Happy Easter

Happy Easter, y'all.

Not So "Real" Estate

Look what I found this evening at the lot for sale next door to us.

The home on the lot burned to the ground just before we moved in our house.  All that is left is the front entry.

Several sweet little neighborhood girls use this facade as their imaginary everything space. We've witnessed it become a make believe house, school, and even a magazine/newspaper headquarters.  In fact, Judd and I bought two "subscriptions" for a quarter a piece a few weekends ago.

Yesterday a for sale sign was placed on the lot.  Apparently the children were very upset about this.  Look at the sign that they put up this afternoon.

I thought it was too cute not to share with you all.

I have such sympathy for our pint size neighbors.  My childhood neighbors and I were so much like them (Hi Carolyn and Rachel).  I think their little hearts are broken. I hope whoever buys the property will let them play in the yard from time to time.

 

Distracted By A Grandmother Visit

I've been a little distracted this week from my dissertation prospectus because my sweet, most-wonderful-in-the-whole-wide-world, precious grandmother is in town. She even brought her little doggy, Miss Toddy.

I'm ok with this distraction. I am SO glad to get some special time with her this week.

Also, watching Judd snuggle and brush Miss Toddy put a pretty big smile on my face.

I hope you are all having a good week so far.

The Rocky Road Towards A Dissertation Prospectus

I have pretty much spent every night that I don’t have class and every single Saturday and Sunday for about the past two months preparing for and writing my dissertation prospectus.  It is disgusting to me at this point how little I really have to show for all of that time and effort.  So much of it was spent collecting literature and organizing my thoughts…and not actually writing.  I am sure that it wasn’t time wasted; however, it feels like I should have more of a complete product than I actually have.  I feel like I should be much further ahead with the output (writing) than I am now.  I’ve included pictures of the current state of my office to help portray my life at this particular moment in time.  Hopefully, if you have been following the blog for a while you will know that I am usually a fairly organized and neat person. 

I am pretty sure that I am to the point where people are going to stop popping in my office to visit or stop asking how my day/weekend was for fear that I might actually answer them or for fear that they may incur bodily harm from tripping over a stack of paper on my floor.  To corroborate this notion let me tell you about something that happened last week.  I had a total come apart last week complete with crocodile tears (while at my full-time job) about the fact that I probably was not going to meet a deadline for my writing that I had set for myself.  It was TOTALLY EMBARASSING.  I was crying so uncontrollably that I had to shut my door because there was no way to regain my composure at that point.  Of course the whole time the meltdown was happening I was feeling even more guilty and ashamed for not being able to “handle” the situation.  I couldn’t help but think, “Ok, here I am with two degrees in administration, yet this is how I choose to react to a stressful situation. GREAT! (cue sarcasm).”  I was crying so hard that the student assistants who work in our suite were ready to tear down the door to make sure I was ok.  Again, GREAT! (cue an even heavier sarcastic tone).  Seriously, why I am making this process so hard on myself?  Or, am I even doing that?  Is this what getting a Ph.D. is supposed to feel like? 

I am exhausted.  I know I have said that before on the blog.  I mean it now and I meant it then too.  I realized last week that I will have spent longer working on my Ph.D than I did on my entire bachelor’s degree.  I finished my undergraduate work in three years (9 full continuous semesters).  I have already had 9 full non-stop semesters in my doctoral program and have approximately 2 or 3 more to go if I am lucky.  It could be even longer than that if I can’t get my writing together.  I feel like a broken record by saying this; but I am going to say it anyway.  I am working full-time (8-5), taking three classes, and trying to write the prospectus for my dissertation.  I guess I should be tired but I don’t feel like I should.  I feel like I am drowning and should instead be able to keep all of the balls I am juggling in the air.  I feel like I should be able to keep up with the pace of this life that I have CHOSEN!

Currently, I feel completely stressed, out of shape, pre-maturely aged, unkempt, disorganized, worried, nauseous, and depleted.  I have even had some shortness of breath issues here lately.  Gosh, Abby, get a grip.  I am way too stubborn to give up.  I know deep down inside that I will eventually finish this degree.  But, geez-Louise and H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks this has been one hellacious obstacle to overcome.  Don’t worry folks I blog to vent.  I promise I am not on the verge of “jumping.”  I am just FRUSTRATED as all get out.  Worst of all, I am frustrated and disappointed in myself.  There is no one to blame for my lack of progress but me.

I looked around my office during my total and complete breakdown and was part disgusted and part amused by the fact that I have allowed myself to be so visibly unhinged.   What you are seeing is my real office at my real full-time, grown-up person, university job.  Good grief, what is wrong with me?

