Graduation!

I have officially received my Ph.D. in criminology now! This past Wednesday and Thursday were the various graduation-related activities and I was so blessed to have my family attend them with me. On Wednesday was the doctoral hooding ceremony and that is where things really became real for me. When the graduate dean and my dissertation chair (and mentor) put the hood over my head, it finally felt like I was done. Though I had defended my dissertation over a month ago and was technically done then, it just didn't feel like it. I guess there is something to be said for experiencing a formal ceremony to make something real. 

And yes, you are allowed to laugh at the hat. I do every time.

Nicky, my dissertation chair, and me.

The hood!

Nicky and her husband, Alex, and myself. They have
both been my mentors for the past 4 years and I owe so much to them.

After the hooding ceremony my department hosted a reception for the PhD grads and our families. My friend Sarah also graduated and it was awesome getting to celebrate this with her. Several of the faculty members came and I loved getting to introduce them to my family. 

This was an amazing red velvet cake. Yum!

Sarah and myself with our cool CRIM coffee mugs!

On Thursday we attended commencement. Thankfully UTD doesn't do university-wide commencements and even though it was for both undergrads and grad students, it only took an hour! We were all really impressed at how fast they got all the students across the stage. I actually was able to receive my diploma at this time, too, so that made it all the more real. 

Processing in

About to receive my diploma!

Yay! Sorry to blur out the name-- security and all.

Had to get family portraits!

I loved getting to spend so much time with my family and it was great getting to relax and celebrate. I truly couldn't have completed this degree if it wasn't for the love, support, and encouragement of my family. I have much to be thankful for!

Defended

I realized I never shared about my dissertation defense so better late than never, right? The defense is typically the last hurdle in someone's PhD program and can also be called the final oral exam. Each program is different in how long the defenses last. Mine was over in about 30 minutes but I know others last longer. 

The defense went pretty much as I outlined in this post. The most stressful aspect was the Q&A portion with my committee. A few of them asked me some questions that I simply wasn't expecting, but I was able to muddle my way through them. After that portion, I was told to go into the hall while they deliberated. After what felt like an hour but was probably like 3 minutes, my chair opened the door and said, "Congratulations, Dr. Craig!" SUCH a good feeling! I passed with very minor revisions!

I celebrated that day with some friends and Matt took me to dinner that night. I took the weekend off and we spent it with Matt's family in Austin- a great relaxing way to enjoy being done. Once we got back, I spent about half a day on the revisions, and then completed some minor formatting edits with the graduate dean's office. The final stage was walking back and forth multiple times from the grad dean's office to the copy center. The last thing was turning in a piece of paper with the graduate dean reader. So anti-climatic for what it indicates you finished...

Regardless, it is DONE now! I get to pick up my binded copy in 3 months! Now all that's left is to finish teaching my undergraduate class and then graduation ceremonies. I picked up my graduation regalia (seriously, that's what it's called apparently) and had way too much fun laughing at the hat.

Seriously, how could you not laugh at yourself while wearing that?

Bathroom mirror selfie FTW

Between earning my final degree (please no more school!), moving into our first house, and starting my first 'real' job in a few months, it is certainly a time of transition. Will definitely keep this blog updated as life continues to be interesting!

Dissertation Update

My dissertation is done! Well, almost. The first draft is completed at least. I officially scheduled my defense the other day and sent off my dissertation to my committee! March 26 is defense day. 

source

Hopefully after that I will be this close to being done with my doctorate. Just have (again, hopefully) a few minor edits and then go through the fun formatting process with the graduate dean office. The number of hoops you have to jump through is a little ridiculous. For instance, the spacing, margins, and indentions have to be just so, or no go for you. The margins on the title page of each chapter has to be different than the margins on the other pages. Basically it is a Microsoft Word nightmare. Then there is all the copies I have to get on acid-free paper, pay to have each copy binded, etc. Basically it's more of a hassle than writing the entire dissertation was, but I digress.

So here's how a defense works, if you were wondering (if not, scroll down):
-I present my research for about 10-15 minutes. It's geared towards those on my committee (four faculty members from my department + 1 outside faculty member), hence why it is so brief. 

