Comings and Goings

I'm in the middle of a very busy time for me - the semester is ending soon.  As a Professor, it means that examination time is coming.  I've been writing up finals, scheduling review sessions, answering questions from panicky students, etc. As a parent, I am pushing my kids to finish their terms strong and will soon be helping them study for their final exams.  On the other hand, this is my last week of actually teaching. So, I will not have to prepare four days a week and then perform in front of a classroom full of students (one of my classes has 100 students; the other 45). I have a much easier semester in the new year - just a practical skills class on alternative dispute resolution, which meets one day a week.
Also on the horizon is the start of my son's High School soccer season. I'm the "team parent," so I spend a lot of time helping the coaches organize the administrative side of things. 
And, oh yes, Christmas. I am going to be starting Cheryl Johnson's 12 Days of Christmas photography class on Dec. 1. I am planning to resist the temptation of Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas and Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. 
I'm also hoping to do some art journaling during December, including some pages on which I draw. I found Carla Sonheim's great blog about drawing, and each Thursday she features a blob to use as the basis for a drawing.  On Thanksgiving, she posted this one:

Her only instructions are to print, turn the paper around and around, draw, color.  I haven't had a chance to get my paints out yet, but I did have a bit of fun sketching the bit of silliness on the top of today's post.  What do you think?