Bluebonnets 2012

Well, there seems to be a bumper crop of Bluebonnets this year. We even have some in our own yard, so it made Mom's silly Bluebonnet picture easier. Here they are! Spring is really early this year.




Your Friend,
Lazarus

Happy 6th Birthday MOSES!!

Today is Moses' 6th birthday. Because it is about 70 degrees here in San Marcos today, I thought I would make him a cookie sandwich instead of a cake. This is two chocolate chip cookies (without the chocolate chips) surrounding a scoop of vanilla ice cream. We sang to Moses and he quickly gulped the sandwich so he would not have to share his treat with his brothers-- or Jack who is staying with us today. The other dogs got some cookie and some ice cream, but ONLY the birthday boy got the full cookie sandwich. We love you Moses and hope to spend many more wonderful birthdays with our snuggle buddy!

Kevin

New item for my stare

As a good bird dog, I like to stalk things. My usual stalking involves deer, lizards, cats, birds, and possums, but I now have something new to stare at. It is this time of year that Dad brings in an evergreen tree. I always hope that a bird or squirrel will hop out of the tree and want to play with me. Maybe it will happen this year?

Keep exploring,

Magellan

Update on Tenure and Promotion

At the end of last week, Dad received a very strong vote from the Geography department personnel committee in favor of tenure and promotion. This has been a long probationary period that included his two years at North Dakota as well as the five years at Texas State. We are very proud of him and this means a significant raise, a promotion to associate professor, and a lot less stress. I am hoping that this means a lot more of Dad being at home, more visits to campus and his office, and I think we should have more ice cream. To show the pack's appreciation of his efforts, we arranged the following photographs...

LAZIE


P.S. Dad specifically thanked me for my unwavering support of him over this tenure-track era. I came aboard two months into this process, and I have been along for the ride ever since.

Roses, Roses, Roses

Aren't they beautiful!

Tenure and Promotion

When I was a student at Arizona State, a wise professor once stated that academics was the last bastion of feudalism in our society. My "apprenticeship" is nearing an end, as I am up for promotion this year. Once I have this promotion, I will be tenured and be removed from a long, probationary period. You may be asking, what is involved in this process? How are you assessed? Well, in classic feudal fashion, I am hardly involved in the process at all. I prepare this "box" or "tub" with a bunch of papers, letters, and other crap that is supposed to represent who I am as a teacher and scholar. My professional life, the 32 liter version. I anticipate the process will go well, but it is very cumbersome and unsophisticated. It is so laborious and tedious that I had significant thoughts about a different career path during the past summer months. This process has unfortunately produced collateral damage. The dogs are bored. Julie has been crawling around on pins and needles. My office is a complete mess. I am so tired and strung out! Hopefully, the family life will normalize soon, but I do not hear results of the decision until April! One day, I will look back on this posting and laugh-- and isn't that what a blog is all about?

Kevin

We welcome Autumn!!

Well, this was the most miserable summer we have had as a whole pack. We're expecting our 89th day of 100 degree temperatures today! Mom and Dad blabber on about this not being as hot as some place called "Feenicks" but we really do not care! To celebrate the fall, we took a nice, long hike over last weekend in the Purgatory Creek greenspace. It was still a bit hot, but we got out early enough that the temperatures were still under 75 for the two hours we walked. The photos show our adventure! Anyway, I look forward to the fall and winter so I can snuggle with my parents and all my other friends. Take it easy y'all!

Mosi

Kevin in the San Marcos Daily Record

Kevin's latest Research Article writing project, forthcoming in the Journal of Texas Music History, made the San Marcos Daily Record. It is unusual for academic work interesting, but Kevin does a great job of making sure his research is relevant to a broad audience, not just a few eggheds!

I'm so proud of him!

Julie

2011 NFL Football Picks

These are coming pretty late this year so as to not interfere so much with the betting lines in Las Vegas. Not so much my predictions, but Julie has been such a shark over the past three years!

AFC East
Julie: New York Jets, New England, Miami, Buffalo
Kevin: New England, New York Jets, Miami, Buffalo

AFC North
Julie: Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland
Kevin: Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati

AFC South
Julie: Houston, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Jacksonville
Kevin: Houston, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Jacksonville

AFC West
Julie: San Diego, Kansas City, Denver, Oakland
Kevin: San Diego, Oakland, Denver, Kansas City


NFC East
Julie: Dallas, New York Giants, Washington, Philadelphia
Kevin: Dallas, Philadelphia, New York Giants, Washington

NFC North
Julie: Green Bay, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit
Kevin: Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago

NFC South
Julie: New Orleans, Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa Bay
Kevin: New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Carolina

NFC West
Julie: St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle, Arizona
Kevin: Arizona, San Francisco, St. Louis, Seattle

Super Bowl
Julie: New York Jets over Green Bay Packers
Kevin: New England Patriots over New Orleans Saints

A very hot summer

Hey, it's Moses here. I am the dog who occasionally likes sunning myself and being a little on the warm side. This summer, I have changed my mind. It has been so hot that I have been dealing with digestion issues and general heat stress. Us dogs have been spending a lot of time inside. This week, we will break the record for the hottest summer recorded in Austin and there is still no relief in sight. I am so glad we got to go to Michigan in June to escape for a little while. Anyway, I better get back to laying under the A/C vent.