-Those in the audience, but not on the committee, get a chance to ask questions. The audience members will probably consist of my graduate school friends, so as my chair told me, I should give everyone the stink eye so they don't ask me questions. Friends don't ask friends questions at their defense.

-Then all the audience members get kicked out and the faculty get to ask me questions privately. This can go any number of directions where they ask me about a very specific finding and how I interpret it, or ask me something broad like "What did you learn from this process." Hopefully my committee members will be nice to me, but this is the part I'm most nervous about.

-Then I get kicked out and the committee discusses with the chair if I pass or not. Most commonly, people get the "Pass with Minor Corrections," so that's what I'm hoping for. Those minor corrections could be adding an appendix with some supplemental analyses or changing the wording of some sentences. It all depends.

-After they're done discussing, I get invited back in and told the news, along with what edits need to be made.

-Then I leave and grab some lunch with friends. Or ice cream. Or wine. Depending on how it goes :P

And that's it! Not too crazy really. The biggest unknown is what questions they will ask me, but I think my chair has prepared me for what those could be. The whole document is 75 pages along, including all the 'content-less' pages like the title page, table of contents, etc. Fairly short, but I'll take it!

And because I love PhD comics...

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Life Lately

Hello? Hello out there! Figured I should stop by since we're almost halfway through February. How did that happen, by the way? 

Here are a few updates on me since I haven't blogged in like, a month. Woops...

Teaching
I have been teaching my first class this semester and it has been going really well. The class is Crime & Justice Policy and it is mostly upperclassmen. The students are really awesome and definitely can get into the class discussions, which is great. Their first exam was today and the grades turned out pretty well so I'm happy! The next unit is talking about courts and corrections, so I'm excited to delve into an area that I'm more passionate about. Also, it takes SO long to prep for one 75-min class (at least 1.5/2 days). SO much respect and gratitude for those who teach all day!

Dissertation
I defended my proposal last week and got the green light to go ahead with the analysis! Now I'm working on that aspect. I need to defend by late March, which means I have to have it to my committee by early March. So basically I have about a month to do my analyses, write up the results, and write up the discussion/conclusion chapter. Bring it on.

At my proposal defense. Hello Powerpoint.

House
So we're officially in the 'pending' stage of buying our first home! I can't wait to go into more details, but that will have to wait until we close at the end of this month. It happened way faster than we expected but God's has very clearly guided us through this whole process and (hopefully) buying this specific home.

Miscellaneous Points

•  Super bowl. We made amazing deep dish pizza, completely homemade. Matt gets all the credit for the crust and he did a great job!

• I miss running. I was recently diagnosed with plantar fasciitis in my right foot so I've been trying to do my stretches multiple times every day. I have been able to run a little bit, but no more than 2 miles. Hopefully I can start building up the mileage again soon because the weather has been amazing lately here in Texas.
• Valentine's Day is upon us and instead of going out as is the stereotypical thing, we are going to stay at home. We're planning on slow roasting lamb shanks and maybe going out for dessert afterwards. It will be my first time cooking with lamb, so I hope it goes well!

I'm sure there are other things, but that sums up a lot of the big stuff. Figured I would at least put this out there so no one thought I had stopped blogging completely!

Comps Success

I will have a post recapping my half-marathon in a couple of days, but Matt has the pictures from that on his cell phone and I want to wait until I can get them to share that story with you. But as you may know, I passed all 3 of my comprehensive exams! 

Story: On Monday morning, I went to the gym to do a light work-out to help warm up my sore, tired muscles. Then I headed to the grocery store to get a few things for the week. After arriving home and setting all the grocery bags down, I glanced at my phone and saw I had an email from UTD. I was able to preview the message and saw it was from my department head titled "Comps results." My heart rate definitely increased as I opened it and saw this:

Jumping up and down, I called Matt on his cell phone. No answer so called his pager. After paging him, I realized I bought cold stuff at the store so I should probably put it in the fridge. Waited around about 1-2 minutes more before he calls me back and I share the great news, filled with laughter and more jumping. (I'm sure our neighbors who live below us loved it if they were still home.) After we got off the phone, I called my parents. Next I started sharing the news with others, from those in my bible study groups to other close friends and family.  

The bittersweet aspect was finding out that not everyone passed. That was probably inevitable, but it definitely dampens my celebration to know some of my friends are having such a hard time. 

