The backside of grad school

Turns out the downhill slide after the big defense is quite nice and very relaxing. It's so great to have some free time to do things I want to do instead of studying! The pictures are in reverse again, so I guess this time I'll go backwards in time. Might be fun.

Sunday Rick and I went to a friend's house for "Friendsgiving"--lots of food and good times with friends. I made some pies and ate way too much...
Saturday morning the ladies from my old church threw Rick and I a shower and made it Hawaiian themed--they had a great fruit spread and festive decorations. They even had Hawaiian shirts for my whole family to wear. It was very nice and we really appreciated all they did to throw us a great shower. And we got some really nice things for our home!

Saturday afternoon ISU beat Colorado and became bowl eligible! The game was crazy and there were tons of penalties and the last play almost gave me a heart attack, but we pulled out a win. The marching band did a dance medley and they danced to Single Ladies...it was great! Couldn't find a good You Tube clip, but this one's not too bad...

Friday night we went home and Mom and Grandma had a craft project ready for us. Many years ago, my aunt Jill made Christmas ornaments out of eggs when money was tight and gave them as Christmas presents. I have a "baby's first Christmas" egg with Snoopy on it. Jill had mentioned she wanted to make them again, but she ran out of time and never got to. So we decided to make some partially for fun, but partially to fulfil that wish for her. Above, Allyson did the present and Grandma did the others.

Rick really surprised me with his artistic ability; he did the lamp post, dove, and candles above. I did the other two. Below is an assortment of Allyson, Rick, and my talents...

And Thursday I went to see Anthony Rapp speak at Drake in an "Inside the Actor's Studio" forum. For those of you who do not know Anthony Rapp, he originated the role of Mark in the musical (and the movie) Rent. I love his voice and have his CD and read his memoir (which is great, by the way). I'm not saying I'm a creepy stalker, but I will admit to a school girl crush on him.

So I went to listen to him speak, and he was all I had envisioned he would be in person. It was great to hear him speak about his career and I was happy so see how humble and down-to-earth he was. Afterwards, I stood in line to get my book signed, and when I got to the front of the line I blushed and stammered and didn't know what to say. I am so glad I went to see him, but am still surprised that I was that star-struck. I guess my crush is less under-wraps than I thought :)

And now I'm catching up on house cleaning and odds and ends around the apartment... so nice to have the free time!!