The Untitled Post

I can't think of a title for this post as it is mainly just ramblings. Maybe by the end I will have thought up something clever.

I spent Memorial Day weekend with my friends in NH; mostly I watched their kids while they worked but I had a good time anyway! Their youngest daughter is a semi-handful lately; she's very curious and 'busy' - my oldest son was like this when he was 4. I don't care what is said about terrible twos but I think fours are worse! They're more mobile at 4, can get into waaaay more things (both good and bad), and are old enough to verbalize the 'reason' they did whatever they did. *chuckle*

Sunday I was a roadie for my friend who is a magician. I then got to actually sit and watch his show (not for the first time, but I had no kids to watch which can be distracting!) He's really quite good! Made me laugh even though I've seen the tricks, heard the corny jokes. He's got a couple of tricks that made me go 'HUH?!' and more than a few jokes that crack me right up (corny as they are!)

Sandy and I took the girls down to the brook and taught them how to use a sling shot. WOW! They're pretty good! We waded into the brook, got a little wet, and had a nice little competition to see who could shoot the furthest. I gave it my best shot but Sandy shot just that much better. Beat me by not that much though! Then we let my daughter have a turn with my slingshot and she landed a rock pretty close to where I landed my best shot! Next it was Gladdy's turn - she did really good with her sligshot, actually shooting AND skipping her rock at the same time!

On Memorial Day proper I had a chance to go canoeing. What a great time! There were several moments to make me chuckle - including hanging my feet over each side of the canoe to cool them off, not realizing it made my partner paddle all that much harder because it was like having the brakes on! *BIG LAUGH* From behind me I hear...ahem.....excuse me..but would you please pull your feet in?? OOPS, sooooorrrry!! Then, spinning around in the middle of Salmon Pond...must have looked funny from the shore as I was taught how to spin the canoe around. It must have looked like we didn't know what we were doing at ALL! I did see a turtle swim under the boat - the water wasn't all that deep and I was supposed to be watching for hazards in the water but I was more interested in the little turtle that was swimming under me to notice the big ROCK in front of me! Again, from behind me I heard...ahem.....do you see the rock in front of us?? Looking up, I reply, YA...from behind me again I hear, could we NOT hit it? LOL I don't know if I'll be asked to go again but I sure hope so! I had way too much fun! Got a little sun too; not too much but a little pink color on both legs and arms. Next time though, a black t-shirt is NOT what you wear in the middle of an open lake in a canoe in the bright late spring sun!

Is That All There Is?!

Well it's all over now. The semester is done, the books have been sold back (at a ridiculously low price I may add) and the grades are almost in. The rains have totally soaked us here in the Northeast and the college where my Spanish class is held was evacuated, resulting in the final week being moved out by a week. So I'm still hanging on waiting for my Spanish grade. It's ok - I'm not sweating that grade as much as I did the A&P. (*UPDATE* I got a B+!!) I've also heard from LPNs that I've talked to that A&P was the most difficult of the courses. I've also talked to two HR directors about work - they both tell me that if I can complete the first year of Fundamentals of Nursing I'm eligible to sit for placement exams. Well, that's all good and fine if I pass the two classes that are required for nursing school (namely microbiology and A&P1!). I'm going to submit my application anyhow and see what happens.

There is a CNA course available for the month of June that I'm looking into and I have been approached for sponsorship by a local rehab facility. In exchange for them paying for the class I have to work for them for six months 3-11. The downside of that shift is that I miss the after school activities with my kids, as well as the obvious "who will cook them dinner at night?" because by then, my divorce will be final and I'll be raising them on my own. There's a long story in itself for another time and planet. *smile*

My friend is finally home from the hospital after battling cellulitis in his leg. I'm quite fond of him and I see my friend Jean in him (except for her unending stubbornness!) I don't want to lose him too so I'm all over him to keep going with the progress he's made so far. The kids were so happy to see Papa come home they almost knocked him down as he got out of my van. They missed him sooo much! I drove up last weekend to get him out of the hospital, bring him home, and lend a hand during the weekend. I don't mind; I truly feel appreciated when I visit.

THE GRADES ARE IN!!

My grades have finally been posted! I'm so proud to say that I managed to earn a C+ in A&P! I am so thrilled that I 'passed' enough to apply to nursing school. I'm not proud that it's only a C+ but I'm happy it's not a C! C's just don't CUT IT! Along with the C+ in A&P, I earned an A- in my Health & Disability in the Elderly class and a B+ in Abnormal Psych. My spanish for medical professionals is still outstanding, but according to the professor I'm sitting at a 91.7 pre-final (which I have just submitted after working on it for close to FOUR HOURS now!)