Mosi

Kevin and Julie raft the Arkansas River

Last week, we rafted the Brown's Canyon section of the Arkansas River near Buena Vista, Colorado. We had a tremendous time and highly recommend this trip and the American Adventure Tours who provided the gear and guide. For you experienced paddlers, the runs were anywhere from Class 1 to Class 3 the day we went. The water temperature was about 51 degrees! It was so nice to spend a few days out of Texas during this epically brutal summer. Julie and I are the first two on the left or port side of the raft.

Kevin

ARF Success!!!

The Animal Reading Friends (ARF) program began in September 2010 at Travis Elementary School in San Marcos, Texas. This school-year long program attempted to improve the reading skills of seven second and third graders who were reading below grade level when they began in the ARF program. Each student would read to a pet partner team for 20 minute intervals on Fridays. The idea behind reading to the pet partner team had to do with 1) practicing reading aloud, 2) gaining confidence in reading and 3) instilling a feeling of enjoyment in reading. Quantitative measures highlight the success of this program. On average, our second graders improved 3.75 reading levels meaning that most of the participants are now reading above grade level. Even greater success was shown by the third graders. On average, these students improved 4.66 reading grade levels and each third grader began reading below grade level and ended the program reading above grade level. In addition, all ARF student participants improved their correct words per minute ability as well as reading accuracy. While these numeric measures certainly underscore the success of the program, intangible benefits such as improved attendance, gaining comfort interacting with animals, and having a positive mentor involved in their lives clearly show value in programs such as ARF. Please join us and become a positive agent for change in the lives of a local student!

2011 Michigan Road Trip

This summer, the Romig Pack decided to rent a cabin on a lake in Michigan for their vacation. The drive was long, but we got to do some fun things along the way. Two fun things we did were visit Vandalia, Illinois where Abe Lincoln served in the Illinois legislature. Lazarus Lincoln Romig and Dad took their picture with a sculpture of a young Lincoln. On the way home, we stopped in Cairo, Illinois where the three explored the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers off-leash. Magellan had a great time there. In Michigan we used the opportunity to recreate in Lake Allegan and Lake Michigan. Magellan and Dad are in Lake Michigan and Lazarus and Mom are in Lake Allegan. The whole trip was pretty relaxing though like a vacation is supposed to be-- see Magellan and Moses napping on Mom in the cabin. We had a great time and hope to go back again!

Kevin

Memphis Trip, 2011

We decided to take a trip to Memphis and meet up with Kevin's mother there. She had never been to Memphis and it was a chance to visit a city with which we all have an affinity. Our biggest outing was to Graceland. This time, we took a tour of Elvis' planes and some of his automobiles. We also visited the Rock and Soul Museum, the Cotton Exchange Museum, the Civil Rights Museum, and Sun Studios. Along with all that, we had time to drop in for a set at B.B. King's Club on Beale Street and heard a 90 year old blues man play his guitar. In Memphis, another great pastime is eating. We ate at two of Elvis Presley's faves being the Arcade and Coletta's. We also hit up Jim Neely's Interstate BBQ, Gus' Famous Fried Chicken, Rendezvous, Corky's, and Uncle Lou's. It was very hot while we were there, but we had a great time. Magellan really enjoyed the ribs from Corky's that we brought home on the plane.

Kevin

Photos: Kevin's Mom in the Lisa Marie, Presley's jumbo jet.
The entertainment room in Graceland with 3 tv's because Elvis wanted to be like President Johnson.
Blues group at BB Kings in Memphis.

Trip to New York City

To celebrate our upcoming 10th Wedding Anniversary, Julie and I took a trip to New York last week. Our first evening in the city, we got half priced tickets to see the Broadway Show, Memphis. It was a nice show and very different from most typical Broadway musicals. On that day, we also took in the sights and sounds of Times Square. The next day, we decided to try to get tickets for the Late Show with David Letterman. I wanted to go because Kelly Ripa was a scheduled guest, and Julie wanted to go because she had never been in the live studio audience for a tv show before. While we waited to see if we would get tickets, we traveled to the Macy's store in Herald Square. It was overwhelming for us, but while at Macy's, we learned that we got tickets to the Late Show. On our way to the show, we popped into Lindy's on Sixth Ave to have a bite of cheesecake. This restaurant is where Chuck Berry treated Buddy Holly to cheesecake back in the 1950s. We saw the taping of the show and had a good time. The next day, we took the ferry out to Liberty Island. As you can see in the photo, it was raining, but it was well worth it. In the afternoon, Julie got her hair cut and styled at Arrojo Studio by Nick Arrojo in SoHo. We later went by Chinatown and had really good cheeseteaks for dinner in Murray Hill. Our final day began by renting bicycles and touring through Central Park, The Upper East and West Side, Harlem, and Morningside Heights. We found Grant's Tomb and used a lot of the really nice bike lanes in New York. That afternoon, we attended a street fair in Greenwich Village. Later we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and ate Gramaldi's Pizza under the Brooklyn Bridge as the sun set across Manhattan. It was a busy but very enjoyable trip.

Kevin