Merry Christmas from the Armstrongs

This should be the last Christmas we are wishing you a merry from Mississippi! I am about halfway done with my dissertation, and I am looking for a "real" job teaching at a university for next year. I am applying all over the United States (from Alaska to Florida and lots in between), so who knows where I will end up. I keep hoping it is closer to home in Utah or Idaho, but unless some jobs open up soon, that is not going to happen. 

Life continues on here in Mississippi. Bob and I are the two most boring people you will ever meet! Honest! We do nothing. I work, research and write. Bob works. End of story. I did start substitute teaching in the public schools this year to help out a teacher friend of mine, and I have developed some definite opinions about what's wrong with the school system. Without going into a long treatise on the subject, let me just say that it isn't the teachers or the schools!

All my family seems to be doing OK. My five daughters and nine grands are all well and happy, as far as I can tell. My parents, now 84 and 82, are still plugging along. My mom says she is "just doing OK," which she says is saying a lot at her age. Friday, Bob and I are heading for Kentucky (nine-hour drive) to spend Christmas with my 1-year-old granddaughter -- and her parents, too, I guess. Wish I could see all the grands,oh, and their parents! I keep telling Bob that my next job needs to pay enough I can fly more often to visit my family. 

Love to all of you! Wish I had time to sit down with each of you for a good visit! 

Kaylene Armstrong