What's New With Eric and Julie
On this page, Eric and Julie will post updates on the latest goings-on with them. Check back from time to time!
Also, we frequently post new photos on our Flickr site, so check us out there if you wish!
Thursday, December 27th, 2007:
Heavens, it has been SO long since I have updated this! Well, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year to everyone! We have a holiday letter prepared, which is linked here as PDF for your downloading pleasure, if you feel like you need a nice Reader's Digest version of Julie and Eric's 2007. As always, a good place to look to keep track of what we're up to is our Flickr site, which is linked above. There we always have our latest photos, which pretty much show what we're doing week-by-week.
Anyway, one of our biggest joys of the year was the arrival of our puppy Kirby. He is such a good boy and is so cute. He has blended in well with our life, but that doesn't mean we haven't had to make some changes to adjust to him! He needs the usual things dogs need: feeding, grooming, walking, attention -- and we give him all of these and loads of love. We usually walk him every night and during the day he gets what we call "rambunction" time in the backyard. Sometimes Eric will "rambunction" with Kirby, which involves both Eric and the puppy running back and forth across the yard like madmen, with Kirby generally trying to nip at Eric's feet or pant-legs. I can't quite "rambunction" as well right now as I would ideally like, since I still feel a bit iffy about my foot. If you would like a full definition of the word "rambunction," we can provide that. We have had to learn the basics of Bedlington terrier grooming, for which we have been lucky enough to have a good teacher. A woman who lives here in Albuquerque named Pawnee also has a Bedlington, and she had us over for a very fun afternoon of grooming basics. I think we might've enjoyed that more than Kirby did, but he was very good about it all. He is a very calm dog generally, and spends much of his day sleeping, either in his little bed in the kitchen or in his "puppy play pen" next to Eric's desk in his office.
Eric's job is going well; it requires lots of chair-time for Eric, in front of a computer screen or on conference calls to his team-members in California. Eric does wish he had more saddle-time on his bicycle, but honestly, this last week has been so freezing here that bike-riding might have posed some problems for Eric's extremities anyway. The cold has been even more noticeable to us (and our sinuses) this week because last week we were in sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! We had a great week there on vacation, with was a celebration of our first anniversary. We spent most of our time at our resort in Nuevo Vallarta, at the pool or on the beach, but we did go into the lovely town of Puerto Vallarta three times. As for me, I am enjoying my weeks off from teaching. I will have my first tenure review in a few weeks, so over this break I will be preparing my "tenure packet" for the first review. I will spend some time in the next week compiling those materials in preparation for my meeting with my tenure committee in January. The tenure process is five years long, so this is just the first annual check point. It sure is nice to finally have a tenure-tack job though!
In ten days, Eric and I will head to Atlanta to visit Eric's brother and his family and Eric's mom, who will come up from Florida. We are very excited for this trip! And then, in late January, we'll both be back in the working groove. Eric will have completed six months with Wells Fargo, and I am sure all of his software metrics work is making him an invaluable asset to their company! As for me and my work, I sure am hoping New Mexico Tech sees me as an invaluable asset.
We hope you are all doing well. If you want more information about us, as I said, the PDF of the Christmas Letter that we sent out to those people with whom we don't correspond very much is linked above. I am going to try to update this site more regularly in 2008. Congratulations to all of our friends and family members who have had babies this year, who have gotten engaged or married, or who have gotten new jobs or kitties or puppies or houses! We send our best regards and love to you all.
Friday, September 21st, 2007:
Our new puppy, Kirby Hancock, will arrive on Thursday, September 27th, to our house, as carried to us by a Ms. Sara Larson. Sara will pick Kirby up in Ontario, CA, from the breeder and deliver Kirby to us, stork-style, on Thursday evening! We are very excited. This weekend, Eric and I will beef up our dog-rearing knowledge with some dog training and puppy care books. We will also go on Sunday with my mom to buy Kirby a crate, a bed, his puppy food, and whatever else we see fit (toys?).
Eric has been very busy as of late with his new Wells Fargo job. This week started off a bit rough for Eric, as he was under some stress, but the week seems to be ending triumphantly. My week has been good and my students at New Mexico Tech have been working hard (or at least bluffing so well that I think they're working hard). Today was National Run at Work day and since I cannot run yet, due to my doctor's order, I did the mile-long walk with a woman who works in the President's office. I think it's a good initative. This weekend Eric and I will get ready for Kirby and we will also be having my parents over for a break-the-fast dinner tomorrow night (for Yom Kippur). I will be making glatt kosher turkey in the Romertopf. If my last experience with the Romertopf was any kind of indicator, the turkey should please the turkey-eaters in the family. During the day tomorrow, Eric is hiking in the Sandias with our friend Brett. I am sure they'll have a blast.
