We are in the midst of a major snowstorm, and I am hoping that I won't need to go into work tomorrow. It hasn't officially been called off yet, but all the schools are canceled and neighboring counties are issuing travel advisories saying no one should be on the road. And the temps are supposed to plummet tonight - a low of -12, with a 'high' tomorrow of -6. The wind chills are supposed to be -40 to -50. I don't see how I can walk to work in that weather, and I don't see how I can get my car out until they plow the alley - which might be a day or two. I hopefully can remote into my computer if I need to get any work done. We will see what tomorrow brings. We have a foot of snow right now and it is still snowing heavily.
I am not going to try to tell you what all has happened in the months since I have updated this blog. There were no major changes in my life, but it is hard to know what is ahead. At work we need to cut about $3 million out of our budget for next year, so we are going through a process of analyzing programs and positions. This fall the process took place with teaching faculty, and the winter/spring the process will include administrators and staff, of which I am a part. I don't think my job is in jeopardy, but you never know. I work for important people who appreciate my work, but there is the definite possibility that my job responsibilities could change yet again with the reorganization.
As far as travels, I took the train to Texas for a week of vacation in October, visiting two friends of mine who live in Lindale and Dallas. Train travel was very refreshing compared to flying - lots more space, no security, very relaxing. The trip did get long though, and I was ready to be off the train after 26 hours (one way!). Also, last week (December 26-Jan 2) I took a road trip to Florida with my mom, sister, and aunt to take my aunt back to Florida after she came home for the holidays. We drove straight through going down, and then were there for four days before leaving to come back on New Year's Day. The weather was warmer than home but cool for Florida. It was cloudy and in the 60s nearly all the time we were there. We did go to the beach one afternoon, and visited a nice state park where we saw lots of water birds and alligators. We also did lots of shopping, eating out and relaxing. It was fun and a nice change of pace. The travel back was not fun - lots of driving through rain and snow, but we made it without incident.
Most of free time outside of work is spent keeping up the house, cooking, outdoor work, etc. I also do a lot of volunteering. I volunteer one Saturday a month at Ten Thousand Villages, and am also chair of the board at Ten Thousand Villages. I also was recently named chair/president of the board of the other board I serve on - The Hermitage. I try not to let these responsibilities take too much time, but there always seems to be something to do. I also enjoy reading and was able to finish 42 books this year (separate post). My goal this year is to read some classics that I have never read (Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, etc) as well as books that I own but have not read yet. I have lists and lists of books that I would like to read, but they do seem to be getting a little more pared down slowly but surely.
Recently I have had a renewed interest to try to learn Spanish, or at least to try to maintain what I already know and learned while I was in Nicaragua. I think I know more than I give myself credit for but I still have a hard time speaking it. We will see how long this interest lasts. For now, I am using several computer resources (Rosetta Stone, Duolingo), and want to try to talk more Spanish with a few bilingual co-workers.
That's pretty much what is up with me now. I will try to update a little more regularly (maybe twice a month), but when life gets busy I often don't prioritize this blog.
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