Did you miss me?

I'm back - FINALLY!

The old desktop took a nosedive, so we are working with a couple of manufacturers to try and get some WORKING equipment. In the meantime, we bought a totally screaming laptop. Woohoo! It's faster than our desktop and has a wide screen with super sharp picture. YES.

Now I can work at home! Oh wait...

Life's been good, albeit busy! Here's a quick rundown:

Labor Day - went to Iowa and KC to canoe the Des Moines river, see ISU campus, meet with my advisor and see the family

September 9 - watched Beller get married in Old Town Albuquerque

Classes at ISU are keeping me busy, but going well. I picked a topic for my thesis - culinary skills for hospitality students. Research questions are still in the works. Review of Lit is going slowly now, but I'm finding info...

The culinary program is coming right along - our first Advisory Committee meeting is October 2nd. I've meet with EVIT staff, other Community College program directors, and the marketing department!

Travis is working hard - he started riding his bike to work again - the weather is starting to cool off - HOORAY!

Hope everybody is doing well!

Take care and talk to you soon.

Jennyany

Photo Photo!

Did you miss me?

Might I just say that Canada is lovely? Especially when you have nothing to do except play croquet, drink a highball, and swim in the Lake? Ahhhhh, the good life.

Then you come back to reality - cold turkey. Work, housework, bills, OUCH. Oh well - that makes vacation that much sweeter.

We had a great trip - Travis and I went to Niagara-on-the-lake, prime Ontario wine growing country, and also visited the falls. We then headed to the Lerch (see left) where my brothers (Chris & Bobby) joined us for a week of R&R. We even did a 3 day canoe trek in the Massasauga - and weren't completely eaten by the mosquitos (though it was touch and go there for a while).

Now I'm back at work and gearing up for the semester, which starts Monday, the 21st. I'm teaching at least 3 hours, working the 25 hour culinary contract, and taking 4 hours from Iowa State. I'll be busy, if nothing else!

I'll post more vacation pics later, but for now, CHEERS! Good luck to all you students and teachers out there!

JW

It's...HOT.... in Scottsdale!

Wow, I didn't realize that I hadn't written since May! I guess that's how much fun you can have while you are attending graduation, staining your concrete, and taking a Stats class from ASU! Here's a quick summary of the past few weeks...

Part I: Graduation
Bobby graduated from KU on May 21, to great pomp and circumstance. The party afterwards was top-notch! Hooray for Boulevard Beer and Fiorella's Jack Stack BBQ. Congratulations Bobby!

Bobby will be starting his Master's degree in aerospace engineering at KU in the fall. He should be able to complete the degree in a year - which makes me kind of jealous, really. If I'm really lucky, I'll get done December 2007, more likely Spring 2007. Oh well, I've been working on my job!



Part II: Concrete Staining
Did this the week before we went to KS for the KU graduation. Take a gander - she's a beauty!



We also stained a tile pattern under the patio roof, and stained around the hot tub. I can't wait until we get the grass - it'll look really sharp!








Part III: Stats Class


The scary thing is, I know how to use this now!

I finished 3 hours graduate class in like 30 days. Sounds like a reality show or something. Hey, I got an A-, so I gotta be happy, right? I haven't worked that hard in a class in a LONG time! I enjoyed the class, because there were always answers to the problems, and half the answers were in the back of the book. I took the nerd award when I got a 97 on the final - highest grade in the class!

Part IV: MCC
I have officially started my contract at Mesa Community College as culinary program coordinator. It's a fancy title for: EMAIL! Actually, I'm technically assembling an advisory panel, implementing curriculum, and coordinating classroom space with EVIT (East Valley Institute of Technology). They have first rate kitchens at EVIT, so MCC will be using their space instead of building a new classroom (which takes LOTS of money). Things are going well so far - I have about half my panel assembled, I've started introducing myself to other faculty in culinary arts in the district, and I'm working on becoming a certified culinarian. That means I can put CC after my name. I guess I'll be Jennifer Watson, RD, CC. Which is kind of cool! Just wait until I get my MS or PhD to go with that!

