**February Frenzy**

February was a busy month! I don't even know where the time went, as I sit here late at night writing this to stay true to our monthly blog posts... even if it is on the last night of the month!

 My friend from grad school and colleague, Lucy Miller, came to Davidson to give a public lecture. She guest lectured in 2 of my classes and attended a dinner with some of my new colleagues here. It was an overall well-received event and I was really happy that my students were engaged, respectful, and receptive to what she had to share with them. The public lecture had a good turnout and I got positive feedback about her visit to Davidson from many students and peers. It's a lot of work to host a guest from out of town and I felt very responsible for her pleasant experience visiting my new stompin' grounds. The funding proposal was approved back in October 2012 and co-sponsored across many departments and student organizations on campus. Lucy and I got some time to just hang out together and catch up on life since we no longer have the luxury of doing so so easily now that we live in different states. I gave her a tour around town and the surrounding cities, including Charlotte. We met up with an former A&M professor who is from Charlotte and has since moved back for a different job opportunity. We has "dirty south nachos" at this trendy place we went to in Charlotte, which we thought was quite fitting for our reunion outing, haha. Lucy and I toured the Mint Museum of Art on the Tuesday afternoon of down time we had after her busy Monday of guest lecturing around campus.

Here are some of the photographic highlights from the Mint that I sneaked (with no-flash, of course). There was this really unique exhibit we really enjoyed entitled "Fashionable Silhouettes" that showcased various time period-specific attire for men and women.








I also had the opportunity to see other big name guest lecturers on campus which occupied many evenings of my month. I got to hear Sister Simone Campbell --of Nuns on the Bus fame-- talk about her progressive pro-life stance. She is one sassy lady who is not afraid to put politicians on the spot for their backwards views or convenient reframing of hot topics in today's political platform! I remember hearing her speak at the DNC and thinking she was a really neat lady. She's an attorney and a Catholic nun who says that caring for the 100% is about pro-life which also means permitting women easy access to reproductive health care... including birth control. You can see why this is a controversial stance for a Catholic nun to have! I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her speak.
A professor from A&M was in town doing a public lecture for UNC-Charlotte so I went to see her talk about her new book, The Vulnerable Empowered Woman: Feminism, Postfeminism, and Women's Health (Critical Issues in Health and Medicine). It was nice to see her and get my copy of the book signed with a personal message!  : )  

Drunken tavern kiss, haha. I love this!

Angela Davis --civil rights icon who worked with the Black Panthers and revolutionized American thought about slavery, racism, discrimination, and the prison system as continued slavery in today's society-- was a distinguished lecturer on campus this month as well. I was soooo excited, starstruck, and honored to be invited to the dinner held at the President's house before the evening lecture on campus! I got to meet Angela Davis and shaker her hand. It was such a wonderful opportunity to meet someone so powerful, historic, and just generally be in the same room as such a brilliant thinker. This was definitely a highlight of my month and year overall! A colleague and I were too starstruck to ask her for a picture with us so instead we just *photobombed* the public lecture since we got to sit right up front in special reserved faculty rows. Woohoo! The perks of my job cannot be understated, really. Check out some of my homemade videos of segments from her public lecture below. 

I was featured in the L.I.F.E (Latinos in Full Effect) student-produced newsletter at Davidson College. The OLAS (Organization for Latino American Students) chose to interview me for the faculty member feature of the semester. Click here to read the online newsletter with my interview on pg. 8.  ; ) 
 

This painting caught me eye...

Other February highlights:

1) We got our first snow-dusting! I was in the gym for maybe 45 minutes and then came out to a blizzard whirlwind of snowy weather! Good thing I had Opal's towel in my backseat because it came in handy to brush off all the snow so that I could see out the windows and get safely back home. We had plans to go to my cousin's house for dinner but we had to cancel just in case the roads were in bad shape. My cousin and his family live about an hour from us and we've been meaning to get together for a while now... we will wait for the spring weather to shape up nicely and maybe then we will have them over for a backyard BBQ. Opal is going to love having the little kids over!

2)  AL GOT AN EMT JOB!!!!! He went in for an interview with Carrowinds, a local amusement park gearing up for re-opening now that winter subsides, and he was one of only 10 hired. He did really well on the interviews he had and knocked his skills test out of the park. This is really a wonderful accomplishment and testament to his skills because the prevailing norm among EMTs in recent years is that they usually have to volunteer to gain some field experience and then it is typical to wait about 6+ months for a full time job. We celebrated with a BBQ dinner that day he got the call and job offer. He has been in to do paperwork and will start training in early March. He's really relieved to have found a job in this dismal job market and I couldn't be happier for him. Al did get a bit ill this week so he's enjoying his remaining days off before he starts this new job. He and Opal have been resting together each day like the lil' cuddle bugs they are. **CONGRATULATIONS to Al on his new job opportunity!!!!**

Opal kisses and cuddles with Daddy-O...

Sister Simone speaks to the Davidson community...

An umbrella-like dress! How cool!

Those old schoolers used to party hard! Check out these ceramic book flasks. This looks like something I should own, haha.

And a flask finger ring?! Seriously, this is just so damn clever.  : P

Angela Davis!!!!! **Starstruck**

Dr. Dubriwny talking about her book at UNCC.

Photobombed at Angela Davis' lecture! :D

My advisee Courtney left a Bieber Fever valentine on my office door, haha. This made me think of our goddaugther, Isis. She's a Justin Bieber fan and it was her 5th birthday this month. We sent her a package of goodies and gifts for her birthday. This is the first one we've had to miss! Sadness... but it sounded like she had a wonderful celebration with loved ones. : )

Opal gets a spoonful of peanut butter as a dessert treat sometimes. She looooves it and often can't get enough. Sometimes she tries to eat the spoon when the peanut butter is all gone! Lol.

We didn't celebrate Valentine's Day on the day of because I had too much work to do and Al was busy with job-related prep. I got home to this lovely homemade surprise gift and cutesy baby Opals calendar! I hung it up in my office and am currently deciding on the best place for my wall art. I love this! It may be one of my favorite gifts Al has ever given me.  <3

Snow bunnies! Check out our back yard. It's a winter wonderland!

We sent small Valentine's Day packages to the kiddos in our lives. Here's my godson A.J. with his kissy lips sucker, haha. He's such a cutie!

Al's fabulous aunties sent us a surprise Valentine's Day care package in the mail! It was, again, such a nice surprise to come home to waiting for us on the doorstep.  : D

What a gorgeous snow dusted tree...

Our latest southern discovery and love = Cheerwine soda! As Al describes, it tastes like a cross between Big Red and Dr. Pepper.

We went out for drinks on a double date with our friends Jamie and Shannon. Of course we support the local brews. Check out Shotgun Betty!

Isn't this odd and amusing?! Opal cuddling next to me under the Opal blanket, haha.

Life is tough for a puperoni. Opal cuddles with Daddy-O's leg on the couch after a long day of lounging, playing with toys, and walking around the neighborhood.  : )

Al's celebratory BBQ dinner the day he got his job offer. Yay, hubby!  : D

 And here (above) are the 3 video clips I made of Angela Davis' talk at Davidson. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to listen to her brilliance for an hour and a half.

Up next --> we will visit TX to attend 2 friends' weddings in S.A. and Dallas! I'll also be out of town every other weekend in April because of conferences I'm attending and presenting at. I'm really excited but also going to use Spring Break (next week) strategically to get ahead on class prep. and caught up on grading so those trips out of town each weekend won't be so crazy. I'm heading to Chicago, Louisville, and Pittsburgh! Safe travels to me...