My colleagues have all been so sweet and supportive (although I feel confident that deep down they are wondering what in the world is wrong with me).  I wish I could just get a grip.  I am trying.  I’ve put on my big girl pants and continued pushing ahead despite the fact that my brain and spirit are fighting as every single word or thought is typed.

Well, I guess that pretty much sums it up.  That is where I am at this particular moment.  I know that God gives us all obstacles to overcome and that He often reminds us that we are not the ones in ultimate control over our lives.  I chose this path for my life and must live with the consequences and trials that come with it.  I understand that there are so many more difficult problems to face in the world than the one I am experiencing.  I am so fortunate in the grand scheme of things.  Despite my truly Debbie Downer perspective I have not forgotten that I have a husband, family and friends (and faithful blog readers) who love, encourage, and support me.  I know I wouldn’t have even made it this far without them (you).  I also know that I will be so proud when this ordeal is over and that I will probably look back on these times and laugh.  I am just not there yet.

New Blog Header

Look! The Langham Project got a new blog header.

Judd designed this for us the other day.

What do y'all think? We both have wide screens so we are not sure how it looks on other computers.

Can you see it? Is it centered? Any suggestions?

I Can’t Get No…Diss-er-ta-tion

I hope you folks have figured out that when my blog gets to the point where I am writing like a third grader about the Westminster Dog Show (of which I didn’t even get to watch in entirety) that I must be at a breaking point.  Yeah, sorry about that last post.  I was even embarrassed as I was publishing it.  I am (and have been for about the last month) totally consumed with attempting to plan and write my Ph.D. dissertation prospectus.  I am hoping to have something to show my committee approximately two weeks prior to my prospectus meeting date of March 19th.  Do the math.  That is REALLY soon.  I am starting to panic.  At this point, I really don’t have anything that I am proud to present at the meeting.  If you have some room on your prayer list, please add me to it.  I am getting so tired and frustrated.

If you don’t know, the prospectus is the first “mini” draft of the first three dissertation chapters. It is usually about 20-30 pages.  If my prospectus is approved, then I can begin preparing for and writing my official proposal (the first full draft of Chapters 1, 2, and 3), take my comps, apply for IRB approval, set my proposal meeting date, and apply for admission to candidacy.  Once I achieve candidacy status and get IRB approval I will be allowed to start my data collection for chapters 4 and 5.  I am hoping that I can do all of that this semester (or at least the 8 weeks of it that are left).  Keep in mind that I am still taking three classes and working full-time.

So, that is where I am at the moment.  This arrived in my in-box last week.  It was an attempt to bring some humor to the situation that my fellow Dissertation Divas and I find ourselves in right now.  If you are a doctoral student in the early dissertation phase or if you know a doctoral student experiencing this or if you know one who has experienced this then you might find the video below funny (and sad), too.  Pay close attention to the words.  The lyrics are pretty clever and depict my feelings at the moment.  At least, by the looks of this video, I am not the only person who has ever felt this way at this point in the process.

I find myself particularly relating to the “I don’t have a prospectus and I think they are starting to suspect this” line.

Source: You Tube - (I Can't Write) No Dissertation -Metrics Gang

Westminster Dog Show Winner

Happy Valentine’s Day, y,all.  I hope your evening was so much more fun than mine.   I hope you spent it curled up next to your loved one (be it human or canine).  I spent the evening away from my one true love because I was in class.  I did manage; however, to get home just in time to hear the winner of the Westminster Dog Show.  Judd and I always get a kick out of watching the show.  Last night, we caught a few tidbits of it.  While watching we saw this beautiful, and exceptionally hairy, fellow.  He won tonight.

After watching him win, we looked down at our own sweet four-legged boy.  We couldn’t help but laugh.   You just couldn’t ask for a better dog.  He is SO loving and sweet. But, his breath and goofiness would take him out of the running for sure. 

This was the facial expression he was making prior to us watching the announcement of the winner.

 

This was after we praised and commented on the other dogs.

He was really into the show this year, himself.  Can’t you tell?  I don ‘t think he appreciated us laughing at him.  Nor did he appreciate my commentary on the other dogs.  He huffed and puffed and pouted and eventually went to sleep with his favorite baby.

Feed My Starving Children

A few weeks ago my colleagues from UAB’s Office of Planning and Analysis, Judd, and I had the opportunity to package food to help feed starving children throughout the world.  The organization that facilitates and plans this effort is called Feed My Starving Children (FMSC).  The site where we volunteered was Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL.  Shades Mountain offered its Christian Life Center gymnasium as a site for the mobile meal packing session.

