Interrupting this message....

I'm woefully behind in blogging. A super week-long trip to San Francisco, moving into my new home and finals/tests/end of semester responsibilities have me turning in circles. However, there is news worth breaking...my Department (Life Sciences), my College (Science and Technology) and my Dean have recommended me for Promotion AND tenure! Yes, this all still must go through to Provost and A&M University Board of Regents, but I've been told once you get to this level, all is 99.99% assured of a positive outcome. I gave the last five years at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi my very best, and the work has paid off!!! Now, back to work....

One Year Anniversary

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge outside of my window, plenty of people gathered together to talk about science and education in a fabulous conference, and today marks one year of a special anniversary. It has been an AWESOME year and a WONDERFUL journey. I am so grateful to God for the help I've been given and look forward to the next year ahead!!

Trying to Buy a House

I've been looking, there are some challenges, but finally a person crossed my path (divine providence, I know it!) that could help.So, here it is. A garden home in central Corpus Christi.Conveniently located to all my points of interest (read: work and grocery store) and in a quiet neighborhood. Garden home means it is 2 bedroom, 2 bath, spacious and with other garden homes with similar people (read: people who have finished raising children and are downsizing). I LOVE IT.Only five years old, gently used, my colors (read:  BLUE) and honestly, when I envisioned what I wanted - this was the house, only it is nicer than what I envisioned. A low maintenance yard, big enough for me and Ella with a wonderful patio. The purchasing process is well in progress. My old living room furniture has been hauled away and the church sold it in their annual rummage sale, along with a desk, bed, and lots of stuff. Yes, I've purchased new furniture and it will be delivered to the new house. I cannot WAIT! Closing date is set for early November, moving in the next day. Did I say I was excited??! Here's why:

This is the back patio area - nothing is behind the house. Love the slate and the flowering plants!

The entryway - love the transom windows throughout the house - so light and wonderful!

This blue tiffany lamp is over where the dining table will be -- I LOVE blue and would have selected this same fixture --- blue and white are my favorite interior color combination's.

Yes, that is a blue kitchen! This niche on the wall is begging for a mural to be painted...or something. I'm thinking about it....

The kitchen - love the stainless appliances, cooktop and...

matching refrigerator with water/ice dispenser that stays! Keep in mind people - my current home of five years does not have a garbage disposal or ice maker. This is heaven! I was even more excited when I found...

a pantry! A real live pantry! My current pantry consists of two shelves above the dryer. Awesomeness!!!!

More blue - I think I will find a new appreciation for cooking again! Note another niche next to the kitchen. Ohhh the possibilities....

Another view of the Tiffany lamp. Did I say I love blue?

A den where my piano and a new sofa will go. Sleeper sofa. It has Audrey's name on it :) The guest bedroom and bath are down the hallway.

View of dining and living area. It's huge. I got a new couch and love seat - powder blue leather! And new end tables! GORGEOUS!

Master bedroom with double doors to the master bath which is soooo awesome!

Double sink vanity, garden tub, step in shower and H-U-G-E closet!

The garden tub. Love the glass -- I may enjoy taking baths again. Ella too!

The fixture over the sink. Pretty fancy, don't ya think?

Outside walkway to the front door. All professionally landscaped with rock and sprinkler system for the plants. Low maintenance - yay!

Here's the patio in the back. No one lives behind the house - huge empty lot. Very quiet - and peaceful.

Can't ya just see the barbeque grill and chaise lounges?

Fingers and toes are crossed as we traverse the mortgage process - all is proceeding well and things are scheduled to happen in early November. There are more rooms but I want to wait to show when furniture is delivered and the dust settles a bit (i.e., boxes are unpacked). God is blessing me so abundantly in so many ways. This is a dream that is coming true before my very eyes!

A flower with my name on it.

A few weeks ago when I walked into the suite to my office one morning, I found this:

A hibiscus plant from one of my former students. The note said, "Dr. Mac - It had your name on it - Literally! From, Betsy."   Though I was pleasantly surprised, I had no idea what she meant...until I got it inside my office and took a closer look:

A Cherie Hibiscus! I took it home, repotted it and after a few weeks, it bloomed:

It continues to blossom as does my appreciation for family and friends that are so thoughtful, supportive and always there with a smile and words that make the day a blessing! Thank you and may God bless you right back!!

"So what kind of music do ya'll sing?"

When people learn that I sing in the Corpus Christi Cathedral Pontifical Choral - otherwise known as "the adult choir", that question is often asked. My reply is usually, "Come join us this Sunday at 9:30 and you can hear for yourselves. Or tune in as we are on Channel 13."   Here are a few clips from a performance last summer....Beethoven's Hallelujah chorus. I love this piece. It's so majestic and grand!  Of course we do much liturgical music in English and in Latin, such as Mawby's sacred Ave Verum. We do contemporary and traditional music and this one is a favorite as it moves my very soul...the youth choir joined us on this one. And finally, this requiem  - written after the 2004 Asian Tsunami's...the words are so beautiful, the hymn so simple. My good friend and assistant choir director Dr. Lupe Rivera explained the story. I have pasted the lyrics below - I love them as each line contains an eloquent prayer. We all, literally, fight tears as we sing this piece. Did I say I love our choir???? It is truly an honor and a blessing to be a member.

