even hotter.

Ah yes. It is officially too hot. it has been 100 degrees, consistently....and the humidity makes it hard to handle, even for little ole cold blooded me. Steve and I are thinking that we should plot to escape to britain [at least] once a year, now that we are staying here in North Carolina (er, we are staying here - steve has been offered a full time teaching job at the Hawbridge school in Saxapahaw, and looks like I will be working part time for 6 months at the Rhine Research Center - parting from Liverpool Hope officially at the end of August. Hard decisions, but we got there in the end....and now feeling rather excited about The Future, except for The Heat!). We think the summer would be a good time to exit, and have the best of both worlds!
Sienna is having a fabulous heatwave summer as she has decided that The Pool is simply The Place To Be, and happily zips around in her groovey dora lifejacket. We are going to the pseudo beach this week, and next week....when John arrives for his adventure....we will take a trip to the Outter Banks, via a visit to Ms Cathy (and Matt and baby Morgan) at Washington NC. I am CRAVING the ocean. I dont think it has ever been this long in my adult life (one of the reasons I was so drawn to Swansea was the existence of campus opposite the ocean, and the proximity of the Gower just made my university years magical). And liverpool was on the coast. So I am feeling somewhat land-locked, and cannot wait to dip my toes in. And i know that Sienna will have fun with it this year, as she was into it last year in Wales.
Working on 3 grant proposals at the moment - hoping that I get at least one of them. all three are very exciting (to me, the nerd) and hoping that the funders may think so too. If I got at least one of them, life post February will be both intellectually stimulating and financially secure for a while. And then, I hope that I might get that academic job for 2011...and if not...well, we will see.
Sienna's birthday looms on the horizon. I can hardly believe my baby will be 3. It is true that time really does go so very quickly when you have a little person. It is like seeing time in action as there she is, a little girl who loves pink and currently very into the idea of being a fairy princess (managed to procure an early birthday present of princess shoes from me, as I am a wimp and couldnt resist giving them to her).
back to grants....

hot

And it is going to get a lot hotter. I am happily ensconsed in the air conditioned library, working on my big book chapter. Coming together, but needing some extra tweaking. Sienna is out with Ferrell this pm - they spend every thursday afternoon together, while I go and work on writing.
Book deadline approaching in September, and lots to do before that...but very excited about it. All about health and exceptional human experiences, and based on papers presented at the conference in Liverpool last September.
Sienna is a wonderful little person. [only negative is that we are having a few issues with hitting, but I am hoping this is just a phase....].
Her language amazing, and she has recently become quite an expert at going to the loo, and starting to (occasionally) sleep in her own bed all night long, until I say that, and then The 3am migrations start up again. Preschool ends next week, and so we are going to need to get on the ball in terms of finding some fun things for her to do with other little people. Thinking of Salsa tots, and possibly a gym class...will have to get ourselves organised.

approaching summer

It is a beautiful May day. I am in the library, and realised that it has been an aeon since I last posted about the developments in our world. I have 4 minutes left on my library time, so will have to save a long blog for another day.
But, we are about to enter a new era for our family...looking to stay in Carrboro for at least another year (dependent on whether my career break at Hope gets approved, or not). All very exciting, and scary, simultaneously!
Sienna is a wonderful little person....full of the joys of spring. She has learned to ride her tricycle, and is quite the little girl, who currently has a very strong English accent (yay) after our recent visitation to Blighty and the influence of cousin Jasmine. More soon....

January chill

It has been mighty cold, but today the sun is shining which makes me a very happy person indeed. I have been a tad envious of the British snow, but I am a reptile, and so would always prefer to be sun kissed and happy. Just seen Steve and Sienna for a quick lunch, than grabbed a coffee whilst I waited for a computer at the Cybrary....I am working on 6 things at the same time which is a particular pattern of mine. Working on a PK questionnaire, with Sally Rhine Feather...hoping to get it up and running very soon, and then take some of the results to present in Paris in July (where the Parapsychology Association Convention is taking place this year -very very exciting). Also working on participant recruitment for my upcoming study....and reading and reviewing a book on magic.
Better get back to it, as this is creative faffulation, and I have a lot to do!