One interesting development is the fact that they took me out of my department. I guess Mesa is thinking about re-aligning programs outside of traditional departments, or having them stand on their own (like culinary arts). So I report directly to a Dean, which is nice, but I'm kind of on my own, which is crazy. They moved my office to MCC Red Mountain, so I've lost my office space, but I can walk across the hall to get to the Dean. It's a good move - the campus is brand new and beautiful. I'm excited about the program - hopefully if I continue to work hard there will be a chance for full time employment when everything is said and done. Keep your fingers crossed! (Or if you prefer, pray to St. Lawrence, the patron of cooks and bakers!)

Part V: Travel
We've tried to get out of town as we can this summer - in case you haven't noticed, it's been like 110 the past few days in Phoenix. Argh. So we've done a bit of camping and hiking up in the high country, went to Flagstaff before the national forest caught on fire, and even made it to Canyon de Chelly National Monument on our way to Colorado for 4th of July. I don't have many pics right now, but I'll post a few below.

This is an über famous picture of Canyon de Chelly, thanks to Ansel Adams. His looked a little better than mine, but you get the idea. This is the White House trail to the bottom of the Canyon, where you can see ruins, similar to Mesa Verde (but much smaller). These are the only ruins you can visit without a hired guide.

This is Spider Rock - in a different part of the canyon. Quite a beautiful scene - and it's HUGE. It was really hot that day, too, but we still had a great visit.

Summary: So that's it?

Yup, we're slackers, pretty much. :) Bobby visited last weekend, and helped us brew a batch of Kölsch while he was here. We'll let you know how it turns out in August after it lagers for a couple of weeks. We're headed to Canada at the end of July to spend some time at the cottage, canoe in the Massasauga, and catch up with 'Dad's Old Rye' (as Grandma Polly puts it). Wizer's Delux, anyone?

I hope everyone is doing well out there! Stay cool and keep in touch!

Cheers,
Jenny

AND...relax...

It's Martini Time!

My final for HRI 540XW was turned in on Monday - that means my first class back to school is complete. I'm sure I'm going to pass the class, but I'm really hoping for an "A"! I have a few weeks off school, as my stats class at Arizona State doesn't start until May 30.

At MCC, I have my last class for Gourmet Foods tonight, I give a FON 241 (Nutrition) final on Saturday, and Healthy Cooking students turn in their final projects Monday. In the meantime, I've got some serious grading to do, my office to pack and move, and chores to do that I've been ignoring for a couple of months!

I'm taking a day off tomorrow, (since I work Saturday), so I plan to buy supplies for staining the concrete patio floor. That'll be our next big project outside, and we also hope to get sod installed before the weather gets REALLY hot. Speaking of HOT - we've got a new A/C unit! It's a monster, but it works really well. The A/C guys are coming back tomorrow to finish the swamper (evaporative cooler) that's in the garage. The unit is top of the line, so we expect our power bills to go down A LOT during the summer. We even have a really cool thermostat that's programmable!


In other news, we bought our tickets for Canadia! While we're at the cottage, we hope to do some canoeing on the Missassauga (camping overnight), I would like to visit Niagara wine country, and Travis wants to visit Niagara Falls again. Maybe we can take the trail behind the falls this time - that would be cool!

In the meantime, we have a LONG hot summer to get through. I'll be working at MCC 25 hours per week, and I'm hoping to get some indoor projects done.

Our garden is going haywire - I'll post pictures next week. We've got dozens (maybe hundreds) of tomatoes, our squash is doing well, we have peppers, peas, corn and onions, too. I'm excited. :) I've never had a full-blown garden before! I hope everyone back in the midwest is enjoying the lovely spring weather - it's 95 here today. Not bad, but still kinda hot!

Have a good weekend,
Jenny

Go! GO! go!

And the hits just keep on comin'!

On the plus side:

• This is the last week of classes at ISU
• This is the last week my classes cook at MCC
• I don't have to grade any more weekends
• Chris sent me REALLY cool birthday presents - Let's Go Canada!