I know I've had my share of doubts but my friends have pushed, pulled, cajoled and in general, encouraged me all along the way. Without them, I don't think I would have made it this far. Now, on to nursing school applications!! Can I get a HOOORAY?!

Aren't grades posted YET?!

I'm sitting here on pins and needles! It's been one full week since I sat in my last A&P class. I'm chewing ny fingernails waiting for the grades to be posted. I'm praying that I'm in the high 70's because as we all know, I need a 78 to be able to even apply to the nursing program at my school. The acceptance rate is low - 400 applications for 100 slots. Even those with 4.0 GPAs aren't getting accepted. I don't know why because the need for nurses is still great.

Keep your fingers crossed and as soon as I know...I'll post the results.

The Value of Friends

As I've cruised through my day today, I find my thoughts drifting to friends and what they mean to me. I think about the times friends have called to chat and I've either put them off or not answered the phone (that hasn't happened tooo often in all honesty because I love to talk on the phone!) I've also wondered if I've been as good a friend as people have been to me.

I think about this past weekend when my dear friends invited me to Spacetacular in Concord on Saturday. I was driving up on Friday with my daughter and son to spend the weekend. We've done this kind of thing before so it's nothing new. On Friday night Cedar calls to tell me that she hates to say it but she's not feeling all that snappy and "I'm calling off this weekend". I was sad that I wouldn't get to see her and all the kids. As she listed the reasons why I couldn't come, I thought, she needs a pep talk. So I proceeded to acknowledge all her reasons and ask if she was totally sure I couldn't come up anyhow and give her a needed hand. After a few minutes, she changed her mind and said sure, c'mon up! You don't care if the dishes aren't done do you? I replied, NAAAH... You know me..if it bothers me, I'll just wash them! (which I did!).

On Friday night, after I arrived and got my kids settled for bed, I sat with her and talked about anything on her mind. I also offered to take two of her four kids with me to Spacetacular (one is only 9 months old, the other was on punishment). She gave it some thought, and said SURE as long as you don't mind. MIND?! ME? Nah! I just wanted her to have some time to chillax (my version of chilling out and relaxing).

Saturday I had a ball with the four kids while she stayed home with her other two. The baby ended up at the ER with a nice earache. It never ends with kids, does it? I tried as best I could to help her out and not make it a hardship to have three extra people in the house. We cooked together, worked together to get the kids into bed, and then shared a nice bottle of beer before we both crashed for the night.

I hope she knows how much I love coming to her house. Being around her puts a joy in my heart I can't describe. I don't know if it's because she lets me help, and doesn't get all paranoid about the condition of her house. I've told her dozens of times - I don't come to visit the house; I come to visit YOU! I've also asked if she minds my help - sometimes I know I feel insulted when someone starts picking up things at my house - she says no and I'm confident she means it. My heart is in the right place - I just want to make things easier for her. I remember what it was like to be home with small children all day, and the effort it takes to keep the house tidy and no grown up conversation. She's lucky though - because there are several days her husband is home so she has other adult conversation available.

Musings on the toilet

Now before you decide I'm going to write about toileting, let me clarify, or in the words of Indigo Montoya, let me 'splain...no, let me sum up...

I came home from a long weeekend to a severely leaking toilet. Since I have a little plumbing experience, I thought I could fix it no sweat. Well...that was SUNDAY...it's now THURSDAY and I think I can finally say the silly thing is fixed! I started off by shutting the water off (no problem! just turn the little knob on the pipe at the back of the toilet right?) and flushing the toilet. Goofy me forgot that there was residual water in the tank when I disconnected the water supply. WATER EVERYWHERE and no towels handy! I am on my knees trying to catch the water in a stupid CUP with zero success! Thankfully my dear daughter brings me a large metal bowl.

