Hello, 2011

It's been awhile since my last post. Let's recap what has happened over the last few weeks. The University was closed for the holidays December 24-31. I took a few extra days off since my kids were home. I also needed to finish the Christmas shopping and wrapping. I had a very nice break and I am happy to report that neither of my children broke anything. If you have been following me for awhile, you know this is a major cause for celebration.

We spent Christmas at home. My husband and I were up before the kids on Christmas day. There is something wrong with that. After they finally got up and opened their gifts, we piled on the couch and watched A Christmas Story. I love this movie and we watch it every year. Zoey and Jack spent the day playing with their new gifts. I like spending this day at home. On Sunday we loaded up and visited my family in Oklahoma.

The week between Christmas and New Year's went by very quickly. The kids and I spent some time with friends in Oklahoma. On New Year's Eve we went to the movies to see True Grit. We watched the ball drop in Times Square that night and then headed to bed. No late night festivities for me this year.

I was back in the office on Monday. This is an exceptionally busy time of year for us in the Graduate School of Business. My colleagues on the Student Affairs side of the office are getting ready for MBA Orientation, which is next week. Those of us in GSB Admissions, Regena and I and our part-time help (without whom we would lose our sanity), are processing piles and piles of applications.

PhD application deadline is January 15. When we return from the holiday break, we spend the next three weeks preparing PhD files for committee review. This means filing all the information that came in while the office was closed. It usually takes us a while to get caught up. This is a crazy time for us. Following right after the PhD application deadline is the MIS deadline, February 1. The MAcc deadline is March 1 and then both MBA programs have an April 1 deadline. There is no rest for the wicked. I am not sure what that says about me and Regena because for the next few weeks, we will be moving at a pretty quick pace.

Our new MBA class arrives on Monday. I will post their Orientation schedule later. After working with these students for months, I am always very excited for them to arrive. Be sure to check back in next week to see how their Orientation is going.

Our Hogs lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl last night. It was a tough game. This was Arkansas' first trip to a BCS Bowl and I am proud of them. Hopefully, it was only the first of many. They had a great year.