Jay is Here!!!

Jay arrived late Sunday night and it has been so wonderful to have him here. We have been unpacking all of his items and I have been taking half days to spend time with him. Yesterday we played tennis and went to our first faculty dinner. There was a potluck dinner hosted by the women's center for new female faculty and their families. We had a great time and got to meet some wonderful people. The weather is starting to cool off and the humidity is gone! Jay got here just in time to miss the heat! Tomorrow WVU is playing Maryland and we are going to tailgate and go to the football game! It will be our first football game here together. Yeah! We even bought WVU t-shirts yesterday so we are set to fit in with the other mountaineers.

I am still unpacking my office and setting up pictures. I cannot believe it is almost week 5 of classes. My students are so smart and driven. Teaching is so much easier when you have a great group of students. I am planning a field trip for them to Portland. Several students are interested in athletic apparel design so this will be a fun trip for them as well as me! Well, my students have a quiz today and that means grading for me over the weekend. Overall, things are great. I am still getting adjusted to the town, places and people but feel much better with Jay here. I'll keep posting updates as they come along! xxoo- Debbie

Trying to keep busy out here

Well, I have been keeping busy with school, research and meetings. I must admit it is a little lonely out here but at least I have Mugsy! Jay has been really great about Skyping and making me feel connected. After my first week of work (and after my lectures) I found these on my office desk :)

It was such a sweet surprise to find my favorite flowers in my new office. A few of my students were with me and it made me feel so special. My students have heard all about Jay and are looking forward to meeting him at University events.


At night I have been catching up on some of my favorite HGTV shows and  doing small craft projects to make the house feel homey. It has been so hot and muggy that we decided to get an AC unit. It is an amazing help! Mugys and I get it going in the living room and keep cool! Here is my latest pillow project I finished just a few days ago.

I did an applique technique for the two lemon pillows and used other Joanne fabrics for the other three. It really brightens up the couch and living room!

Well, my nest project is re-newing my Internal Review Board and Identifying risks associated with participation in social and behavioral science research. It consists of about 60 pages of protocol and 10 quizzes that I had to pass! I thought I was done with exams :) So, I'll be doing that and then working on an application for a study to submit to IRB at WVU. Good times! I still can't believe I am getting paid to read and research and profess! Jackie arrives tomorrow!!!! Yeah!!! Oh it will be SOO nice to have her out here. I'll pick her up in Pittsburgh and she will be here for 6 days! I am so lucky!

I love School!

Yesterday was the first day of school and it went great. I am teaching 2 classes and my students are wonderful. I am teaching a product development course for apparel designers and a product development course for merchandising management students.

I had our office administrator take a picture of me on my first day teaching :) Her name is Pam and she is wonderful! She has been so helpful in getting me settled in my new surroundings. 

Yesterday was quite eventful. I have a student who is passionate about athletic apparel! And he was so excited that I am here teaching at WVU. That made me feel so good and welcomed. He works for the athletic department and wants to design new football  uniforms for the 2013-14 season. I said I would help and I am so excited to help students go above and beyond the classroom. I also met Don Nehlens son who is the Equipment manager at WVU- very exciting! (Don is football hall of fame) I have such a great feeling about being here and cannot wait for Jay to arrive!!! He gets here in 25 days! I have got a few countdowns going.... 9 days until Cougar Football, 11 days until WVU football and 25 days until Jay arrives. 

Well, I am off to work! Today is my research day and I am starting a new article about fashion and health. I will submit it to a journal at the end of september and hope it gets published! 

First day of school!

I have been in and out of meetings this past week in preparation for classes to start! Yesterday I got to meet the incoming freshman class of our division. They were wide eyed and very excited about college. I will be teaching sophomores and juniors so I won't see the freshman until next year. I also got my very first WVU t-shirt at the freshman orientation and have been wearing it all day :)

This is what I wore to the freshman orientation with a denim pencil skirt and leopard print kitten heels.

Heading to Orientation!

Here I am getting ready to head out to New Faculty Orientation! Yesterday I met the President of the university and attended informational meeting about the Libraries and other campus services. One more day of training then faculty meetings and next week school starts!!!! I am so excited! More picture to come of my office!

Getting settled in!

Pictures of the house!

Things are going well and I am really enjoying Morgantown. I had met several of the neighbors and my colleagues have made me feel so welcomed. They are even hosting a "Welcome to WVU" party for me this month. Mugsy is adjusting well with the exception of the heat. We have been doing our longer walks at night after the temperature drops a little. This is where we have met most of the neighbors and even a couple who moved here from Oregon! Turns out there are several people in my College that went to school at OSU and are now here teaching and researching! Kasey and Aunt Kelly get here tomorrow and it will be so nice to have familiar faces around. As much as I love socializing and meeting new people, it can be a lot of work too. So it will be nice to have family around. Next major task is to set up my office on campus! I'll post pictures of that soon! Miss you all xxoo

My dressing room! Basically a huge closet that has my vanity, clothes and accessories <3

Upstairs bathroom- I decided to go with a beach theme :)

  Guest Room- America

Jays Office........ leaving that room up to him. I did agree to re-paint it though, He is not that into the Lilac #5.

One of my favorite places in the house. The patio off the kitchen overlooking the backyard. 

Dining room

Dining room looking into the kitchen.

With the french doors half closed

Kitchen

More kitchen...

Mugsy in the kitchen!

Stairs to the upstairs!

Starting the drive to Morgantown, WV

Started at 7:30 am and hit the road on I-90 East. 9 Hours later we arrived in Helena, Montana! We are planning to do some sight seeing tomorrow including a visit to Little Big Horn battle field and a trip to a  ghost town! Tomorrow will be a shorter drive of about 5 hours. This way we can spend our time sight seeing and still make some headway east. Mugsy is doing well. He snuggled up in the back seat and slept most of the drive. He had a bit of gas because he ate Jet Li's (My moms cat) food last night. Aside from that, the drive was great. Washington flew by and before we knew it we were through Idaho too! Montana is beautiful and I am looking forward to a little exploration tomorrow. My mom and I have been singing John Denver, "country roads, take me home, to the place, where I belooonnng, West Virginia mountain mamma, take me home" Well if you have never heard that song you must check it out!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN86d0CdgHQ

We plan to arrive in Morgantown next Wednesday early afternoon. I am so excited to get to the house and settle in. Next Stop Billings, Montana! More tomorrow!