Let's just fast forward through the swearing, the knuckle busting, the THREE trips to the hardware store for parts. I replaced just about every piece possible...hooked everything up...turned on the water supply and hooray everything worked...until I looked DOWN under the toilet in time to see a nice drip start. Something was STILL leaking from somewhere! GRRRRR! Take everything apart once again (although now I know to have towels and buckets handy for excess water!) and look to see that the one part I DIDN'T replace (the gasket) was indeed cracked in not one but TWO places! OK...back to the hardware store. I'm on a first name basis by now with the plumbing guy...gimme a stinkin gasket for this GD toilet! Of course it's not exactly the same but it will fit. Back home we go...put the gasket in...put it all back together...turn on the water supply...stare for leaks...hmmm no leaks....ten minutes..twenty minutes...no leaks! Could it be possible?! Is it FIXED?! OF COURSE NOT! Now the water supply hose starts dripping...I give up...tomorrow (Friday) I will buy a short water supply hose, replace it, and if the toilet still leaks, I'm going to have a nut! Actually, I will have to call my friendly plumber friend AJ for a professional consult.

I also noticed that the flush level looks kind of crappy so I thought I'd replace that too - guess what? Bought the wrong kind (anyone want a front mount flush level?!) So now it's BACK to the hardware store to buy another flush level (along with the short water supply hose). What else can break down? I'm afraid to ask, so I won't!

Highlights (and lowlights) of College Life

I can't remember when I ever had more difficulty in school than the kinds of stuff I'm up against now. This A&P class is most definately going to make me stronger (if it doesn't kill me first!) We had our lab practical (final) Tuesday night and I breezed through the first 50 questions in the lecture hall without looking up! I think my best run was 18 in a row that I know are correct! No doubts on any of them! Well, then it was on to the 50 stations in the lab. OK so we come to a gliding halt - not screeching, mind you, just a quiet glide to a halt. I suddenly couldn't remember my carotid from my jugular! I took a great big deep breath, closed my eyes, thought back to the first time I had my quiz (three weeks ago or so), started running my index finger up along my arm, reciting the veins that my friends spent the better part of a day going over with me, opened my eyes and pictured the names. I think I did pretty well - we'll see hopefully next week. I still don't know how I did on last week's test - they hadn't been graded as of last night.

On a more positive note, I have an A in abnormal psych! I just got my last assessment today! That makes me very happy indeed! One class done - only four more to go. The math class is getting extended I hope - I need some serious help with quadratic equations and plotting. It's murder! My Health & Disability in the Elderly class is sitting at a nice solid B, although I haven't got clue #1 as to what my third project is yet and it's due on 5/4. I don't know how well spanish is going - I'm a little behind because I've been focusing on my A&P almost exclusively for the past two weeks.

As my semester winds down, I am grateful to my family and friends for all their support over the past twelve weeks (wow! it's only been THAT LONG?!) I don't think I could have managed without the rah rah sessions and the personal cheerleaders who've been pushing me along the road to nursing school. The ride hasn't really started yet but at least I have a great support system in place for when it finally does!!!!

Working Through Discouraging Times

Well, here I sit at 10:40 pm, after a dismal A&P class. We got the results from last week's exam back and I scored a whopping 61 (and that was with the 3 point curve!) I am at a very low point now because I'm starting to rethink my career choice. If I can't make it through A&P now, then what makes me think I can make it through the rigors of nursing school? For that matter, if "A" students aren't making it into the program, then what makes me think that a "C+" has a chance? I'm looking at what classes to choose for the fall but I'm sure that A&P I is in there somewhere! I really don't want to take it AGAIN but I'm sure I will have to - it conflicts with another class I really REALLY want to take so I might just pass on A&P I for now (even though it would be smart to take it again while it's all semi-fresh in my mind!) Someone in class tonight said they were on their fourth try at A&P! I don't know if I'd want to take the same class four times but I suppose if I want this bad enought, then I will take it as many times as it takes.

Random thoughts for a beautiful day

I'm just getting back to my blog after a little more than a week away. I see that I got a comment from my previous post about not having time for pleasure reading. Yes, I do think my brain is expanding from all the knowledge I'm stuffin in! I think my hat size has indeed gone UP!

It's looking to be a beautiful day today - the sky is blue, no real clouds and it's already past 30 degrees. The high today claims 40's but I'll believe it when I feel it! I raked some of the lawn yesterday and have plans to rake more today after work. I think I'll be done with the entire lawn by Friday :) It's a big lawn...

School is going well - last night was interesting. It was A&P night. We started the lymphatic system and did some dissection. I was assigned a lovely little frog that had been double pithed (which is something I do NOT like doing) so we could observe his circulatory system and watch his heart pump and muscles contract. It was a little freaky because he wasn't in any pain but was essentially dead. With the application of epinepherine and acetylcholine we were able to see how his heart rate changed with each chemical. We then removed the heart and observed that it continued to beat, without being in the body, proving that the heart is an electrical object and sets its own beat and rhythm without being a part of a whole body. It was gross but kind of neat at the same time.

