Hello, old blog. I think about writing a blog post often but never take the time to sit down, write the post, and post it. I figured there is no time like the present to begin. And, I just thought that I would start with a recap of what has been going on.

• Beginning in November (of 2019), I made three trips to Texas, and my mom came up to Kentucky twice.
• My first trip to Texas in the fall of 2019 included attending my cousin’s “I Do BBQ” reception. He got married a few weeks prior in Hawaii, and they had a reception once they got back. I am so excited for him and his new bride – they complement each other nicely.

• While in San Antonio, I discovered that the Blue Man Group was premiering a new show, and we were able to get tickets. Allyn had seen the Blue Man Group before, but for my mom and me, it was a first.

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• My mom came up for Thanksgiving. I cooked Thanksgiving dinner for a good friend of mine and us.

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• The weekend after Thanksgiving, we took my mom to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. She had always wanted to go, and since they were in town, we decided this was a good opportunity.

  

• In the middle of December, I decided to head down to San Antonio to do some Christmas shopping with my mom, celebrate Christmas with my great-uncle who is in a memory care center, and attended a cousin’s 40^th

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• My mom came up for Christmas this year. I did a lot of cooking, we went to midnight mass, then watch movies, slept, and ate – all in all it was a good few days of relaxing family time.

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• 2020 was rung in with no celebration this year – Allyn and I just spent the night at home. The next day I flew home to Texas to celebrate the holidays with my grandmother’s family. It was a quick trip, but I was glad I went back and got to see everyone.
• I decided not to “teach” this semester. It was a hard decision in many ways, but also an easy one. Saying yes to teaching meant I was saying yes to a 3-hour drive daily, which was in the opposite direction of the research I needed to do for my dissertation and in the opposite direction of some medical stuff we needed to explore. So, Allyn and I decided that it was best for me to focus on other things and not teach this semester. I am still not sure if I will return in the fall.
• In January, we attended our IVF education meeting and officially kicked off our IVF journey.
• In mid-January, we attended a tour if of the Rookwood Pottery Company’s archives. Rookwood Pottery was founded in Cincinnati in 1880 and has been producing art pottery and architectural tile since (over 130 years). In recent years the company has relocated its facility to the heart of downtown Cincinnati in the historic Over-The-Rhine Neighborhood. As a cultural historian who is interested in art, it was fun to walk through the pottery’s archives and see their collection and even some recent work. Many of their pieces are tied to the culture and events in Cincinnati, which to me, is fascinating.

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• At the end of January, I finished up my prospectus for my dissertation, sent it to my committee members, and officially started my dissertation research.
• The beginning of February was kicked off by celebrating our 6^th wedding anniversary. We didn’t do anything fancy this year.
• Also, at the beginning of February (on our anniversary), we attended the Cincinnati Region SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) annual award dinner. For the 2019 season, Allyn won first in his division – driving a Tesla, of course!

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• Before it left the Cincinnati Museum Center, we went to see the traveling exhibit “Destination Moon,” which commemorated the Apollo Space Program and the moon landing. We ended up going twice, during our second visit, we got to hear Marion Lee Johnson talk. Johnson was one of the mathematicians responsible for the calculations to simulate vehicle piece impact trajectories during the Apollo missions. It was interesting to hear her speak about her work, but most of all, it was wonderful to see how she encourage the youth.

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• In mid-February, we met up with friends from the Scirocco (Cincy) group for Spring-Fling. We did an outing to the Franklin Park Conservatory. The Chihuly exhibit was still up at the conservatory, which was fun and a treat, given I am a big Chihuly fan.

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• The end of February brought a lot of frustration and disappointment. To deal with this frustration and disappointment, I started going back to the gym. Going to the gym really helps me to clear my mind and focus better.
• Shortly after the beginning of March, I headed back to Texas to see my mom and help her celebrate her birthday. While there, we did a lot of things together – cooked, visited family, did yard/ranch work, shopping, bunco night, and took a road trip to Kerrville, Texas, to visit the James Avery Headquarters’ store and museum.

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• The concern over the Coronavirus surfaced when I was in Texas. Flying back to Cincinnati was a little eerie – my flights had an average of 20 people on them, and then when we were landing at the CVG airport, you could see almost all of the parking lots were empty. I cannot say I was nervous about flying; it just felt strange.
• Concerns over the Coronavirus brought the religious education program I teach at our church to an end, which was a real bummer, because I really enjoyed the group of students I had this year. I am also going to miss the other catechists and our fellowship.
• Since Monday, I have been doing my best to confine myself to the house. I have been working on the dissertation, cleaning, readings, cooking, and watching TV/movies. I don’t mind staying in and doing my part to ward off the virus; I just miss being able to see friends, being able to go to the store regularly, do research in person at archives, my daily trips to the gym and traveling.