And we're off...

This is it. I knew that once I got to this week, everything would take off. My brother is getting married this weekend. I'm losing two (valuable) days for prep (Saturday and Sunday). Instead of going to school on Saturday, I will be hopping on an 8:00 am flight to Vegas. I'll be one of the last ones to get there. My parents, Dean, Sheri and Uncle Freddy (maybe) will be heading to Vegas on Thursday night. The Aunties and Uncles from Hawaii will head out on Friday. There's also a contingent from L.A. but I don't know when they're headed to Vegas. On Saturday we'll do some shopping and then head to Nobu's for dinner. We're also going to squeeze in a show on either Saturday or Sunday night. Kyle and Mary will be getting married on Monday; I'll be coming home on Monday night.

Next week will only be a four day work week and it will be even busier. I have to teach from Tuesday - Friday, then hop on another plane on Saturday 10/29 to head to PA for my defense. I hope I don't forget anything, and I hope I don't get dumber between my dissertation submission and then. I'll be back to work on Monday, 11/7. Once we're in November then the holidays are right around the corner. It's going to fly.

Thanks Martha!

Last night I took Martha and Charles out for dinner. Martha is the poor soul who has read my dissertation...multiple times. So to thank her I invited her and Charles to dinner at the Waterfront Seafood and Grill. Without Martha's keen editing skills and constructive feedback the dissertation would have suffered. Thanks Martha for your commitment to my research.

Kevin's Volleyballs

Kevin was thrilled when we walked into the restaurant because Paula had arranged to have these volleyball cutouts all over the table.

The first course

Shrimp with a tomato cream sauce

Appetizer Teaser

This was the sea scallop...very sweet.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Fresh Mozzrella and Balsamic Glaze

What made it an heirloom? I don't know, but it was delicious.

Dinner

Dinner consisted of a little steak, a little lamb, and crab stuffed prawns.

And finally dessert...

The Waterfront's version of a Baked Alaska. We love it because you need flames to prepare this dessert.

Maggie's Wings

Maggie's mom bought her Halloween costume which is just adorable. Maggie will be going as a fairy/butterfly/gnat. Anyway, Maggie modeled the wings for me, front and back.

Maggie's Wings Part II

Maggie - The Camera Ho

So this is Maggie, John and Cindy's little gem. What I find funny about Maggie is that she is a trained camera ho...worse than me. As soon as she realizes the camera is on her, she poses. Take a look at the following pictures.

Hey Maggie, look here!

And she's on

Dissertations Arrive in PA

Well, the three committee members have a copy of the dissertation. I was a little concerned since the FedEx tracking website only showed that 1 copy made it to its dissertation. However, by last night, the data was in and it showed that the other two copies made it to IUP by early afternoon. One less thing to worry about.

It's in the mail...

Just a quick note to say that 3 copies of the disssertation have been sent to my committee in Indiana, PA. Whew. Now I can breathe...a little.