After frogs, it was goldfish harassment time! We took little goldfish, wrapped them in wet paper towels and examined their tails under low power to check out their circulatory system. It was totally cool! A little difficult too since the fish were definately a little irritated at being out of the water and kept flopping around if you didn't hold onto them with one hand! Kind of like looking at a moving target - I'd get the tail all in focus and suddenly "Flipper" would flop off the microscope table...My fish almost ended up flipping into my lap! It was funny watching us all trying to manage our floppy fish and do the experiments at the same time.

We also had our second exam - all I can say is ... HOLY MACARONI! It was nine pages of mechanisms of extrinsic blood clotting, menarche and cardiac contraction. Were those the mechanisms I studied well? Of COURSE not! Everyone was muttering about how difficult the exam was so we shall see next week how we all did. Should be very telling...

Classes are finished as of the first week in May and I've decided not to take classes over the summer. I'm going to work on A&P I by myself as I have to retake it in the fall. I got a C- last year but that is not good enough for nursing school entrance. Also, I'm planning to take a CNA course in June and I need all my nights open for that. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a second job as a CNA when I finish the course. Even though I've been a PCA for six years, it doesn't mean diddly if you aren't certified.

Took my first canoe trip in almost 20 years on Sunday - what a TRIP! HAHA! I was nervous but my canoe mate was very reassuring that I would not drown in the 3-4' of water! I wasn't worried about drowning - it was cold water that made me nervous!! I did enjoy it though and I can't wait to take another trip... although I'd like it to be a little warmer next time.

I learned how to make enchiladas and guacamole Saturday and discovered I actually LIKE guacamole! I guess I've tried it in the past but it just hasn't been GOOD. This was delicious! Of course I was at my friend Cedar's house...she shares all her recipes with me and then I come home and try them on my family. We made a soup on Sunday (I'll probably butcher the name) called Tom Kao Guy. It's basically chicken in coconut milk, with a myriad of vegetables thrown in. The tip is to pick out what you don't like :) There was ginger root, garlic, peppers, mushrooms (I think) and cilantro. Cedar was in charge of adding in the spicings and veggies. I was on chicken patrol with Sandy (we had the daunting task of boning the chicken and cutting it into chunks). It's a little scary to see how well Sandy boned that chicken!! It was pretty good soup though (and I'm not a fan of coconut either!)

Time for more homework. This morning it's Health and Disability in the Elderly. Interesting class - it's been very helpful in my daily job.

Happy Spring!

As of 1:20 est today, it's officially spring! Would someone please get a message to Mother Nature since it is 29.1 right now and that, to me, is NOT a spring temperature! The sky is blue and slightly cloudy and with the breeze, it feels colder! I wore my winter coat this morning (even though I wasn't going to) and was really wishing I had worn my gloves too.

Homework is calling - we just finished spring break so I'm not complaining! It was very nice to not open any of my books for an entire week. I spent a lot of my break reading - something I don't get a chance to do anymore because there's so much reading to do for school that I do NOT have time to read for pleasure.

Random Baby/Kid Thoughts

I just spent a lovely weekend in the White Mountains with my friends, Phil & Cedar. I am so bleesed to have such friends; they love me unconditionally, even when I'm being stupid. Spending time with their young family can make me long for small children underfoot again (mine are 16, 14 and 9). I enjoy hearing the baby laugh - to him, everything is funny and everyone is on this earth for his pure enjoyment alone! My favorite time with him is when he's getting sleepy - I love the warmth he generates, his baby smells, and the wiggling as settles into the careless sleep of a baby without a care in the world. I can't have more children, but at this stage of my life, I'll take a weekend with Da Yo and be happy with it.

The girls - man, that littlest one - I could listen to her talk for hours! She's so imaginative it's scary! She has conversations with Barbie as if she were talking to an adult. The middle daughter is a scream! She has a reason for everything! She, too, is imaginative in her conversations. The oldest is so smart - she's got more knowledge and is more well spoken than most 7 year-olds I know. She also has the knack to ask questions that cut right to the chase! :)

Each weekend with them is like a balm for my soul. Even with their four children and my 9 year-old, it's a nice, quiet, chaos! I fill my need for another baby and have a chance to spend time with three intelligent adults, while my daughter has the experience of having three little sisters that just adore her! My daughter is patient - sometimes, though, you have to remind her that they're little girls and they love you. She manages to give each 'sister' their own time with her one on one which is amazing considering her age and the gaps in ages (the girls range in ages from 3-7). She also manages to communicate with each sister on their own levels. I'm amazed at the whole group of them!

