I am Thesis-ing...

But how cute are my nieces?!

Let Thesis Week Commence

It's official. 40 hours of thesis work here I come. Thesis, you will be, for all intensive purposes done on Monday, March 28th. Good-bye Blacksburg, Good-bye Blog, Good-bye Facebook, Good-bye Email - See ya next week!

"No phone, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luxury, like Robinson Crusoe, primitive as can be." Hah! Just kidding :)

the Thesis 30

One of the (many) things I have learned while writing my thesis is that I will most definitely never get my PhD, that's for darn sure. Not because I don't enjoy research. Not because I don't enjoy learning. Not because I don't enjoy reading. I do. I enjoy all those things, extensively even, But the thesis? Geeez. It's a lot. A dissertation? No thank you.

The problems with writing a thesis are this:

1. If writing at home, you can find SO many other things that also need to be done. Cooking dinner, cleaning the house, playing with the dogs, watching TV, hanging out with the siblings.. ANYTHING really.. anything else.

2. If you can't write at home, you go somewhere. The library, a coffee shop, or my all-time favorite study spot, Panera. While I would love to study/write at Mill Mountain, that just can't happen since I work there. Too much work time. Plus you see too many people that you know and want to/have to chat with.The problem with writing elsewhere is you have to buy something. This gets expensive... and makes you fat. Freshman Fifteen is nothing next to the Thesis Thirty.

3. The internet. I would much rather be reading my favorite blogs, the news, checking my email, writing emails, updating my BLOG (yea yea, I know), checking my facebook (yes, I'm ashamed of this), updating my goodreads account, etc. And since I'm writing my thesis ON my computer, my internet is constantly ON. This, my friends, is a major distraction.

4. Pleasure reading. I am a book hound. I love reading. I have to always be reading for pleasure. In college, I would not allow myself to read for pleasure during classes because it took away from my school reading/school work, but now I need an escape.. I need to read for pleasure. But again, if you make me choose - thesis or pleasure reading? What am I going to choose?! Duh.

5. Work. In college, working and taking classes led me to be disciplined and manage my time well. Now, it's an excuse. If someone needs a shift taken, I should say no, but I don't. After being at work for 8 hours (even my mindless, glorious job that I love), I am still tired and unmotivated to work on my thesis.

Yes, there are other problems with the thesis. For instance, having to read related articles which is nearly impossible for me to do on the computer because it makes my eyes burn, yet the articles are so very long that I would be killing a forrest to print them all, not to mention spending all of my Mill Mountain money on paper and ink. But the major problems with the thesis are self-discipline. Which is why I have taken a week off of work to finish it completely! Next week is my official THESIS week. I have taken the entire week off of work to go hibernate at 'the Compound' with no distractions. I will not touch my email or Facebook for the entire week (forizzle). With 40 pages under my belt, I hope to pound out the last of them in a mere 7 days. It can happen. It will happen. And then, all that will be left, is my defense before I am a Master of Science :)

4 months down, 2 months to go

Yesterday, I started feeling nostalgic. I don't know if it was talking with my German neighbors on Skype or getting Alex's predicted date of return (MAY 25th!!!!!! ahhh!!!), but either way, I am missing Germany, my husband, sitting on the porch and enjoying the sun and German wine, cooking dinner every night with A while listening to Frank, traveling 2/4 weekends a month, planning our upcoming trips, having house guests/travel buddies, walking the dogs through the vineyards, practicing my German, and more. I CANNOT WAIT to start planning our upcoming travels, starting end of May/beginning of June! Summer in Germany is just perfect - with it staying light out until 11pm, the perfect/not-hot window open kind of weather, and lack of mosquitoes! A and I will be there together again, 2 months, 10-ish days. Hallelujah.


Passing the Porta Nigra to go to German class


Bernkasel, my favorite little German city


Cosa Nova!


Seeing the world/Good travels with Good friends


Fasching


my picnic spot/the view/the vines/Kasel


biking to Blesius for beer with friends


my husband


my German neighbors

Just for fun and because I miss the sun...

Spring Break 2005 - Pompano Beach, FL


Birthday Break 2011 - Nassau, Bahamas

This morning I sat down at my computer to work on my thesis, only to find myself staring at the computer screen.. for an hour.. contributing nothing.. only drinking stale, leftover coffee...

And then I realized it is VT's Spring Break. And I am currently a VT student. My sub-conscious must have known. And while the thesis never sleeps, it is Spring Break.. perhaps my last.. so why not

11 inches later

Before..



...The Pony, sent to Beautiful Lengths this time instead of Locks of Love...


...And After

Beignets!

Remember that beignet recipe I posted a few posted back? Well, I couldn't very well post a recipe and then not try it out. So in honor of (one of) Alexander's FAVORITE New Orleans treats, we (and by we, I mean Mrs. Rapalje!) made beignets over the weekend! The recipe was just fabulous.


Before...


...during...



...And after! Authentic!



Emma Grace ate them UP! She just loved the 'donuts!'



Andrea and I enjoying beignets and coffee - preparing her for NOLA's Mardi Gras!