The end of the semester is shaping up to be rather intense, as a number of things are going on simultaneously. I got a steroid shot in my wrist a week ago, and though it's not clear yet if it's helping, I'm going back to the doctor in December to talk it over. I gave a talk at the national theory conference, which was rather exciting. Then, when I had recovered from the conference, a draft of my dissertation proposal came together remarkably quickly, and I've been working on it pretty intensively and corresponding with my committee members so that I can defend the proposal yet this semester. (Assuming all goes well and I do successfully defend it, it'll be a huge load off my mind when I leave for Christmas Break, which would be great!) And finally, I applied for a job and, two days ago, found out they're flying me out for an interview! It's a job that centers around aural skills teaching, so the teaching part of my interview is rather stressful to think about--aural skills teaching is so dependent on the class's abilities and personalities. But it'll be exciting nonetheless.

And perhaps most important of all, yesterday, Sara stumbled across the recipe to the most delicious cheesy breads/rolls I've ever had, which just happen to be naturally gluten-free. Chenette and Bakker families, be forewarned that you will need tapioca starch when we visit next....