Life - Don't Blink - You'll Miss It

I was reading my friend Cedar's blog this morning and she's inspired a train of thought for the morning. I recently turned 42 and my children range from 16 to 9. I look at these three wonderful humans and think, "They can't possibly be mine! I'm too YOUNG to have teens!" There are days when I feel like I'm 16 again...and days when I feel 96! Most days, though, it's more like 16; I keep waiting for my 'parents' to come home! As I hugged my youngest son good bye this morning, I noticed that he is indeed finally taller than I am - I stand 5'9 in my bare feet; he had sneakers on and I think he had a solid 2" on me! This baby was born nine weeks premature weighing only 4 lb 8 oz. I worried about him throughout my pregnancy and for months after his birth. He literally slept on my chest until he was five months old because I feared he would someone not live through the nights unless he was near me. He's now 14 and a handsome, strapping, young man, about to embark on his own life adventure. My oldest son is even taller - between the two of them I feel almost like a sapling between the redwoods. It's funny but sad at the same time - my babies are growing up and soon will fly out of the nest and start their own lives. That day will arrive all too soon and I wish I could put life on pause for a little bit and cherish the time I have now with these wonderful young people.

I spent 90% of their growing up as a stay at home mom. I returned to the workforce when my youngest child (my daughter) started kindergarten. I still work part time but also attend school full time. I spend the majority of my free time with my kids and am still very much an active participant in their lives. Much to their dismay, I still keep tabs on their whereabouts and know almost before they do, what they're doing! :)

My youngest 'baby' is also approach that time when hugging her ends up being a tear fest as I can't believe how tall she's getting and how mature she's turning. While she's only nine and still playing dolls, it's hard to think that in just nine short years, she'll be graduating high school and starting her adventure. We spend more time together since we are girls and like doing girly things together. She has had more of me these past nine years than her brothers did. I find myself sharing recipes (such as Cedar's ground beef stroganoff which is DELICIOUS!), teaching her how to do laundry, and helping her with homework. Of course I also do this with my boys - we call them LIFE LESSONS - but for some reason I spend more time sharing with her.

Life is a blur. Don't blink or you'll miss it!

Here We Go Again!

It's back to school here after a week-long vacation. The boys left grumbling and my daughter is just about ready to pop out the door. She's the only one excited about going back to school! She's cleaning out her backpack now and most of the papers can head right to the trash because they're from last week!

She and I spent four days in the mountains with our friends. They have four children and my daughter loves spending time with them. I like the adult friendships there and the kids all get along well. We get to share the excitement of loose teeth, a baby's rolling over and quite possibly a first word. It's a pleasant weekend even with five kids and four adults in the house! Cedar is a great cook and has shared many of her recipes with me. Tonight it's potato soup! It's sooo good! I also have a quart sized jar of honey made from Sandy's bees. I look forward to spreading that on some bisquits later (if I have time to make some!). Phil has shared some very cool balloon ideas that I'm going to definately try! I have homework to finish first - just a couple of little things to put the finishing touches on and then submit. One is a case study on a 72 year old woman and where she stands with her disability. Interesting enough. There's yet another A&P test tomorrow night - I think we're being tested to DEATH in this class!! I've studied but I'll put more time in tonight on the stuff. It's just lab material so it shouldn't be all that tough. I just have to remember how to type blood and do hematocrit testing.

I don't look forward to going outside today...it's below zero out and I'm cold just thinking about going outside! My feet are cold sitting here at the computer I think the door is leaking cold air. Looking out the door, it's looking like a very nice day - cold, but clear. No real clouds, the sky is a very pale blue. With it this cold, it's hard to think about putting up a garden this year. I'm thinking of snow or snap peas, beans, tomatoes, and maybe some squash. I have an 8' raised bed outside and I could easily build another one. I'll need a truckload of loam (it's all sand out there!) and some kind of drainage. Last garden, I had just put down some peastone for a shed foundation but I could scrape some from the pile that is left. Hmm, I think there's strawberries in the raised bed out there now - I'll have to see.

