy fireworks, which I am very excited about! I've never played with fireworks before . . . I was too scared to get anything big, but it'll still be fun.

The highlights of Mom's trip: 1) dinner at The Gerst House, a restaurant/brewery with "traditional" German food & drink and "traditional" German music. 2) Cheekwood Botanical Gardens (reminiscent of Hunington Library in Pasadena) 3) Cooking Indian food and watching The Office 4)Shoppingin antique stores.

All in all, a wonderful time. I was very proud of Mom, because she even petted our rats (yes, we have pet rats and we love them!). I had a hunch that most of our time together would consist of eating and giggling, which of course it did. :) And it was fun to discover Nashville for a second time - we've been so preoccupied with school that we haven't really been outside of our apartment or campus. There are beautiful parts to Nashville, and after this week I am determined to enjoy them more.

What's your most embarrassing moment? Here's mine . . .

A quick update - I'm sorry for slacking. As usual, school and work and internships have kept us abominably busy. But, I do feel as if I have finally hit my stride in seminars. My hands still shake when I give presentations (like this morning), but at least I have overcome my abject fear of talking and am able to contribute occasionally. I feel for the first time as if I am a contributing member. And I am learning (although it is difficult) to let things go as quickly as possible . . . I think once I'm out of this program, nothing will ever embarrass me again. By way of an example of public humiliation, I will share a story which up to this point I was too mortified about to share. But now I'm ready. :)

So we have our first seminar on floor 2 of the Classics building, and our second seminar on floor 3 of the same building. One day after first seminar I was walking out with my professor discussing some upcoming event. I, in my absent-mindedness and exhaustion-induced stupor, believed myself to be on the 3rd floor instead of the 2nd floor (they look almost exactly alike). So, while walking out I pulled out my key to open the grad student study room (right across from seminar room on floor 3) and attempted to open it . . . but failed. All the while my teacher was looking at me strangely, but I didn't know why. She finally walked away, and I tried again with the key, only to discover at that moment I was in fact attempting to open someone's office!!!

Embarrassing, huh?

:) I'm becoming much more emotionally flexible, shall we say. I just don't have the time to break down about the things I used to. It's probably a very good thing.

It's been a beautiful rainy day today, and Daniel is home tonight - so we will be spending the evening enjoying the weather, eating sour skittles and watching scrubs! A lovely evening, no?

We have just purchased . . .

OUR TICKETS TO COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We can't wait to see everyone. And I promise, a proper update will come soon.

Love you all.