Just a little

We're finally getting a little bit of snow, but it's only an inch. (That's what she said.)

Ok really. I am loving staying up until 4:30 in the morning reading until the words are blurred and I have to blink constantly just to make them out. I love sleeping until noon, and then having my "morning" coffee late. I have just a few days left, and then it's back to the normal. I am looking forward to normal, it makes these breaks feel so good!

4th of July

Finished ready James Patterson's 4th of July tonight, I really liked this one, but the trial stressed me out, lol. I guessed all the bad guys in this one, which was cool, but I hope it's not always so easy to figure it out, I like to be surprised. Not so much foreshadowing, please!

Now to get the next one from the library.

Good Monday

Listening to some Alice in Chains, drinking an Eggnog butter rum latte, and homework is done. Hubby home, and it's quiet. /happysigh

Vote

My husband and I just voted today. Yeah, it's a day early, but they had to be in the mail by tomorrow night anyway. Now, it's time to watch Medium.

Halloween duties

I am about to go out with the older kid and pick up a few groceries along with Halloween candy and a pumpkin. The kids will get the job of turning our pumpkin into a nicely wicked jack'o lantern, and I get the job of opening the candy bags. Yeah, I know, I'll try not to break a sweat. Other activities for today will include doing laundry and other various chores, and me taking some Benedryl for some nasty allergy symptoms. Okay, I'm going to get dressed and get started.

Peace.

Project Runway

I was so in love with Mondo's and Andy's collections! I can't believe that Gretchen won. Her collection was boring, and reminded me of drab gypsy style clothing. I love a good gypsy boho look, but hers wasn't good, and I hate that Michael Kors and that Nina Garcia bullied Heidi Klum into choosing Gretchen. Project Runway made me sad this time, I would not wear anything in Gretchen's collection, especially these...

Foggy politics

I am sitting here trying to read my voter's pamphlet again, but my head feels like it's vibrating. I know, sounds like it'd be cool, but it's not. I guess I'll put this down and go back to watching some Fact or Faked on SyFy. The girls in this show are smart and cute, which makes it even better.

Week 4 over

My classes are 9 weeks long, and I just finished my assignments for week 4. I like having all my assignments done early, so it feels like a mini vacation each week. I love to be a slacker! Now I am going to go read some more Blue Moon.

Halloween Candy

Anybody else find themselves stocking up on halloween candy early in October, and then restocking a few more times when everyone in the house (including myself) finishes it off? Yeah? Us, too. Love this time of year. :)

Grr

In a wicked bad mood. Not sure why. I wish I had someone to scream at. >.<


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Stevie

Stevie

This is what I'm watching today, hope it's good. You can watch it too if you want, on Fearnet.

Ugh

What an exhausting day. I feel emotionally bruised and I think only multiple long, hot baths will help. Well, I can think of a few things that might help that come in multiples.

Anyway, I think I'm going to go hug one of my kitties. Peace.


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No surprise

You Are Burned Out Stressed

You're not just stressed out - you're exhausted. Your reserves are empty. You've been stressed out for long enough that you just don't have any energy left. You may be feeling numb or depressed. It's probably hard for you to enjoy fun and relaxing activities. The stress you feel is always with you. Give yourself a break if it's at all possible. No one should have to experience this much stress.

What Kind of Stressed Are You?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

Sleepless in...

I didn't sleep well last night. Yeah, I know that's not technically "sleepless", but it sure felt like it. I'm good though, I am actually in a terrific mood, and I don't know why. I won't question it, and won't ruin it by stating that it won't last. I will just breathe deep and enjoy the crisp smell of the autumn air. It's a clear, 47°, and with a high of only 60°, it will be a perfect weather day for me! Well, I would prefer the rain, but I'll take it!

Enjoy your day, and so will I. Peace.

First final done

I finished my first final, and today I am going to take a little break. I have two smaller assignments I can do, and that will be my focus today. I don't think I could squeeze another paper out of me if I wanted to. Tomorrow is when I scheduled myself to do it, or at least half of it. Ugh..

Deep breath.

Only another 24 hours of humidity and we'll be back to normal. Yay! I do not understand how people live in humid places, it's hard to breathe, and I feel like I have this constant sheen of sweat on my skin, but there is nothing there.