Last week, Eric and I both traveled, me to Detroit and Eric to San Francisco. Both of us had great trips. While Eric was in S.F., he worked at the Wells Fargo HQ and met his "teammates," and really liked them. He also saw our friends Ethan and Kelly and his friend Eric French, with whom he now works, and Eric French's wife. Eric also got to see his good friend Tali, who also works for Wells Fargo, and her husband Eric Meeks, with whom Eric used to work. Eric also met Tali and Eric's daughter Lilly, who apprently is super cute! I had a very full and fun time in Detroit. I stayed at Michelle's house for three nights and at Emma's for one. I saw almost all of my friends who still live in Michigan: Michelle, Tom, baby Max, Marla, Cy, baby Catriona, Katie, Laura, baby Kieran, Kristine, Cully, Mike, Emma and Dave (and Miki, Sam, and Franny), Sarah and Johnathan (and Pico and Butters), Mike Collino, my former professors (Ross, Richard, Jerry), and Myrtle (and other English department folks!). If it sounds like I had a busy four days, that's right. It was a blast though and I visited some good eating establishments (Eph McNally's and Buddy's) and played some minitaure golf with Michelle. The one thing I didn't get to do was see a Tiger's game, because they were out of town. Waaaa.
Eric and I plan to do some traveling in October. We intend to go to Montana to visit my grandma and my other relatives there. We also are looking forward to our next visit to L.A., when we'll get to visit Greg, Renee, Noemie, and our new nephew when he arrives!
Saturday, August 25th, 2007:
So, we believe now that our roof refinishing is also completely done, which is good, because we have visitors arriving tomorrow -- Dorothy and Tony (Eric's mom and her friend). They will be staying for a week and will see friends and the sights around Albuquerque. Eric and I have a lot going on and some good news to report! So, on the homefront, it seems that all of our repairs are behind us and now our carpets are steam-cleaned too, thanks to Eric and his handy-dandy steam-cleaners (both a hand-held and an upright -- the man loves to clean carpets). Our yard is still looking nice and our tomatoes are coming in plentifully and we have a big pumpkin growing, which I fret over and hope survives. I've put in some fall plants, a bit more spinach, some lettuce, and some cabbage. Our puppy Kirby will be arriving to us on September 27th, when he is nine or ten weeks old. If you click the Flickr link above, you can see his cute little puppy face. Our friend Sara Larson is flying out here with little Kirby (from Ontario, CA, where he was born) and we are so excited.
But, in the nearer-term, we have a lot to look forward to. School got going this week for me and my classes are going well. I have three classes, two of the same class (so, for those in the biz, that means "only two preps"). I am teaching writing and technical communication -- so no literature this term, but I'll survive. My new office is lovely. I'll need to post pictures of that. But in much more exciting news, Eric has a new job that will draw on programming and analytical skills he developed earlier in his career. He has been hired as a contractor to Wells Fargo, to work on a software metrics program. I'll have to have him post to explain what that means. He was internally refered by his friends and former co-workers Eric French and Tali Bray. Another beautiful thing is, he will work from home! Eric is super excited and feels energized to be back in a field more aligned with his academic training and prior work experience. Eric's first day is September 4th and on the 10th, he will go to S.F. for a week of meetings with some old friends and new coworkers before coming home to really get moving on his new job.
As for me, I'm really looking forward to Labor Day weekend and, potentially, a party and a visit from my friend Sara, with whom I might visit Bandelier National Park. After that, I will go to Detroit for a few days in mid-September, and then the month will end with our new baby puppy Kirby's arrival! So, September is a very busy month for us -- and we'd like to just mention a few August congratulations, on the birth of two babies. So, congratulations to Cy and Marla and Bobby and Kathy or their babies' births. We hope the end of the summer is super for everyone.
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007:
OK, now our bathroom remodel is really done, in that now we've paid, we've hung our shower curtain and wall art (and Pewabic tiles from Detroit!) and it looks very, very nice, if I do say so myself. It is really ready for visitors now. Eric and I have been trying to get some end-of-summer work done here around the house, including the long-overdue rearranging of my office. Last Saturday, Eric trimmed the top of one of my bookcases with a circular saw (which made me very nervous) so now all four of my bookcases can line one wall and my couch can go on the other, with a coffee table in fron of it. So, now my office is looking great and I have been doing a few little sewing projects to put the finishing touches on it. A week from tomorrow I start teaching again and so by then I'll have my syllabi done! My parents have been in Montana for the week, so Eric and I have housed Ruger -- and played with him, and fed him, and given him his many medicines each day (a result of his dog-fight of last week with Rexx), and been generally entertained and loved by him. He is such a good dog. Eric and I will be getting a dog of our own in about six weeks, a Bedlington Terrier whose name will be Kirby. He will be ready to come to us from California in late September and we're very excited. We did a ton of research and spoke with many breeders. There are just over 200 Bedlington puppies born in American each year, so they're not easy to come by. We sure hope Kirby gets along with my parents' dogs! In other news, Eric and I have been squeezing some socializing in also before I get busy with school again: we've had many BBQs over here and we've been competing as a part of a trivia team (comprised of Leah, Ben, Amanda, and a few alternating others) on Monday nights at Burt's Tiki Lounge . We're looking forward also to Dorothy and Tony's visit; they arrive in a bit less than two weeks. Check our photo link above for all the latest.