Regardless, Matt & I still celebrated once he got home from work. We went to a local restaurant we have always wanted to try in downtown Grapevine, but were just waiting for the proper occasion. Over drinks and delicious appetizers and entrees, we finally got to relax and realize that so many of our prayers have been answered. We walked around afterwards and enjoyed the beautiful Christmas lights that had been put up in the area. And then of course dessert and coffee had to happen. 

Cheesecake with a chocolate swirl. It was every bit as delicious as it looks.

I am just so relieved to have it all done with. Passing all 3 exams the first attempt was never a guarantee. Something I now feel comfortable with sharing is that I even had a job waiting on me. Starting in Fall of 2015, I will be an assistant professor at a local university (if you know me in real life, feel free to ask). I interviewed for the position in October and was offered it a few weeks later. However since I wasn't ABD, I didn't feel comfortable talking about it until I knew I would be done in time. Now that I am ABD, I am confident I can get my dissertation done by July. We don't have to move to another part of the country. Matt gets to keep his job. We can stay in Texas where most of our family is. 

You can see why I feel so relieved and blessed! So congrats for living through comps with me. You won't have to read another post on the topic, promise! :)

Great News!

More details to come, I promise, but wanted to let you know 2 things:

1) I successfully ran my first half-marathon yesterday! My only goal was to not stop running and I'm happy to say I met that goal. Total time- 2:07:49, so not too bad for a first half! Looking forward to more :)

2) I PASSED COMPS! I received the email this morning that I passed all 3 exams so I am officially ABD (all but dissertation). 

Thank you to everyone for their support and prayers during this time. It's been crazy and I'm so relieved and grateful to have had such successful results. 

Coming Up for Air

That's about what my life feels like. Apparently I went the whole month of October without blogging. Sorry! I think you understand why with comps and applying to jobs and all. I wanted to do a quick update for those of you who are still checking this though, and I wanted some happy memories to think back on while there's a big stack of flashcards sitting next to me (evidence-based CRIM, if you were wondering). 

I guess I last left you with a birthday recap. Since then, while there has been a lot of studying going on, we have also taken a trip to South Padre, added a new member to our family, and did some running.

Our view from our room at the Schlitterbahn Resort

 

Matt joined me for some runs along the beach each
morning. What an amazing way to start the day!

And this is Zeta, our new beta. Yes, Zeta Beta is what we call him most of the time. He is a very active little guy and it has been good to have something to take care of, especially as Matt's been traveling for work lately.

So we got this tank from my brother last Christmas (yes, we were slow to set it up...) and it is a self-cleaning tank. It is an Aquaponics tank where the plants are fed from the fish waste and thus keep the tank clean. We have wheat grass growing in it (though you can apparently grow herbs and things) and it has been working pretty well!

 

 The wheat grass has sprouted-- this was less than 12 hours after planting.

This was about 2 days after planting. We trimmed the grass after
2 weeks and then 'harvest' & replant 2 weeks later. It definitely
didn't grow as fast post-trimming! 

I had my first 'grown-up job' interview in October. It went
quite well and I may have a job pending me passing comps. I
know I'm being vague, but I don't want to jinx myself. I
promise to write more on this after comps are
done, especially if I passed!

We ran a really hilly 10K (6.2 miles) a couple of weekends ago.
Matt learned he is an insanely fast runner and I learned I hate hills. Go figure.

During one of his business trips, Matt surprised me with
these beauties. The lilies have bloomed and are still
thriving next to my desk here in the office.

While I do most of my work in my office here at home,
sometimes I just have to get out. I have found a favorite
coffee shop near me that makes amazing decaf
beverages, including this delicious latte.

And if you're wondering what my life looks like most days,
this is it. Memorizing all the flash cards.

Comps are less than 1 month away (Dec 2 & 3) so no guarantees I will be posting again before then. In the meantime, I would appreciate your prayers and encouragement. Between the sheer number of cites (I have a little over 1000 flashcards) and the pressure to pass on the first go-around (because- job), I have learned a lot about finding my strength and trust in God. Philippians 4:6-7 has been on my heart and mind daily. I know He has a plan and I will just have to trust in that. Until I have the results in hand, I just have to quiet my anxiety.

