So. Close.

YOU GUYS.

I am in the near-literal sprint to to the finish of grad school!  I have a paper due Thursday and one due Friday.  Between work and working out and homework and apartment-work, I feel like every second is taken up with productivity.  But on Friday, all my schoolwork will be done!  Forever!

(sidenote: I keep getting excited for "lasts," like my last class ever, and my last presentation ever, and there's always someone who's like, "Well, don't say last EVER..." blah blah blah.  Yes, I fully acknowledge I'll have to do presentations at work, and perhaps attend classes or trainings, and I even might go back and get my doctorate in a few years.  But for NOW, I'm darn well going to be excited about "lasts."  I've been in school since I was 3, seriously!  Let me be thrilled that this is the end for a while.)

I have lots of ideas for new posts, and as soon as I have another free second, I can't wait to get back to this little blog of mine.  But in the meantime, wish me luck!  72 hours left of school!!!

--Sammie

PS: also, happy belated Earth Day!  I try to find time every day to appreciate nature, and I hope you do too!

from here.

The Day of Cute.

I don't know if it's the arrival of spring (finally!!) but Saturday was full of adorable.

--At the Farmer's Market, the neighboring vendor's baby girl learned how to walk sometime in the last week. She's super smiley and animated, and she walked over to me and gave me her shoe and giggled. I about died from cute overload.

--I saw seeing eye dogs being trained at Target (I assume to get them used to people). There was a German Shepherd and a black Lab. They were still young, and while they weren't exactly experts at focusing on their job just yet, they were some sweet puppers, and it took all my willpower not to pet them.

--The weather was beautiful, and as I was walking outside, a little boy and his dad rode past me on bikes. I caught the following bit of their conversation (talking about some nearby store I assume):

             "Dad! They have more candy than ANYone!!"
             "Oh really?"
             "Yeah, we should go! Do you like Take 5 bars?"
             "Yes."
             "They HAVE those!! Let's go!"

(I mean, his logic was flawless.)

Aaaand scene.  I can't wait for the Farmer's Market to move outside to High Street in Olde Worthington again (the first weekend in May); there are so many puppies and kiddos to see!

All the cute and happy of yesterday even managed to keep me positive in the face of the final three weeks of the semester (and my final three weeks of school EVER). I have three papers to write, three presentations to give, and about a million class visits to do for work. But soon, I'll be done with school for. eh. ver.  If that's not a happy thought, I don't know what is!

--Sammie

Job Hunt Update.

Just interviewed at the awesome Battelle for Kids.  I think it went well!  It's a fantastic non-profit that works to promote educational effectiveness; and it happens to be like 90 seconds away from my apartment (literally).  Stay tuned, and send your good thoughts and vibes and prayers my way!

:)

--Sammie

2013 Garden

Like everyone else in the Midwest this year, I am hardcore craving spring. I think Mother Nature is making up for last year's early spring, with flowers in the middle of March, with this year's extra-late spring. I've seen a few patches of crocuses, a couple of daffodils here and there the last few days, but man, the forecast today predicted flurries. come. on.

The trees are budding though, the birds are singing, and I bet in the next few weeks we'll see ACTUAL spring--flowers and new leaves and green-ness and warmth. 

I've been planning my balcony garden nonstop, ever since the moment I sadly realized it's been so long since garden season, I'd literally forgotten where I stashed my flowerpots for the winter (I finally remembered: down in my apartment's semi-creepy basement). I can't wait to bring them back up, fill them with new soil, and get 'em outside!

I'm not planting any veggies this year due to the many, many veggie thieves that inhabit my neighborhood (squirrels, bunnies, finches, I'm looking at you!). But here's what I will be planting:

HERBS 

Dill
Sage
Mint
Basil
Chives
Lavender
Rosemary
Lemon Thyme
Pink Chintz Thyme

FLOWERS

Daisies
Zinnias
Petunias
Geraniums
Snapdragons
Moonflowers

I'm not starting seeds indoors this year because I can get most of my herbs already started from the farmer's market vendor I work for, and the rest I'm going to start outdoors at the beginning of May (you know, if it's not still snowing then). All the flowers I'll be growing are sun-loving and non-delicious to scavenging animals, so the sprouts should be safe! I'll also put some of my indoor plants outside like my Boston ivy and succulents.

Now, come on warm weather!!

A jolly green giant // Herbs from last year's garden
Flowers from last year's garden // A slightly-less-jolly, green, shorter-than-a-giant

--Sammie

Life Lately

A few iPhone shots of the past few weeks:

I got my hair chopped! 