• I got flowers for my birthday (Thanks Billy & Adam)
• I got gelato and Sur la Table gift cards - (Thanks Lori & Rob)
  
• The weather is still nice
• My corn is tasseling and I've got LOTS of tomatoes
• We get a new A/C unit next week (along with a swamper)

On the MINUS side:

• I have lots of grading to do for MCC
• My ISU final is due Monday at 5PM
• I need a vacation!!!

Ok, so life is pretty good right now. I hope everyone is hanging in there - I can see the end from here. May 12 is graduation and the end of my OYO contract with Mesa. Let's hope that this culinary thing pans out and long-term possibilities will develop!

Take care everybody - I'll write again next week!

Jenny

It's my birthday!

Amazingly, it's been only 2 weeks since I posted. I might almost be getting the hang of this blogging thing. Watch out political pundits!

First of all, Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you all had a good holiday and ate easter eggs and chocolate chickens until you felt like you were going to pop! That's what the holiday is all about right?

Easter for us was pretty quiet - but Travis threw me a birthday party on Saturday night, much to my surprise. Betsy got me a birthday crown and balloons, and Lori and Rob brought Gelato. Vince made pigs in a blanket, Ed brought cheesecake, Brian brought Macaroni Salad. We smoked a duck and a chicken, drank the homebrew, and played darts, too! It was a lot of fun!
Thank you Travis! I'm going out for Martinis and Manicures at Furio tonight (since I teach tonight from 4-7), and Travis and I are going out for dinner next Saturday night at House of Tricks. I'm making this birthday last all week! Might as well with the big 3-0, eh?

As far as work goes, I have only 3 weeks of class left, and really, that's a good thing. This semester has been crazy (see previous posts for details...)! Fortunately, I can see the end from here. I have a few assignments to write up, a couple of presentations to do, and of course I'll have a huge mass of grading to do! Fortunately my Iowa State Class ends the first week of May, so I'll have lots of time to grade during finals week. At least, that's the hope.

Graduation at Mesa Community College is May 12, then I will start summer contract work at MCC on June 5. I'll have a couple of weeks to get some yard work done, and hopefully stain the concrete on the back patio. I am starting a stats class at ASU on May 30; it meets from 1-3 PM Monday through Friday. There's not much else to do during June, right?


In the meantime, I have to keep plugging along. :) Here's a pic of my garden flowers - a birthday present from my parents. How cool - flowers that last for months and months! This is a fuschia vine - very exotic looking on my patio!

Have a good week and stay cool everybody!

Jennyany

The Home Stretch

It's Monday, and you know what that means! You don't? Me neither. All I know is that we are officially on the downhill at this point. I have 5 weeks and then I can hang it up this semester. WOW, was that fast or what? I guess I better get cracking on the assignments I need to grade and give to my students!!

Travis and I were busy wrapping up projects this weekend - taxes, working on the door, returning pans to calphalon, taking the Golf to the shop, all the good stuff. We also tried our first batch of homebrew this weekend. Hmmm, looks like we're back to the drawing board. It's OK, but we made a couple of mistakes, but I think we know what to change for the second batch. (For you homebrewers out there, I think our wort was too hot when we pitched the yeast, and I know we didn't get enough "flow through" with the hops. We tried to contain them in a muslin bag and it was too small.)

I am hoping for better results with the next batch - this is definitely a hobby where you learn as you go along, and I am enjoying the Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charles Papazian (the father of homebrew in the US). It's a chance for me to review all my chemistry from college. Who knew? I recommend it for anyone wanting to get into homebrewing - I never had this much fun reading my chemistry books!

So as we cruise along, we're also thinking about when to install our sod, staining the concrete, summer vacation, and all kinds of other distractions. I'll post pictures as we get any of these projects done, but that means developing film, and posting, and sheesh, all that work! ;)

Have a good week, and don't forget that AZ doesn't change with Daylight Savings. We don't need any more sunlight, thanks. So all of you in KS & IL, we're 2 hours behind now. Those of you in Washington, we're the same time zone as you - at least until October!

Best of luck and Cheers!

