Champange Flavored Fairwells

Perhaps it is the Feist flowing into my ear drum via my ear bud driving the this sentimental mood. But before I get to carried away with "how my heart behaves" I need to address some criticisms I have received since my first blog posting. First, I need to properly introduce people and pets.

The Cast (familial) :
Max-my Husband
Henry-my Son
Isabelle- our yellow lab
Nero- our male cat
Ramona (aka Mona)- our calico cat

Now, I will try to give proper introductions including the name's origin and meaning for friends and co-workers and their pets as their names are introduced. Last Saturday, after Friday's humilating Oral Preliminary Examination, our commune and trailer park friends hosted a fantastic fairwell barbaque with champagne. Ben&Hedda (common meaning: Awesome (true meaning: Son), & (Strife, Contentious, Gossip) (so the meaning thing is a bit much) &, Jordan&Maria, and Tamara&Jason, gave us two books to help with the transition down south; "A Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War and a Southern Living Cookbook, "Grits." And yesterday, Carol (who I may have embarrassed by tearing up when she left for the summer today-I am such a sap; I cry everytime I read "The Giving Tree"), my office mate traveling to China for the summer, gave me a pre-house warming gift: Giada De Laurentiis cookbook, "Giada's Kitchen." Giada loves mascorpone cheese like I love chocolate; more than 50% of the recipes include mascorpone. My plan is to tear a page from Julie &Julia and write in the blog when I try the recipes out of my new cookbooks.

And last night on a whim we (commune and trailer park friends) celebrated the end of finals with Champagne, Iowa wine, Scotcharoos and Gelato (Henry preferred Amaretto to Chocolate Rasberry and Lemon, mmm) and finished the night off with Pizza and Beer.

I am going to miss those peeps and their love for good-times, liberal tendencies, and Henry.
That is all I can type. I am tearing up at the thought of fire pit explosions, Downer Debbie, and trailer jokes.