Stylish Surprise! (see end!)

And another Friday is upon us!  So what is happening in the land of Dissertation Girl?

Not a lot actually.  The weather has turned cold (yeah!) and the sun is out -- my absolute favorite time of the year.  I can only hope that it stays like this for awhile (keep fingers crossed!)

In no particular order, here is what needs to be accomplished by Monday morning:

• I need to finish evaluating the research essays from my ENG 102 class (5 down and 15 to go; by the time I finish, I would have read and responded to 78 total in the last two weeks!).
• I also need to read and grade the 10 mid-terms from my LIT 205 class.  
• I need to keep plugging away at the dissertation, of course!  This week I worked on the Results Chapter -- now I need to make sure I have that chapter 100% done (I  think I need to write an intro and a conclusion to the chapter as a whole).  Next up -- the Analysis -- so, in other words, what is the story of what I tell in the Results section?
• My office -- both at school and at home -- is one huge mess.  I need to do something about it/ them!
• I still need to create the assignment handouts for the two upcoming short assignments in my ENG 102 classes -- and be prepared for the next novel my Lit 205 class is about to start, White Tiger (one of my favorite Indian novels!).
• Of course, a little exercise wouldn't hurt either!

So, if I can get through this list 100% then I will be a happy camper (realistically, I'll take 75%!).  Tomorrow, my good pals Peggy and Carla are coming over early so we can catch breakfast here downtown and then head to the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival (about 35-40 minutes south of downtown).  I am guessing that there will be a lot of Apple Butter going around (something yummy that I only discovered once I moved here to the Mid-West) and lots of shopping (which is pretty much the number one reason we are going -- my pals and I usually hit up one craft fair a season!).

Before I sign off, I need to mention one "crazy" little retail thing I did!  One of my absolute favorite web sites -- Modcloth.com -- offered a "Stylish Surprise" grab bag earlier this week (see picture above).  For $15  you could get an article of clothing worth anywhere from $30-250 from their web site (read:  this is a way of getting rid of your clearance racks!).  There were also grab bags for $5 accessories and $5 home goods.  I bought a couple of the clothes options (in 2 different sizes) and 2 of the accessory bags.  So in other words, I have no idea what I purchased -- all I know is that the items came from Modcloth!  The items shipped yesterday and should be here next week!  I am sort of excited but am thinking that I shouldn't get my hopes up.  I did some online searching before I purchased the (now sold out) grab bags -- some people report getting great stuff and some folks -- not so great stuff.  We will see, I suppose!  (I am not usually a gambling kind of a person).