Finally a Mom and almost ABD

Sorry I have not posted in almost 2 months. I did not fully realize how much work a new baby is and just how sleep deprived I really am as a result. However, I would not trade it for the world. My daughter is so amazing to me. To think that my husband and I created such a beautiful (not that I am biased or anything) baby that we love so much is incredibly amazing to me even seven weeks after her birth. Everything is going well as we start out on our journey as parents.

Now a quick note on the school front. I am finishing my readings for my minor field over the summer and should have both the major and minor fields completed by the end of this summer, so I will be ABD. The hard part will be to complete my dissertation as the majority of my research is sitting in archives overseas. So, I will have to find a way to make that happen.

I will try and most some historical items in the future instead of just blogging about my personal life.

New house and soon a new baby

Sorry that I have not updated this blog in over a month. I was quite busy with the process of buying a house, moving and getting ready for the new baby. Buying a house in the midst of the mortgage crisis was a long, stressful and difficult process that took two months before we were able to close. We began the process on January 7th when we applied for a loan through Key Bank via FHA financing (Federal Housing Authority). We did not get the clear to close until March 2nd. After submitting every single piece of paper about our financial and personal lives we were able to close on our new house and finally move out of the ghetto of North Toledo on March 8th in the middle of the snow storm.

While moving in the snow storm, my husband and I were both extremely sick with bronchitis, strep throat and sinusitis. With the help of our family and friends we were able to move. Once we had moved, my husband had hurt his knee at work and was not able to do much around the house, so once again our wonderful family pitched in and helped to get things done such as painting the baby's room.

My husband's knee is on the mend and he is able to do things around the house and we were able to finish the nursery last night. We are now ready for our daughter to be born. We will be going to the hospital within the next week to have labor induced and we will be able to finally meet our daughter, Grace O'Malley Cassidy in the flesh. We are both excited, scared and nervous by this event, but I know we are ready to be parents and will make great ones.

Dealing with fellowship rejection once again

Last year when I applied for the Fulbright Fellowship I did not think that I would make it past the first round as it was my first year of applying for the fellowship to Portugal. As luck would have it, I actually made it past the first round and was one of six semi-finalists for one of three grants to Portugal. So I decided to think positive for once in my life and I assumed that I would probably get the fellowship for this coming year, considering I came so close last year.

It turns out that I did not make it past the first round for the Fulbright this year. I know I can always apply again next year and that everything happens for a reason. Maybe I needed the time in the states to adjust to being a new mom and for my husband and I to adjust to being parents together without having the overseas obstacle to deal with in the first year of our daughter's life.

I just hope that I find enough funding in the future so that I can go overseas to get my research done so that I can write my dissertation and finish my doctorate. I really want to finish up within the next two years but if I keep getting rejected, I will never be able to finish my degree and be able to be on the job market so that I can do what I really love for a living, which is teaching at a university or college.

Tragedy on I-280

If you are from Toledo, I am sure that many of you have heard of the tragedy that occurred on I-280 on December 30, 2007 when a family of eight was hit by a drunk driver by the name of Michael Gagnon who was traveling north on southbound I-280. His blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. His drunk driving resulted in the deaths of five of the eight people in the van, the mother, 36 year old Bethany Griffin, and her daughters: Jordan, 10, Lacie, 7, Haley, 10, and 8 week old Vadi.

He has been charged with their deaths and is now spending time in the Lucas County Jail. I have seen the photos from the crash scene and what really struck me was the infant car seat laying on the interstate surrounded by pink blankets. The sight of this sent chills down my spine, especially since I am pregnant with a baby girl.

I hope Gagnon is put away for good, although I would rather see the scumbag dead then alive. It is despicable how one man's selfish actions have wiped out an innocent family, a mom who will not be around to comfort her remaining children and husband and little girls who will never grow up and become mommies someday. This tragedy just reminds me how precious life is and how the drunk driving laws in this country need to be harsher and carry stricter penalties so that drunks who drive are not given a free ticket to drive under the influence and have the ability to take innocent lives. My fervent wish is for this scumbag to rot in eternal hell.