Time to get ready for work myself. It's just another day here in cold New Enland. If you don't like the weather, wait a minute - it'll change!

OH MY Aching EVERYTHING!

I've just spent the better part of two days working on flooring at my friend Wanda's house. What a chore! We did the bathroom floor on Sunday - has anyone ever moved an old fashioned steam radiator? The SOB was H-E-A-V-Y! I pride myself on being strong but this sucker just would not budge for me. We finally got the flooring down amid complaints from kids needing to pee, people wanting to shower, a cat needing a moment of privacy. My biggest thing was don't get the FLOOR WET YET!!

With Monday being a holiday we had yet another day to work on the kitchen floor. Now there's some interesting work! We had to cut out a piece of plywood and replace a piece that had rotted underneath the linoleum flooring that was down. Interesting ... that's all I'm going about that! Circular saws are NOT my favorite things to work with but I was getting pretty darned good by about noontime!!

We finally finished about 8pm (only took us just under twelve hours to do the entire kitchen!) It looks awesome! I had only one thing to say - the first person that scratches the floor has to replace it!!! I came up with the idea to put old socks on the legs of the tables and chairs until we can get those fuzzy things to go on the bottoms. It worked pretty well if I do say so myself! Once and a while I have a good idea - they don't happen often but boy when I do get a good idea - it's a doozy!!

Well now that my entire body aches, I'm off to study for yet ANOTHER A&P lab quiz Tuesday night. It's on sea urchins - pretty interesting stuff.

Time Slips Away

When life is busy, time has a way of slipping away. I haven't had a moment to write since my last post because I have been busy as a one armed paper hanger... School is in full swing - trying to coordinate assignment due dates has been one of the biggest hurdles I have had to face since starting back to school last April (05). I have a good course load this semester - Anatomy & Physiology II, Abnormal Psych, Health and Disability of the Elderly and Spanish for the Medical Professional. All of these courses are geared toward finally helping me get into and finish nursing school. Unfortunately I missed the deadline this year because my A&P I grade was only 70 and 78 is necessary to even apply. SO - we wait until next January. In the meantime, I'm still plugging along - taking whatever I can to finish my course work as well as take care of the prereqs needed for nursing.

I have made a few trips north to visit my friends - they have been such great friends that I wonder if I have been as good a friend to them as they have been to me. I just pray that I have been. Next week, I'm taking my daughter with me to spend four days in the mountains. We have such a good time visiting it's like a mini vacation for all of us! Even though I bring work, I find that I get it done so that I can enjoy my visit with them and get my work done! Sometimes Cedar helps with the math portion of my work; I can count on Phil to help me with the sociological aspect of things (he's got a great knack for making me stop to smell the coffee and relax); Sandy has been a fountain of knowledge in the medical field as well as other fields I'm exploring. I don't know what type of nursing I want to do yet but it's nice to have people that will let me bounce ideas off of them. It's amazing all the help I've gotten so far. I am so blessed to have awesome friends!

While I have awesome friends, I also have awesome kids! My kids have encouraged me all along this path towards nursing school - they've made me sandwiches while I study, graciously stopped playing the heavy metal so I can concentrate on the circulatory system, and have offered back and neck rubs as I sit hunched over my textbooks. What more could a gal want? They are the reason I decided to go back at my age (42 now). I want them to know that learning is a lifelong process, not something that only lasts 12 years or so. The day you stop learning is the day you start watching the grass grow from the wrong side!

Is it the Beginning or the End?

It's late Sunday evening (and late I mean it's 9:30 pm) and I'm finishing up my homework from one of my classes. I've just taken a test and scored 88% (wow! not too bad) Now on to studying for my lab quiz on Tuesday night. This all leads me to wonder if Sunday the beginning of the week or the end of a week? Am I gearing up for a new week or winding down an old week? Everything I've done is finishing something left from this past week. I have no new assignments yet, just previous ones to finish. I'm looking for a service project for one of my courses and I'd like to try and integrate two of my classes so that I can have benefit of the information for two separate papers. Time is limited so I need to 'double-dip' so to speak (IF I can!)

I've spent some time chatting with friends tonight (after all my homework was done, of course). The lousy weather we were expecting did show up in the form of snow, sleet, freezing rain and fog. We truly had a mixed bag of weather today. All I needed was a nice thunder and lightening storm to complete the bag. *grin*

New England Weather - Don't Like It? WAIT!