Miscellaneous Wednesday

Yes, I know the title is a little boring but it's the best I can do. I have comps brain bad and wanted to write down a few non-CRIM related things before I go crazy.

• Comps brain? Oh it's a thing. One, all I want to talk about sometimes is comps. I have a little under 4 months until the test and I'm already completely absorbed by it. Two, my brain is mush. There are so many other things I need to be doing and just can't. 
• We aren't traveling for the next month and I couldn't be more excited. I have loved getting to see cool places and visit with family, but between schedules getting off, not being able to study, and eating way more than I should, it hasn't been the best thing ever. I'm excited to spend some more quiet weekends at home.
• Speaking of weekends at home, this past Saturday Matt & I hosted some friends over for dinner. This was especially significant because they were friends older than us. It was the first time we've had people older than us that weren't family over for dinner. It just felt very adult-like and dinner party-esque. Thankfully it all went well and we had a great time. 
• Don't go to prison or jail, k? Really don't commit crimes. Very unpleasant things occur. I've been transcribing interviews of those formerly incarcerated and am very glad to be the very prosocial, law-abiding person I am. 
• Running 5.5 miles on a treadmill is SO boring, but it has been too hot lately to do any of my runs outside. 6:30 AM, 80 degrees outside or more plus decent humidity? No thanks.
• The half-marathon training is going well other than that. Plus I got Matt to sign up for a 10K with me in October! Very proud of him :)
• We just booked some trips- one in December and one in May 2015. Very excited to be going back to this place:

Gatlinburg, TN! We just went a few years ago, but know we will
be wanting another restful vacation following the next few months

We are very excited to be heading back to the Smoky Mountains!

I'm looking forward to more hiking and exploring

And Matt's looking forward to more delicious breakfasts at our beloved B&B

Hope you have a great Wednesday!!

Masters Celebration

Sorry I fell off the edge of the earth. Between starting comps studying in earnest, traveling, and packing up our apartment, it has been go-go-go. I honestly am surprised I'm able to blog right now but I have a headache that's preventing me from reading comps material so I'm playing catch up! 

I wanted to do a quick recap of the ways we celebrated Matt finishing his Masters degree. He finished his last exam Thursday morning and then had to go to work (poor dude). Once he got home, though, it was party time! I surprised him with one of his favorite meals-- chicken enchiladas (from Cooking Light of all places; seriously these are amazing- make them!) along with chips & queso that I made in his new Little Dipper. For dessert, I made a slow cooker apple bread pudding dish, served with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. So good! 

Matt's loot

Yay! He's done!

Have to stir the queso

Chicken enchiladas

A little bit of back story: as opposed to getting him one big gift, I decided to go for a series of small things he has wanted but were hard to randomly purchase at the store. So yes, I got him a Little Dipper. While my waist line may regret our easy access to queso, it is totally worth it. Some of the other things I got him included Maple syrup (yes, we're silly) and an Amazon gift card so he can start ordering the books he has wanted to read. 

But anyway, we had a fun time eating good food and relaxing that night. We were a bit more adventurous on Friday. After I finished studying for the day, we headed out to one of the local Studio Movie Grills to watch the Captain America sequel. It was a fun movie but we had ordered chips and dip (can you tell we like this dish?) and might have spoiled our dinner a little. The movie was a lot more suspenseful than anticipated and that resulted in mindless eating. Oh well, it was delicious! 

Benefit to middle afternoon showings on
weekdays- theater to ourselves!

For dinner we headed to the appropriately-named Celebration Restaurant in Dallas. As soon as I saw the menu, I knew it would be the perfect place for Matt as it featured home-cooked recipes such as chicken fried steak. It had a nice laid back environment and we both enjoyed our food a lot, despite not being that hungry.

Have to have a bread basket!

My entree, a pecan-crusted chicken salad. So good!!

Matt's chicken fried sirloin steak with sides. You could get
seconds on these items by the way. Unfortunately we couldn't take
advantage of that as we simply didn't have room!

The graduate :)

Since Matt wasn't wanting to have a party or anything and since he didn't walk across the stage, that about sums up our formal celebration of his graduation. It was fun and relaxing though, both perfect qualities after all the time studying!