Catching Up...

So much has happened since our last post that I hardly know where to begin. First, thank you all for your kind words and prayers on behalf of my family and my mother. Her was successful and she is recovering well. Of course, there is a five-year out waiting and chec-up period to make sure the cancer does not return, but her health is definitely improving and we are very hopeful.

After returning to Auburn, Brian and I took a short trip down to St. Andrews State Park in Florida for a little camping adventure. And, adventure it was. The site we had reserved had been flooded just days before our arrival from the tropical storm that passed that way earlier in the week and waterfront view we thought we were getting was actually the shore of the lagoon-not the beach! It was still plenty of fun and the water was so clear and beautiful and the waves were fun.

Though we probably won't return to St. Andrews unless we can get a beachside camping spot, we will definitely check out Henderson State Park near Destin.
Also, a very beautiful beach.




Unfortunately, I did pay a heavy price for all the fun at the beach-very painful and bad sunburn! Apparently, the sunblock I was using was no longer effective and I received what was probably 2nd degree burns on my back and neck. Pain and discomfort for a week afterwards!

We've also had a chance to visit my grandparents and other relatives down on the Gulf Coast. We surprised my father for Father's Day at the tail-end of our trip to Florida and then returned for July 4th weekend. Both were very memorable trips (pictures to come).

However, I am still amazed by the expanse of damage from Hurricane Katrina that is still so very evident !
This wonderful place that created for me such fond childhood memories will never be the same again.



Now, on to some happy news...while Brian chugs along with his program at Auburn (he's taking a summer course and teaching an Intro Physics class), I have decided not to attend Auburn. The program, unfortunately, doesn't really offer the depth and breadth of study that I crave and is necessary at this point in my professional and academic career. However, all is not lost. A couple months ago, I came across a program at the University of North Texas. "What? You're moving to Texas?," you ask. No. This is just one of what I hope will be many applicable, unique, and suitable aspects of the program-it is an online program with a very flexible schedule offering an interesting array of study from professors with diverse and fascinating backgrounds. Well, I applied and a couple of weeks ago was accepted to the Online Anthropology Masters Program at UNT, http://www.unt.edu/anthropology/onlinemasters/. I have to take a summer leveling course that started yesterday and that promises to be very intense and challening and then I begin full-time for three years in August. I am very excited. This program will, I believe, combine a lot of my interests and experiences, professional and personal, into a rewarding experience that will be very useful as I look to options for a Ph.D. program down the road. I also hope to continue my employment with the National Environmental Health Association. It is a valuable organization that has been very good to me and I find my work rewarding and applicable, in fact, to some of my goals and interests in Anthropology.
So...there you have it...that's about it for now...more to come...thanks for visiting!