Just when we thought snow was in the forecast I wake up this morning to another beautiful day! Clear blue skies, maybe a few whispy little clouds but nothing that makes me want to prep the snow shovels again! Maybe clear out that last little patch from Mother's last little calling card (namely the 10" we had on Monday!).

I've got recycling duty today as well as some banking to do and other miscellaneous errands to run. I've spent most of the morning trying to track down a book I need for my distance spanish class. Batting zero! No one has it so I'm heading to the college bookstore on Monday afternoon to find this blinkin' book. I'm trying to keep up with my assignments as best as I can by surfing the web and finding different spanish grammar sites. I've managed to get most of the information I need for this weekend so hopefully I'm in good shape.

Tomorrow is Sunday - a day of rest. I have nothing on schedule right now except a birthday party in New Hampshire. Weather depending, I may not make the two-hour trip. I don't want to get snowed in up there again. Kids end up missing school and I lose work time. I'll pay attention this time and head home before the weather gets truly horrible. The trip itself isn't a bad one; it's just a lousy trip when the roads are nasty.

Here we go again

Well, as blue as the sky was a few days ago, I woke up to skies grayer than an old man's beard! The sky looks heavy with snow - remains to be seen if we'll actually see any white stuff today. Last night we got show showers (that's when Mother Nature can't make up her mind to snow or rain so she does BOTH!). The driveway is clear from the last storm on Monday that dumped almost 10" of snow on us. I'm ready for more - I actually like a fresh snow - makes everything seem clean, fresh, and new.

I'm working on schoolwork this morning. I realized last night that I do not have all my books yet! The bookstore is missing a key text in one of my classes. I wrote the instructor who said, yes, there are TWO books and six cds for this class. I have one book and seven cds. OK what's going on?! Have you ever tried to take a class in another language and NOT have a translation guide? Ya..that's what happened here - the main text is the translation guide. It's nice that I know how to say "Do you need a CAT scan?" but it's really sad that I can't count from one to ten or tell you what color your blood is in that language. Hopefully this situation will straighten out soon. Class started Monday and I'd hate to get behind.

First week jitters

Well it's done - my first week back in school after a five week break. Tonight was the dreaded Anatomy & Physiology. We started off slow - just started the endocrine system - only nine pages of notes in just about three hours! I have to go through them now while it's all still fresh in my head. We also had a two hour lab tonight and will have our first lab quiz next Tuesday night. The slides are bouncing around in my head - each one looked like a piece of steak to me! I have an idea of what each one was of and know some of the parts. Some of the names are exotic to me; like the Islet of Langerhans (it's part of a gland - check back next week and I'll tell you which one!)

I'm tired tonight but my brain feels like it's on fire with all the new information running through it. I need to remember last semester's notebook next week because we're going into mytosis and miosis and I know I have notes on it from last semester. Wish me well and think of me in the middle of the night as I burn the midnight oil studying hard.

The Day After

It's the day after a snow day and the kids are blessedly back in school. I love the day after a nice snow - the trees are all snow capped, the backyard mess has disappered for while and everything looks nice and clean. The sky is an amazing shade of cape cod blue with nary a cloud in any direction. The cat is sitting on the porch rail looking for a chickadee that doesn't see him. The birds around here are pretty smart though - they won't head for the feeders until he comes in the house. My big dog is outside lying in the sunshine soaking up rays and warming his old bones. He won't come in just yet - it's too nice a day to come into the house.

It's quiet right now - no one is here except me and the animals. I'm leaving shortly to pick up kids from school so I'm enjoying the few moments of solitude. I have my feet up, a cold drink next to me and I think if I close my eyes, I may just knock off for a minute. But there's no time for that - so down go the feet. Time to sit up straight and wake up. I have class tonight - Anatomy & Physiology Part 2 starts at 5pm and runs until the ungodly hour of 10 pm. This class goes for twelve weeks and is pretty intense (if Part 1 is any indicator!). It's the same professor so at least I know what I'm getting into with this class. My other three classes are currently running so now I'm into the scheduling thing - making sure I have plenty of study time as well as down time to have fun.

I have bouquets of flowers sitting behind me on my other desk - they're leftover from my birthday a few days ago. One is from my son and one is from his girlfriend (sweet kids). The smell makes me wish spring were coming but the seasons change fast enough for me. I can wait until spring comes because around here....with spring comes MUD! I'm happy with the just under a foot of snow for now.