my dad

I can't believe it has been two years since he passed away. A lot has changed in our lives since then and I'm proud that we can say we are making good things come out of so much tragedy. I miss him terribly and I am choosing to honor him, and more importantly God, by trying to live in ways that he wasn't able to.

Lately I've been thinking about what a good provider my father was. This is the house he designed and contracted in VB. The first year we moved in it some kids came by to trick-or-treat on Halloween and asked us if it was a hotel. I've always thought that was funny.

I miss you, Dad. I miss the way you walked, the way you laughed, the way you complained about the homeowners board every time we walked around the development, your sense of humor, and the way you loved your family well. I love you.

an idea

I'm starting to write my dissertation proposal and hopefully I will have a draft by end of next week. But I have an idea for this upcoming school year: send me directly (dianakwade@gmail.com) any words you think I should try and incorporate into my dissertation. I'm open - any crazy and zany words you can think of - whether they are related to my field of study or academics at all - and I'll try my best to squeeze them in in some manner or another, just for you. (Please try to limit your ideas to only 1 or 2 per person.)

P.S. This is Yip, kitty #2, and a very good study buddy of mine.

Back from NYC

We're back from NYC. We had a great trip and really enjoyed our time there. We celebrated our 7th anniversary with a dinner at Candle Cafe and then went to the Empire State Building for a "proper" proposal. :) We went to church, saw Wicked, met up with an old friend, visited the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and generally just walked a bunch. We also happened upon AFSP's Overnight Walk, which was amazing to see and sneak a peak of. Until later!

Oral comps = in the bag.

Killed it. Actually I didn't kill it at all, in fact I didn't know the answers to several of my quantitative person's questions, so I probably barely maimed it. But it was enough for it to die and for me to pass. For that I am grateful. We're off to NYC tomorrow to celebrate me passing comps but more importantly to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary.

BTW, I used a Prezi. So fancy.