One of my colleagues, Mary Beth, mentioned the opportunity to participate to us.  The entire office eagerly agreed to volunteer.  She told us that Feed My Starving Children “is an organization that uses volunteers to pack dry ingredients in such a way that they can be distributed to areas where there is no food and provide several nutritious meals.  It is a fascinating project AND process that the Shades Mountain Baptist Church family loves being a part of.”

Here is a link that shows more of what FMSC is about.  http://www.fmsc.org/page.aspx?pid=232.”

This year Shades Mountain Baptist doubled its level of participation and attempted to package over half a million meals.  When the entire event was finished, Shades Mountain’s pastor announced that the FMSC goal had been exceeded and lots of great volunteers packed more than 545,000 meals over the several days of the MobilePack event.  That is enough meals to feed 1,494 children for a year!!!

I’ve included a brief video about Feed My Starving Children.

 

I didn’t have my good camera with me that day; however, I did manage to capture the moment using my iPhone.  After all, who would want to forget how we all looked in hairnets?  We all had a great time and look forward to helping with FMSC again next year.  Go FMSC!  Go Shades Mountain Baptist!  Go Office of Planning and Analysis!  Whoop-whoop.

If you would like to volunteer for a MobilePack event click on the link below to see when Feed My Starving Children will be in your area.

Link: Feed My Starving Children MobilePack Event Dates

101 Things To Do In 1,001 Days

I am a natural list maker, organizer, and planner.  I’ve literally been this way for as long as I can remember.  My mother tells a story about how I alphabetized our refrigerator when I was about three or four years old.  I have continued along this list making path for all milestones, goals, dreams, events, and plans for my life ranging from planning my childhood birthday parties, listing what characteristics I hoped to find in a husband (it must have been fate that Judd met all of the items on the list when I compared him to it years after making it), planning our wedding, etc. 

Due to my list making nature it seems only natural to join my friends and family by partaking in the 101 list fun.  I believe the concept of creating a list of 101 things to accomplish in 1,001 days was originally derived by the Day Zero Project as a way to encourage people to live their lives now  instead of putting things off and to help them to meet their goals.  I think it was started as a way for an online community of people to make their lists public and hold each other accountable.  I didn’t feel the need to register my list with Day Zero because I am making it public here on The Langham Project to all of you lovely bloggy folks.  I look forward to sharing my progress and struggles with you.  This blogging community is really such a special thing. Mwwah! You guys rock.  I can’t wait to get started.

I first saw a 101 List on my friend Marcie’s blog and then on  my sister-in-law, Brenna’s, blog.  At the time that I first saw their lists I was intrigued by the concept.  I looked forward to watching their dreams and goals become realities; however, I was just starting the journey towards my Ph.D. in a four year program at the time and knew that with my school and work commitments that I would not be doing anything “extra” other than school or work for a couple of years.  I am still working on my Ph.D.  Although, now I am in the last semester of my coursework and quickly progressing towards the dissertation phase.  I am finally able to dream about a future 1,001 days (approximately 2 years and 7 months) that involves things I enjoy doing like spending time with my husband and family, taking up new hobbies, helping others, renewing myself spiritually, and becoming a happier person again.  I have learned so much from working on my Ph.D. full-time while also working full-time but it has been a constant drain (and still is) on me.  I am grateful for the opportunity to pursue this degree. I have just GOT to get out of school.  Obviously, a large part of my list consists of objectives to help me get there.

Judd and I always revisit our 10 year plan in January.  Does that make us weird?  Do any of you do that?  We have been doing so for the past four or five years.  I used our plan to help me pick some items for my 101 list.  I was a little hesitant to share all of the things included below at first.  Some just seem shallow, others too personal to share, and other list items I just wasn’t sure anyone but me would really care about.  However, since this list is for personal and public use I mustered up the courage to share it.  I do realize that there is an ultimate planner who already has my life mapped out and that I need to first put my trust in Him before all else.

How do those of you who have published 101 lists feel about the process?  What do those of you who do not have a list think about the whole concept?

I believe I have until Tuesday, October 28, 2014 to complete the tasks on my list.  The clock starts now (January 31, 2012).  Quick, cue the Jeopardy music.

