Love/Don't love

Back at home now for a week, everyone is now in the appropriate time-zone and M has just one week left of day care before...  preschool.  How the hell did I become the mother of a preschooler?!  My head is spinning.

Things I love...

"Look mama, what do you think of my new ballet trick!"

Things I don't love...

In response to the "chores for rewards" program I instigated, with a Tiana dollie as the reward, she says, "No thanks.  I don't need another dollie, I have plenty."  Where do I go from there?!

Things I love...

Graduate student writes and says, "No need to read the manuscript I sent you last week.  I'm revising it so you should just wait and read the improved version."

Things I don't love...

Graduate student informs me that colleague/collaborator only sent us half the data he was supposed to have overseen the collection of.  It's a random half, suggesting that he just forgot to download batches of it as it was produced.  A year ago.  Did I mention that we had a short-term grant to cover that work and it's over and spent?

Things I love...

Dh offering to put child in pull-up when she wants to poop (as she strongly prefers to poop standing up, so uses pull-ups for pooping only).

Things I don't love...

While pulling child's pants off, child starts to walk away but Dh continues to remove pants from feet.  Child falls flat on her face.  Dh blames it entirely on her and so doesn't apologize or even say "sorry!"  Nice.

Things I love...

Getting back into the exercise groove.

Things I don't love...

Wishing that I could exercise but still have that 1.5 hours in my day.

Things I love...

The invitation to give a big public lecture despite not being a big name in my field.  And it has a $1,000 honorarium.

Things I don't love...

Knowing that now I have to put that lecture together.  And it has to be good.

Things I love...

I painted my toenails blue.

Things I don't love...

I wish it could have been a  pedicure.  I just love the idea of a pedicure.

Things I love...

I am back in the world of cocktails, my favorite these days being a manhattan.

Things I don't love...

I don't have any bourbon in the house so that ain't happening for me any time soon.

Things I love...

My excuse to turn down departmental service this year:   Do you remember my dean who told me that I don't have enough gravitas to chair a committee that I'm totally qualified to chair?  I've decided that for the next year or two I will turn down all but the bare minimum of departmental service, explaining that I am busy working on my "gravitas."  It makes me chuckle every time I think of it.