Dave's Germs are Mean

I have decided that Dave's germs are mean. They don't like me, or that's what it feels like! Dave had a cold earlier this week, he was sick for about a day. I got the same bug a few days later, and I've been in bed since Thursday. I finally went to the doctor yesterday (I swear, I am usually not this sick) and have bronchitis...or I got enough drugs to think that I do. I left the health center with: decongestants, cough syrup, cough drops, an antihistamine, an inhaler (albuterol) and an antibiotic (z-pac). My side table is starting to look like a pharmacy! So, like I said...Dave's germa are mean!

In other news, there is strike on U of I campus starting tomorrow. The GEO (Graduate Employees Organization) is striking for a guarantee of a tuition and fee waiver for all graduate students. There has been bargaining going on for a while, and it has come to a strike starting tomorrow. That means that any class taught by a TA will be cancelled until things are resolved. I am not striking, but it will still impact me. We'll see what happens.

The Latest from the Kay Household

Our branch's Primary Program was yesterday. The kids (all 4 of them) did a great job. I taught them the second verse of "I'm Trying to be like Jesus" in German. They remembered all the words and the actions we made up. I was so proud! Now I have to start preparing for next year. Bleh...it never ends!

Pictures from the Indianapolis Zoo

Indianapolis

Dave and I spent Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis. It was great to get away. I will post more pictures later and give you a run down of the trip. We basically wandered around downtown Indy and then went to the Zoo on Saturday morning. The hotel we stayed in (thanks, Hotwire!) used to be the old Union Station. You can even rent rooms in the old pullman cars!

Making the Bed

My mom made the bed every day of her married life that I can remember. Dave and I are not so good at that. The best way that I have found to actually get me to make the bed every day is if I have European bedding. That means all I have to do is fluff the duvet and my pillows. Germans actually fold the duvet in half and just fluff the pillow. I love it, I've never been so consistent with making my bed as when I've lived in Germany.

Needless to say, neither I nor Dave are good at making our bed. If we don't make the bed then all of the pillows that belong on top just sit in front of my closet and it is impossible to find clothes. So, we made a goal to make the bed every day. Dave made the bed Saturday morning. This is what he did:

I was grateful that he helped us reach our goal of making the bed, cuz we for sure didn't make it on Sunday. I guess that would have been my turn. Oops!

Dave's Birthday Party

Well, it's official. Dave turned 30. He is now the same age as I am. He has mourned his 20s and is now embracing his 30s. To help him transition I threw him a bday party on Saturday night. We just sat around and slept on his actual birthday.

I love planning parties, so Dave's birthday was the perfect excuse. The concept was simple: come and hang out, play some guitar hero, and bring Dave 30 of something. People got really creative. Giles gave Dave 30 chicks (donated through Heifer International), Amanda gave him 30 Starburst, he got 30 pencils and erasers, 30 bandaids, 30 3 Musketeers bars, 3o popcorn kernels, chocolate chips and almonds, etc. I have to say, when you put 30 of something in a baggie, it doesn't look like much. I guess Dave isn't that old after all.

I enjoyed planning and making the food. We had 7 layer bean dip, bruschetta dip and cupcakes. I was quite pleased with myself when I made the 7 layer bean dip...I made it all in my springform pan. After letting the flavors meld (aka sit in the fridge) I just pulled the sides off and it looked like I was a layer-stacking genius!

Lots and Lots of Grading

I keep trying to think of something witty and amusing to share on my blog. Unfortunately, I don't have any kids like Ella, Owen or Varinia to do crazy things I can write about. I do have a husband, but he's pretty normal most of the time. Dave has a really good friend, Caren, who is a gemini. She and her other gemini friends invented what they call "Gemini Games." Dave considers himself an adopted Gemini, and as such he loves to play gemini games. That means he likes to do random things in a repetitive way: He gives high 5's 10 or 15 times in a row, he uses his hand to sing me songs (picture holding your hand horizontally in front of you and use your thumb to imitate a mouth moving) and other things that I can't remember right now.

Besides playing gemini games with Dave every once in a while, I have been doing a lot of grading. The course I am teaching this semester is GER 250: Grimms Fairy Tales in their European Context. It's an English-language course we offer in the department. It's been fun to read the fairy tales in their various versions (they are nothing like Disney, if you didn't know). This is a writing-intensive course, so I do nothing but grade. A few weeks ago the students--all 40 of them-- handed in 6-page essays. I'm still grading them. Here's hoping I finish them eventually!