The first sign of spring: my mint exploded thanks to a couple of fifty degree days.

Ben's birthday rolled around, and we all know what that means... cheesecake!

My masterpiece:

To celebrate, we met Emily and Nate for a drink... and tater tots.  Gotta love GC.

Then a few days later, this stinker turned five years old!

His cake-master genius Grandma made this Kick Buttowski cake:

...and he made a wish and blew out the candles.  aaaaaaaadorable.

There were some pretty, almost-spring days at OSU!

 ...and a warm weekend afternoon was spent on my mom's patio.

Oh, but wait, we live in Ohio-- this is what Monday morning looked like.

Come on, spring!!

In other news: the job applications continue; I have "second-year-grad-student"-itis; the President is my commencement speaker; I suddenly like oatmeal; I'm planning my balcony garden (if it ever gets warm); there is only one more month of indoor farmer's markets; I'm stressed and tired and happy.

This is the first time in my life that I'm really not sure of what's coming next (school/job/money-wise).  It's a little terrifying, but exciting!  Here's to optimism!  :)

--Sammie

Interview with a Bobcat

I'm taking a fantastic elective called Higher Education Governance and Policy this semester; it's all about college presidents and administration and how university systems affect students, and vice versa (yes, I'm a big higher ed. nerd). The class is co-taught by two professors; one, Dr. Holub, was chancellor (president, basically) at UMass Amherst, and is now a professor of Germanic language at OSU. The other is the inimitable Dr. Strayhorn, a professor of Higher Ed. at OSU (check out his TEDx talk last year!)

Our midterm for the class was (what else) to interview a college or university president. I had high hopes of interviewing a female university president to talk about women's issues, but unfortunately couldn't get on anyone's calendar. As time ticked by, I decided to return (figuratively) to my alma mater and interview the president of Ohio University, Dr. Roderick McDavis.

When I was at OU, there were mixed feelings about Dr. McDavis; the typical battle between athletics funding and academic funding raged for a couple of years, and many students took issue with what they saw as a discrepancy between his salary and what he was worth. However, since I've been back in Columbus for two years now, and know a considerable amount more about the realities of being a university president thanks to my class, I went into the interview without the agenda of talking about those issues.

Dr. McDavis was so great to talk with; he was happy to be talking with an alum, and answered my many questions intelligently and with character. He described the university's proposed Guaranteed Tuition Plan, which would lock in a student's tuition at the same rate for all the years they are in school, even if tuition prices rise in subsequent years; this proposal would make planning for college much easier and take the burden of unforeseen financial hikes off students and their families.

McDavis also spoke about the evolving role of the college president from a more internal role to a more external one--presidents spend much time fundraising, lobbying and traveling, while positions such as the Provost and Chief Financial Officer deal more strictly with on-campus issues.

All in all, we had a great conversation and it was amazing to talk about issues I've been studying in class with a real college president who I've had experience with in the past.

President McDavis (photo from here).

 Only six weeks to graduation! Aaaahhh!!

--Sammie

Jam-Crackers

So, we've already established that I love the TV show Friends.  I laugh especially hard at the character Joey's incessant love of food (maybe he reminds me of, oh I don't know, me?).  Joey loves simple food: sandwiches, pizza, and even just jam on crackers.

Last week, my mom brought one of her coworkers over to see my apartment.  Janell is gorgeous and one of the sweetest girls I've ever met (check out her super cool blog!).  She is thinking about moving to Grandview, and wanted to check out my place.

She and my mom came over after work, and we cracked open a bottle of wine to sip on as we talked.  I whipped up my own version of 'jam-crackers' as a snack, alongside some olives and chocolate covered blueberries.

Jam-Crackers
These are literally the easiest appetizer ever, and everyone loves them.  I chose a jam that was both sweet and spicy for some added surprise and depth, but any quality jam would work. 

Ingredients
-Thin crackers (I used Almond Thins because my mom is gluten-free; Wheat Thins would work too)
-Whipped cream cheese
-Jam (I used an amazing raspberry jalapeno jam I bought from the jam-lady at the Farmer's Market where I work.  Check out the awesomeness.  The spiciness of the jalapeno was cut nicely by the cream cheese.)

Directions
Spread some cream cheese on a cracker, and top with a small smear of jam.  See, I told you it was embarrassingly easy.  Enjoy!


--Sammie