 

My 101 List

1. Purchase a new dress to wear to our FAB friend Susan's wedding

2. Attend/take lots of photos of our weekend in Seaside, FL for Susan's wedding

3. Attend/take lots of photos of our weekend in Mobile, AL for our friend Candice's wedding

4. Find a theory to use as my conceptual framework for my dissertation

5. Determine appropriate variables to analyze for my dissertation

6. Select a statistical method to analyze data for my dissertation

7. Have my prospectus meeting for my Ph.D.

8. Have my proposal (3 chapter) meeting for my Ph.D.

9. Take/pass my comprehensive exams

10. Get Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval

11. Collect data for my dissertation

12. Analyze data for my dissertation

13. Write chapter 4 of my dissertation

14. Write Chapter 5 of my dissertation

15. Have my private Ph.D. defense with my committee

16. Have my public Ph.D. defense

17. Graduate with my Ph.D. in Educational Leadership (higher education administration)

18. Have my dissertation printed and bound and my Ph.D. degree framed

19. While I am still in school, use each lunch hour to work on some aspect of my dissertation

20. After I graduate, resume lunch hour workouts in my office

21. Have a party to celebrate earning my Ph.D. and to honor my family and friends with their Ph.T. (the pushing her through degree)

22. Attain a position that requires a Ph.D. or terminal degree or one that is equivalent in pay and responsibility to a Ph.D. level position. (I think I need to say that I hope this can occur within the office where I work now.)

23. Attend Southern Association of Institutional Research (SAIR) Annual Conference in Orlando, FL. (Ask Judd to tag-along to go to Disney)

24. Save the full 20% of a down payment towards a house

25. Buy a house

26. Begin studying French with Judd

27. Travel to Europe with Judd

28. Travel with Judd to somewhere else in the U.S. besides Orlando that we've never been

29. Get a shellac (gel) manicure

30. Whiten my teeth (again)

31. Attend my high school reunion (Hoover High School, Hoover, AL - Class of 2002)

32. Launch our DIY printable invitation/stationary business (The Langham Project) on Etsy

33. Get The Langham Project (TLP) DIY Invitations/Stationary business approved with the Collegiate Licensing Company

34. Get our blog professionally designed (and potentially switched over to Wordpress if needed)

35. Offer advertising on our blog

36. Set up an email address for our TLP invitations/stationary business

37. Stop drinking dark soft drinks and stick to it

38. Get back to my high school weight and shape before having a baby (approximately 5 to 10 lbs. to lose)

39. Eat at home 5 nights in one week

40. Start a family

41. Have maternity pictures taken

42. Lose baby weight

43. Begin work on a book/article regarding the dissertation process with my peer group (The Divas)

44. Publish at least one journal article

45. Present my research at a professional conference

46. Read a book for pleasure (Not something that has anything to do with work or school)

47. Find a couples Sunday school class and attend regularly either at Shades Mountain Baptist or another church that is a better fit for us

48. Begin reading the Bible in a systematic way (so that eventually I read it from start to finish)

49. Help to organize a project with our church

50. Get life insurance

51. Get a Roth-IRA set up in my name

52. Sign up for the benefit of a flexible spending account with my employer

53. Get a new pair of eyeglasses

54. Take my mother on a Mom-and-Daughter trip

55. Take a photography class

56. Ask Judd to teach me how to use Photoshop and learn from him

57. Get a stylish camera bag

58. Purchase a sewing machine/embroidery machine

59. Ask Mom to teach me how to smock and learn from her

60. Sew a garment entirely on my own

61. Host a party at the Langham farm

62. Help my mother to update her kitchen

63. Help my mother to freshen up her front porch (new chair cushions, new door handle, paint front door, new door mat, new plants)

64. Help my mother-in-law to find bedding for the cabin at the Langham farm

65. Help my mother-in-law to find living room furniture for the cabin at the Langham farm

66. Help my in-law's to clean out the barn at the Langham farm

67. Help my father-in-law to clean out his shed and tear the old one down

68. Label, with my Grandmother's help, as many family photos as possible on my next visit to her house

69. Visit Grandmother and leave her with a week's worth of home cooked meals in her fridge/freezer

70. Visit Grandmother and leave her with a full tank of gas in her vehicle

71. Visit Grandmother and clean her whole house from top to bottom before I leave

72. Help my mother by spending an entire weekend deep cleaning her house

73. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Judd's trip to Portugal

74. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Charleston, SC

75. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Boston, MA

76. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: New Orleans, LA

77. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Our Master's graduations

78. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Judd's two trips to Canada

79. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Philadelphia, PA

80. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Mardi Gras, Mobile, AL

81. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Phoenix, AZ

82. Print photos from previous travels/adventures: Denver, CO

83. Print photos from our family's Christmas 2011

84. Make a scrapbook from our wedding that was in May of 2005 (Yeah, I know I am really late on that one)

85. Purchase a new sofa

86. Purchase bedding for our guest bedrooms

87. Make pickled okra using my Uncle Frank's recipe

88. Use the canning equipment my Uncle Frank gave me to can something

89. Find a vintage inspired office chair for our home office (preferably two chairs)

90. Take Judd ice skating since he's never been

91. Give blood

92. Go camping

93. Take a beach trip alone with Judd

94. Take a beach trip with just my FAB girlfriends

95. Take our important documents to our safe deposit box for storage

96. Frame paintings given to us by Judd's Aunt Willoweise (she is a famous watercolor artist)

97. Frame our Auburn University 2010 season football tickets (AU won the national championship that year--WAR EAGLE!)

98. Help Judd to study for and pass his last two licensure exams for professional practice as a landscape architect

99. Prepare a better way/place for us to recycle and throw away our trash

100. Add to our crystal stemware collection

101. Get a couples massage

 

I added a component to my list.  I wanted to include my general life goals.  Consider this my mission.  These are the things that really matter.  Hopefully, by achieving many of the list items above I will be closer to fulfilling the general goals I continually strive towards  and hope to achieve/maintain throughout my life.

 

General Life Goals:

·   Be a loving wife--be someone with whom Judd can continually find true companionship.

·   Be a mother who puts her children before herself. One who teaches by example.

·   Be a Christian example to my friends, family, and colleagues.

·   Be a gracious, thoughtful, and calm hostess/friend.

·   Be a leader in my professional/academic life--someone who is reliable, trustworthy, hardworking, dedicated, and capable.

The Hartley Wedding Invitation

The Langham Project (TLP) - DIY Printable Invitations/Stationary request the honor of your presence at the viewing of one of its favorite DIY printable creations -- the Hartley wedding invitation.

Judd and I had the pleasure of creating a wedding invitation and custom monogram for our dear friends Hartley and Andrew.  They were kind enough to share a few photos with us of their special day to include in this post.  We were so honored to be asked to create such an important component of their wedding celebration that we named this invitation after the GORGEOUS bride.  Hartley and Andrew’s wedding was absolutely beautiful!  I love the idea of sharing photos of the actual event when revealing a new invitation or stationary creation.  I hope that it will make this post and all future posts for our TLP - DIY printable invitation/stationary business more pleasurable to read.  Let us know what you think.  Thanks so much for sharing your photos, Hartley and Andrew.

The image above is a sample of the final product that we send to our clients.  Because our business is designed for do-it-yourself printing, we offer our clients the opportunity to print their invitations with no minimum or maximum quantity for their order.  They simply receive the final order of their invitation design and are then free to print the invitations any way they prefer.  Additionally, our business approach allows our clients to print on the paper/cardstock selection of their choosing.  Once we send the final design to the customer, he or she can print the order on his or her own or have a professional printer do it.  If the client decides to have a professional print shop print their order for them, all they have to do is take the file to the print shop.

I snapped a quick photo of the printed invitation from our sample book (see below).

The happy couple’s color scheme for their September wedding was eggplant and gray.  The Hartley wedding invitation features a custom monogram with gray font.  Although, we can design the Hartley with any color font that is desired.  The invitation is 5 1/2” x 8 1/2”.    The invitation will fit in any envelope that is 5 3/4” x 8 3/4”.  The invitation is intended to be printed on off-white/cream cardstock.  Although, you could print it on white cardstock if you prefer.  We offer the Hartley wedding invitation for $45.00.

The final order can be sent in two ways.  It can be emailed to you, the customer, in its exact size or we can send it to you designed to fit two invitations on one piece of letter sized cardstock/paper.  We recommend that you purchase cardstock from the vendor of your choosing that will be the exact size of your invitation so that you do not have to do any cutting.  In this case, you would just simply change your printer settings to fit the exact size of your invitation and feed each piece of cardstock through your printer.  However, if it is easier for you to print two invitations per one regular 8 1/2” x 11” page that is also an option.  If you request your order this way, we will include a very faint guide line down the center, between the two invitations, to assist you when cutting.

Hartley and Andrew also requested a file that contained a customized combined monogram that we designed.  They used this file to add their monogram to the ceremony programs that they created themselves (shown below).  A custom monogram can be used to make a multitude of wedding crafts and future projects for the rest of the couples life together.  We offer a custom monogram for $20.00.  Although Hartley and Andrew chose to design their program themselves, if you are not up for that task, we also offer wedding program design for $45.00.

We plan to get an Etsy shop started to sell our one of a kind invitations and stationary very soon.  For now, if you are interested in ordering the Hartley, please leave us a comment on this post or send us an email at langhat@gmail.com.