Day One

Greetings! This is Day One of our family blog. I have very mixed feelings about family blogs so this is somewhat of a bold step for me. But I really like keeping a journal of what we do as a family and this is a more attractive way to keep one (and easier too) than simply typing everything into a Word document.

Why not hand-write a journal, you ask? Because I HATE my handwriting and because I usually have so much to say that my hand gets tired of writing. Three other reasons for blogging vs private journaling: 1) if our computer crashes, it will not be lost, 2) I can do it anywhere, and 3) I like adding pictures now and then.

Oh yeah, one more: my extended family can access it too if they want to take a peak at what we've been up to (although I probably won't give out the address for awhile; I want to make sure I will actually do this!).

I guess I could do a Facebook page but I've never used Facebook and it seems more "open to the public" than blogging. This just feels "safer" to me, for some odd reason.

And when we got back from Ukraine the 2nd time, a woman we know printed out our blog and put it into a nice binder for us to keep. I was so surprised....and it looked so nice! I thought "wow, this is a nice way to document a trip" and it will be nice for Evan and Katerina to read someday.

I'm hoping Kurt will join me in blogging some of our activities too.

Sooooo......what are we up to today, this second day of the New Year? I'm finishing a project in Katerina's room, Kurt is working, and the kids are going to the Family FunPlex this afternoon with some friends. They are very excited!

Sasha, our exchange student will be here too because school hasn't started back up yet.

Speaking of school, I can't wait for it to start on Monday! School for the kids, that is. I'm not teaching this semester - woo hoo! This will be the first semester in almost 5 years that I'm not teaching and it feels so weird (yet sooooo good). I love teaching but it's more work than anyone realizes (unless they've done it) and I stress about it a lot. I spend a lot of time making powerpoint presentations, handouts, case studies, lectures, class projects, etc, and I end up feeling like I have NO time to do anything else.

I become tired, cranky, impatient, and just not fun to be around when I'm teaching. I don't have time to volunteer at my church or school or do anything extra (other than running, which I have to do to keep my sanity) and I don't like that.

So this is the first time in many years that I'm not gainfully employed. I will be doing some consulting for the athletic team at UNC and giving some talks at Aims Community College but not teaching and I'm very excited about it.

That's enough for now....plus, Kurt needs my help carrying the yellow cabinet (that I'll be painting today for Katerina's room) up out of the basement into the breezeway.....ta ta for now!