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007:
Our bathroom remodel is done! I only might have two more days in my hard cast! Albuquerque was pummelled with a huge rainstorm last night! Whew. Lots of exciting stuff, don't you think? On Friday, I will go see the orthopedic doctor to get new x-rays on my foot. Depending on what the x-rays show, I will either have to stay in a hard cast, transfer to a "fracture boot," or have some other kind of treatment. But I am excited to go to the doctor. I am so tired of being in a cast. Eric has been working hard at Vaughan and he's also entertaining some other business ventures, some of which will draw on his programming skills, which he is really eager to return to. We'll let you know if these new plans pan out! Until then, Eric is business-brokering. About that torrential downpour of last night that I mentioned above: our roof started leaking in the living room; we heard a "drip drip" and then more "drip drips" on the carpet while we were watching "John From Cincinnati." So, we have a call in to the roofer, Sid, and hopefully when he comes at 11 a.m. today he'll be able to do some magic to prevent further leaks. In other news, classes begin again in two and a half weeks, so I am gearing up for that. Eric and I are still looking for the Bedlington Terrier of our dreams, and this hunt has been quite involved so far. We visited with two women who own Bedlingtons here in Albuquerque, and both of those dogs came from the same breeder in Denver, but sadly, this breeder won't have puppies until next year. We've contacted breeders in three states and we've scrutinized their breeding practices. This is quite a search. We're looking forward to a visit from Dorothy, Eric' mom, and her boyfriend Tony in a few weeks, and I am also looking forward to a trip to Detroit that I will be taking in September. With all of this rain, our garden is healthy and beautiful and life in Albuquerque is good. Come visit!
Saturday, July 21st, 2007:
Julie and Eric have been enjoying July in New Mexico. As I (Julie) write this, Eric is out on a bike ride in the beautiful Albuquerque morning. He is riding with professional triathlete Eric Lujan. I have been spending a lot of time reading, since I am still pretty much home-bound with my broken foot. As of Monday, I will have two weeks to go in the hard cast. Our garden is coming right along, except the long life of our collards might now have come to an end. I am preparing to teach Technical Writing for the first time, so I have been reading up on that, and otherwise getting ready for the fall term to start in a month. Eric has been quite busy this week at Vaughn, and he's keeping his fingers crossed that some big sales come in, which he's been waiting for for a while. I am not going to be able to go to England in two weeks, as I had planned, for the International D.H. Lawrence Conference because with my foot, international traveling, alone, would perhaps be a challenge. So, we'll enjoy staying at home and being around our friends and family for the rest of the summer. Keep your fingers crossed that our bathroom remodel will finally be completed in the next few days! Our original cabinet maker was deported so his old mentor is finishing the job and is supposed to come install the linen closet today. So, when you come visit next time, you'll get to enjoy our nice new guest bath!
Friday, July 6th, 2007:
Eric and Julie returned from Chicago on Monday night. On Tuesday, they went to Dr. DeCoster, at the UNM Orthopedic Clinic, so Julie could have her foot looked at again. The doctor removed Julie's cast and took new x-rays, which revealed the break still very clearly, thus precipitating Julie's receipt of a new cast. The doctor said that she would have to wear the new cast for four weeks, but this time, she can put some weight on the hard cast because it is thicker and sturdier and is a "walking cast," although Julie still needs to use crutches. After the four weeks are up with the new cast, Julie will get a "fracture boot," a hard plastic removable cast, for two more weeks. This will take us to the middle of August, about one week before Julie's fall-term teaching begins at NMT. So, it appears that Julie will not get to go to the International D.H. Lawrence Conference in Nottingham in August.
Julie and Eric are happy to be back from Chicago. They entertained friends on the Fourth of July and everyone ate food off the grill as well as an exciting patriotic Jello, strawberries, and blueberries dessert. Eric lit off some fire-crackers in the backyard. The weather in Albuquerque is beautiful and the garden is coming right along!
Saturday, June 30th, 2007:
Eric and Julie are in Chicago, for the last weekend of Julie's month-long fellowship at the Newberry Library. Julie is still in a cast from her broken foot -- her "Jones Fracture," to be exact (a break in a particular area of the fifth metatarsal). Julie is sure anxious to get back to Albuquerque, and she has a doctor's appointment on July 2nd and hopefully that will give her a clearer idea of the prognosis on the foot. We will definitely post an update about that.
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