Jenny

Saber Dance!

Remember that really crazy song that they play on the Ed Sullivan show when the guy is spinning the plates? That's kind of how I feel right now!!! I have homework, housework, yardwork, and taxes all to get done, and that's just today! Ok, maybe things aren't that bad, but I am definitely feeling pretty stressed right now. It's going to be a full blast run all the way to the end of the semester (which is a short 5 weeks away), so I have to keep running or I'll get lost in the process!

Our computer at home is currently "Out of Order" so I am using the laptop today. I also don't have any pictures for this week. :(

I hope everyone is doing well - hang in there and it will be summer before we know it. Vacation, here we come!

Jenny

March Already?

Ok, so when I said weekly, I meant, um, bi-monthly. That's about the same thing, right? Yeah, maybe on a geologic scale!!

So I have Spring Break this week, and I'm still trying to figure out how we got to Thursday already. Sheesh! I am planning to work in the garden today, run some errands at Michael's at Target, and maybe catch up on my old scrapbook, but for now, I have to update the blog. We've done a LOT in the last couple of months, and I even have pictures! So when I'm not teaching at Mesa Community College, or working on homework for Iowa State, I'm working in the yard.

Just as an update, I have been offered a contract through the summer at MCC. It's only 20-30 hours per week, and it only lasts through September, but it's a good start on my way to long-term employment at Mesa. My job is going to be to do a feasibility study on a culinary/hospitality program at MCC. They don't have one yet, but the president is pretty hot to trot to implement such a program. MCC is gearing up to open a new campus that will feature a Northern Arizona University presence, who happens to have a BS in Hospitality Management. Hmmmm, I think I am seeing some possibilities here... :) I will get to help develop a culinary/hospitality program curriculum as well. I think I have some recommendations for their faculty!

Back at home, we're actually to the point where we are growing things now, and that's pretty exciting. (Plants make things look really polished, and less like a construction site!) Our Friday night soirees have been going well, and it's even been cool enough to burn the chiminea. The only problem is the air pollution advisories. Often these high-pollution days mean no-burn days, and that chiminea feels pretty good when you're sitting around drinking cold ones.

We've put in a brick walkway to edge the lawn (when it gets installed), we've planted herbs, tomatoes, corn, squash, peppers, onions, peas & melons, and we've put up some lights on the patio. We got a new cover for the hot tub (which looks SO much better!) We made a stovepipe for the chiminea, purchased a few tablecloths, dishes, and flatware, and even done some research on acid-staining the floor. We're looking at replacing the A/C and furnace in a couple of weeks, along with re-doing the electricity, as the new A/C won't run on our old panel.

So, we're moving right along, and hopefully we'll be mostly done by the time summer rolls around. Then we'll move the projects inside. We got our Mucha posters dry-mounted, and Travis will be making a frame in his woodworking class. The tapestry we bought in Cuzco is in the midst of being mounted, and once we have the electricity done, we can put in ceiling fans.

Wow, we have been busy! No wonder I feel like I haven't stopped for the last 2 months. The rest of the semester will certainly fly by, and it will be time to take a breath, and a statistics class at ASU! That's right, I'm taking stats so I can take research methods in the Fall. I should be done with my Master's in about a year and a half... here's hoping things continue to go well!

So let's get to the pictures, eh? I'll throw in some highlights of our trip to Chicago, as well. I hope you are all doing well - take care and drop us a line when you get a chance!

Jenny the Maniac

Backyard Photo Gallery

So you're wondering what we've been doing with all those countless hours in the yard... well wait no longer! Since we don't have good cable, we need to find something else to do with our time. And voila! Landscaping!




This is the new dartboard and backer that Travis built.





Travis also converted this old microwave cart into a sink. It looks pretty nice! We used the leftover shiplap from the patio roof to reinforce the back.









Here are my little herbs! I'm still working on getting the water right for them. I've got cilantro, basil, thyme, and even Epazote...


Here's a nice view of our new spa cover...












