I have been a neglectful blogger. However, it is not my New Year’s resolution to blog more. I will just have to do it when I have time. I hit the ground running in 2010. I’ve started back into some academic work so I have been very busy lately with little extraneous computer time. As a grad student, there was always time for computer things while working. A certain amount (well a large amount) of procrastination was necessary. As a Mom paying for daycare so I can work, this is not the case. I try to get as much done as possible in my limited work hours. Things have been productive. I submitted a final draft of the Birds of North America account for the Black-capped Chickadee yesterday. I started working on it in September so it has been a lengthy project. I am also nearly finished revisions of a manuscript that was rejected one whole year ago. I’m hoping the year interval before re-submission hasn’t hurt our chances. I don’t think I was ready to work on it until now. Not just that I couldn’t, but I didn’t want to. My last thesis chapter was just a tangle of complicated data and once I sent it off to Behaviour, I wanted to be done with it. I didn’t want to do the reviews. Now that I’ve had time to digest it and re-visit with fresh eyes, I realize that it is a good paper and needs to get out there and I’m willing to put in the mental effort. I think a year away was a good thing for me, mentally. I am still excited by what I do so I think that means that I do want to continue doing it. I wasn’t so sure when I finished my PhD about what the future would hold. I’m still not, given that my employment is limited. I will continue to look for employment in my field and not just look for any job that will pay the bills. I’m not sure I would be happy if I wasn’t doing this. It’s nice to know where I belong, even if I haven’t found the exact place yet.
Look at that Angelic face!
I have been knitting but not at my usual level of productivity. The Christmas knitting extended past the actual holiday. In fact, I am still not finished Marley’s stock though I am past the heel of the second sock and just have the leg to go. I finished Bender for Matt. He sat atop the tree in place of the angel that none of us believe in. Well, we had a star but I don’t believe in its symbolism either. Bender Bender Rodrigues, is the perfect tree topper in my opinion and it was a great way to surprise Matt on Christmas morning. I hid the star so my mother couldn’t replace it before we got up. I’m sure she wouldn’t have but I had to be sure. When I started Bender, I knit his body and then half his head and then stuffed him in a bag for months. It took the countdown to Christmas to get me going again and I am truly glad that I did.
I knit Rowan another sweater. He had only one that fit and I think he should have at least two Mommy knit sweaters for the winter. It turned out well and yesterday I just finished a matching hat with earflaps. Here is the sweater but I haven’t managed to wrestle him into the hat for a picture yet. Hats only work in my house when combined with mittens. Mittens make it hard to remove hats! It is knit in Stylecraft Life DK. I really liked the yarn and bought some more for next year’s sweater. Well I hope it is next year and he doesn’t grow so fast that it is sooner than that. Well that is about all for now. I will be back when time permits.
TRUST ME I'M A DOCTOR 