                       Written after the 2004 Asian Tsunami’s: Requiem by Eliza Gilkyson  

Mother Mary full of grace awaken,

All our homes are gone, our loved ones taken,

Taken by the sea.

Mother Mary calm our fears, have mercy.

Drowning in a sea of tears, have mercy.

Hear our mournful plea.

Our love has been shaken, we wander our homelands, forsaken.

In the dark night of the soul, bring some comfort to us all,

Oh Mother Mary, come and carry us in your embrace,

Let our sorrows  be erased.

Mary fill the glass to overflowing.

Illuminate a path where we are going.

Have mercy on us all.

In funeral pyres burning, each prayer to your mystery returning.

In the dark night of our soul, our shattered dreams, please make them whole,

Oh mother Mary find us as we look for embrace,

Lead us to a higher place.

In the dark night of our soul our broken hearts you can make whole.

Oh mother Mary come and carry us in your embrace

Let us see your gentle face – Mary.

Faculty Collaborative Workshop = chance to catch up with old friends

I recently attended a two day workshop in San Antonio - it was great seeing former friends from grad school and other colleagues.Many of the former grad students were in my cohort of science/math educators in grad school at UT. Now, these folks are like me, in their faculty positions, getting ready/have submitted tenure documents, and it was great seeing them! Also one of my former grad school mentors -- it was awesome catching up! This topiary was in the middle of the restaurant at the Omni and I thought it was so cool and so different! Sorry, no people shots. Too busy chatting and presenting!

Skype totally ROCKS!

It's awesomeness! I just discovered my new laptop has a web camera built in. So, after a brief text to Annie, we both downloaded Skype and within 5 minutes there was Annie and Audrey talking on my computer with a full screen image of them - and they were watching me!  Audrey kept trying to figure out where her Momma was coming from, peering into her computer. I saw her new haircut (which is adorable) and her new bedspread (owls!). We have a date tonight for a bedtime story. Ya GOTTA love technology!!!! Send me your Skype I.D. so I can add you to the list!! Yayyyy!

West Virginia!

I recently took some time to visit Scott in his (far away) home of Lewisburg, West Virginia. It took a whole day to get there, and a whole day to get home, so we had one day to get as much in as possible. What followed was a FABULOUS day full of fun and new experiences!

Scott attends the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine -- in four years he will be a doctor. He had just finished a major lab exam in anatomy. I can't show pictures of the lab or the cadavers --- suffice to say as a scientist and an educator, I was completely blown away when he took me inside the lab. Seeing all the organs and systems and parts thereof of this generous woman who donated her body to science -- it was A-MAZ-ING. I will never forget it and have a whole new respect for teaching this subject, and the elegant design that comprises our body. Here are some pics from Scott's beautiful school - built where a military academy once existed (hence the canons...they don't use them on the medical students!).

This is the inside of  large theater sized classroom -- students had just finished their exams so no one was studying. You can see everyone has their space -- complete with food, supplies, personal items -- they practically LIVE in here, studying together, learning in a collaborative space. Totally awesome and completely in line with the research that tells us that studying together increases learning exponentially as opposed to studying alone (get in your study groups students!!!!).

Not every school has crystal chandeliers in the foyer...this place was both beautiful and functional in its mission - to train a future cohort of physicians.

We had dinner that night, and got up the next day to explore as much as possible. We headed to West Virginia's New River Gorge where the 3rd largest iron arched bridge (largest in the U.S.) was constructed over New River. You can stack two Statues of Liberty AND a Washington Monument under this bridge and still have 20 feet of clearance! On the way to the New River, we saw this:

WOW! Let's see the bridge from the air! And so we did!!!!! I had a BLAST!!

 
The helicopter had a glass bubble window and no doors. It's a Bell 47-G2 built in 1950-something. Our pilot was awesome and talked to us about the sights as we listened and gawked at the sights....it was a GLORIOUS day and perfect for my very first helicopter ride!

\

SO excited!!!! The view was INCREDIBLE!

We landed and decided to hike over and see the bridge from the ground view...

 Then it was time to fill up at holy SHEETZ ...

 and proceed to our next destination!!

 This is Scott's home away from home when he isn't studying during the ski season. Snowshoe Mountain is close enough to Lewisburg to get in a good day of skiing, and is gorgeous. We decided it would be fun to go explore the mountain in the Fall and see the gorgeous and rugged country!

Here is a pic of Scott skiing this past winter - the snow was AWESOME!

The wildlife was pretty cool - some cool birds including a resident Red Tailed hawk and we heard a deer snort nearby. This was the only bear I saw the entire trip:

After hiking around Snow Shoe and hearing the tales of many skiing escapades, we headed back to Lewisburg, and I noticed yet another amazing rock outcrop. A former geology minor, I have always loved the rocks and stories they tell. This outcrop was fabulous...an anticline created millions of years ago from uplifted sedimentary  rock. We stopped and climbed and explored. I collected a few samples to put in my luggage, all of which created a bit of confusion when going through security at the airport!

Back on the road, listening to Blue Grass music on the satellite radio -- seemed appropriate -- what's for dinner?! The Mason Jar, a popular restuarant, had it's all-you-can-eat crab legs special -- we decided that was an EXCELLENT choice!

It was a fabulous trip and wonderful to explore with Scott. Can't wait to return!!!!!! I love you Scott!! xo