And a good view of how our patio looks overall - you can see we painted the planters, and put up the lights, and our neighbor cleared out some trees, so it's much sunnier in our yard now. I'm not sure if that's good or not...










Here is the calla lily I showed in our last post, surrounded by new annual flowers. They look gorgeous!!!












And here is an example of one of our Mucha prints. This is Dance, part of the 4 arts. I can't wait to get them all framed!!!

Chicago, you're a wonderful town...

We had a wonderful short 36 hours in Chicago, but we managed to do some majorly touristy things! We saw the art institute, visited the Sears tower, went to an English Pub, and even walked along Lake Michigan! We walked through Lincoln Park on the way back to the car, and then Travis and I flew home. Whew! What a weekend!

At the art institute, we saw LOTS of Monet... it was amazing to see all these paintings in the same room. Nothing like seeing the entire haystack series instead of imagining the bits and pieces!










Georgia O'Keefe had quite a presence at the Art Institute as well... here is her picture of Macchu Picchu.






After the Art Institute, we went to the top of the Sears Tower. Very touristy, but oh well. The Bears were in the playoffs... we could almost see the game from there!

After the Sears Tower, we went for pizza at Giordano's, and enjoyed a couple of Goose Island 312 beers. Then we went to the Red Lion Pub (within stumbling distance of our hostel) and enjoyed a few Smythwicks. My first (and certainly not the last)!





We had a great time, Chris!!! Thanks for driving us around that crazy town!

Cruising Along

Another Tuesday, another chapter to read for homework!

But I have to say, I had a great time over the weekend at the Food and Culinary Symposium. I've never been around such a group of dietitians that loved to DRINK! Wow, it was like culinary school all over again. I started riding my bike today (following Travis to work) to get in some workout time. If I kept eating like that, I wouldn't fit into my clothes anymore!!!

But, now the vacation is over, and I've hit the ground running with my class at ISU and the classes I'm teaching. All I can say is, it's a good thing I got my lecture ready last week. I'll play catch up on work this week, and catch up on sleep this weekend. :) Eva is staying with us this week as she is taking a couple of real estate classes here in Scottsdale.

This Friday will officially begin this Friday, with "Darts at W's". We have the dart board up, the chiminea installed, the sink working, and the wall painted. Time to crack open a few cold ones! We're hoping to get people over as a standing event on Friday evenings. Gotta enjoy the weather while we've got it!

I'll post pictures of our latest work when I get them this week, but in the meantime, here's a few peeks at what we've done:


This is a calla lily that we've been growing on our porch. They are incredibly beautiful flowers, and it's almost crazy that you can go to Lowe's and buy one for like $7. Elaine (my mother-in-law) helped me pick it out - and she found a good one!

Here's another picture of our backyard - the walls are finally painted!








The walls look really great - we're excited that we've gotten them done!!

The next step is installing the plants, sod, brick pathway, and oh yeah, dumping all those rocks we dug out of the yard!!!

A few weeks ago, we went and saw Chris in IL. Here are a couple of photos on the UIUC campus. We didn't get a picture of Kate, but we're working on it. :)

This is the Engineering Complex at UIUC - what a gorgeous campus!!!

We had a great time in Urbana, and then we went to Chicago, which was also great. I'll post more pictures later - I gotta hit the books!!

Have a great week, everybody.

JRW

Update on the valves!

We got the leak fixed - HOORAY!!! So the irrigation system is working, and now we can start thinking about plants. SCHWEET.

JRW

On your mark, get set, eat!

Today is the start of the Food and Culinary Professionals Annual Symposium! What does that mean? Stand back, the dietitians are heading for the food!

MCC is footing the bill so that I can attend this conference, being held locally, unbelievably. I'll be going to cooking classes, tasting classes, and info sessions on trends in culinary arts. I'm also hoping to hook up with some other dietitians that are teaching in culinary and hospitality. You know, in case something actually pans out at MCC.

I am going to stay on with MCC through the summer to do some research related to the possibilities of hospitality and culinary programs, but beyond September, nothing is set.

My online classes have started, and along with my distance Master's class, I am starting to feel chained to my computer. This conference will be a good chance for me to get out and see other people. And also to look at something OTHER than a computer screen for a while. I hope to get lots of good ideas and recipes for my FON 144 (Gourmet Foods) class. I actually re-arranged my course schedule this semester to allow for a Southwest Cuisine cooking night.

Today I register and head to the Desert Botanical Garden for a session on the heritage of Southwest Cuisine (i.e., what did the Indians eat?). The conference really gets underway tomorrow, starting around 7:30 and going until 5:30. So that means I better get my Trend Analysis report done this morning for my marketing class!!

I'll write more later - and post pics, too. Have a great weekend!

Jenbo

Views from the Porch

I bet you're all wondering what the heck we've done with the backyard, right? You're thinking, what the HECK have they been doing for the last 3 months?

Well, you can't see the majority of the grunt work, i.e. the irrigation system is underground! But you can see some painting and such.


First of all, we put a lot of trenches in the yard and ran the irrigation tubing. THAT took a while!


Then we put in the valves to control the irrigation (we're still working on that part - the leak hasn't stopped).

The next step was the electrical - you can see here how we put the conduit for the lighting inside the block wall surrounding our back yard. Betsy helped us a lot at this point!

This is what the finished electrical looks like with the lanterns installed (you don't see the flood lights here) and the outlets. They are all on different circuits, and there are independent switches for the two types of lights. As you can see, we also painted our block walls La Fonda Copper. I'll put more pics up later. I gotta get myself to work!

Take care and talk to you all soon!

Jenny

Instead of going to Urbana this weekend, I...

Sounds like an English assignment from 3rd grade, doesn't it?

Last weekend I did glamorous things... I went to Chicago, saw the art museum, hung out with T-bone and played pool. Life is good on 3-day weekends. My parents are in Barcelona this week, you know, hanging out and seeing the sights.

Life is less glamorous here at the Watson castle. As with most other weekends, (you guessed it) we worked on the yard! We are getting some major things done though - we installed a sink & vanity Travis built, and I painted the outside wall of the house a really light blue color. Frankly, it looks REALLY cool. I can't wait to stain the floor, install ceiling fans, and get some nicer furniture out there. It will truly be *the place* to be in Scottsdale!

Otherwise, life is cranking up at Mesa Community College. I'm teaching 19 hours (12 online) and I'm doing all I can to get ready for the semester. You quickly forget how much work you do for those first few weeks! Copies, anyone?

To complicate matters, I went back to school this semester at Iowa State for my masters. We have homework due tomorrow, so I can't slack in that department, either. Oh well, it'll be a good program, and the marketing plan we develop may come in handy as I help develop this culinary/hospitality thing at MCC. :)

Hope everyone is doing well! Keep warm and stay in touch!

Jenny

Back to the grind...

So I haven't written in a while, but now it's time to get back on the wagon!

Travis and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Urbana & Chicago - lots of fun - visiting with Chris. In the meantime, classes started yesterday, and I am teaching my first class for the semester tonight. I'm teaching a total of 12 hours online, so I will be busy in front of my computer for most of the work week, and teaching 2 night classes - Gourmet Foods and Food for Fun & Fitness. I have a lot of work to do, but I'm having a great time.

After this semester, I don't have a job anymore; so I am doing all I can to impress the department while I am here. I am also trying to get as much experience as I can while I am at Mesa. Regardless of where I land, if I want to teach, this is a great opportunity to get my feet wet!

As far as the home front, we're still working on the back yard - hopefully we can get everything wrapped up in the next couple of weeks. We need to finish the irrigation for the vegetable garden, fix a leaky irrigation valve, install plants & sod, and put in a brick walkway. Eventually we will be staining the concrete and painting the outside wall of the house, installing ceiling fans, and maybe getting a new table for outside. The backyard will look something like an oasis when we're done, I think!

I am also starting grad school this semester, and I actually have homework due tomorrow, so I better get to it. It's going to be a busy semester, but I am hoping to make the best of it. I'll also do better with the posts - maybe once a week... if you're lucky!

Jenny