After I finish my assignments today, I am going to finish Guilty Pleasures. I've been missing reading it, and it's what I am going to do as a reward for having one final done.

Peace.

Firefly, and Guilty Pleasures

I've decided to alternate between reading and TV during my downtime. Firefly I own, and haven't watched it in awhile, so I'm loving that. I am re-reading Guilty Pleasures audible style this time, and am enjoying the simple, sexy read. After creating my own non-profit organization, I'm beat, and need some mindless fun. School is great, but my brain cells like to chill when time allows.

Peace.

What to do - Anniversary Edition

Homework is done, classwork still needs to be done, but I have to wait for some input from my classmates, so what do I do until I go volunteer? Veronica Mars is over, so should I read a book or watch another show? I just can't decide. I am feeling a little drained, so I think that for now I will check my DVR and figure out what I want to catch up on.

Oh yeah, anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! Eight years and we still haven't killed each other, right on!

Veronica Mars? Yes.

I have been watching TV shows that I always meant to watch, but never got to, on Netflix. In just over a week, I have gone through 2.5 seasons, and will probably finish season 3 today. I feel cheated though, because I know this is the end, and I don't want it to be over. I really like this show! Ah well, enjoying it while I can. :)

Movies

Going to go see Inception tonight with the family. I am kind of in a bad mood about it, because I can't stand spending $10 to $14 dollars for a movie for just 1 ticket. If we went in the morning to a 10am show, it would be $6 or $7 dollars, and that is much more reasonable to me. Man, this movie better be f'in brilliant.

Eureka!

Loving the new season of Eureka on Syfy. Interesting way to switch up and "fix" some funky story lines. If you haven't seen them, try and catch up, it's totally fun and worth it!

Queen wears 'recycled' dress to banquet in Toronto - Telegraph

Queen wears 'recycled' dress to banquet in Toronto - Telegraph

 I love that she did this! So awesome, and it's so pretty! Swarovski crystals ftw!

Independence Eve

So bored. Weird stomach pain that gets worse when I eat, and comes in waves. It's right under my sternum to the left, and hurts for about 10 or 15 seconds every 10 to 30 minutes. Ugh. Anyway, if I still have this pain come Tuesday, I'll make an appointment.

It's a nice cool night at least, a little breezy, and a comfy 60°. The girls are on the patio cleaning off chairs so we can take them to go sit on the roof of my husbands work parking garage and watch the Gas Works fireworks. They found some spiders, and are spazzing out now. Oh, so if you're cool and don't mind the 4 hours of traffic leaving Gasworks park, The Presidents of the United States are playing a free concert before and after the fireworks show, go! We're cool, but the traffic... no thanks.

Anyway, just finished watching Spiderman 2, and now I'm going to pvp or something. Peace.

Good job, me

I turned in an assignment last week (two weeks ago, now), and it was a short paper about immigration, the process, and the reasons people want to come to America and become naturalized citizens. I worked very hard on it, not to get a good grade, but to make sure that what I said wasn't emotional, but fact based, and that I had the research to back up my claims. I got the paper back with the grade. Here is what my instructor said...

Total Points 100 100
Late Penalty 10% per day, if applicable Points Deducted: 0 Explanation: N/A
Final Grade: A+++++

Overall Comments: Outstanding work on this assignment! I RARELY am able to give out 100%, so you should be proud of this paper!!! I enjoy giving out 100%, but very rarely can I justify the perfect score. The perfectly formatted citations and references (except for the one, very small error) are what people typically do not manage. Your writing is strong, easily understood, and meaningful. You did a great job of not relying on personal opinion, and provided strong facts to support your ideas and convince the reader of your position. Your explanations for a very difficult process are well communicated and concise.

Your desire to engage in academic excellence is obvious, so keep up the hard work!

Oh yes, I still smile when I read that. We're only in week 5 of 9 weeks, hope I can live up to my own work, now. lol :)

I think I've got it!

Okay, so maybe I've just got the idea, and the basic wording, but it's a solid start. My thesis statement is "Removing racism from city institutions can inspire communities by being the change that many citizens are looking for. "

What do you think? Maybe it's too simple, or I could use different wording, I can edit more later. I am just so relieved that I've done enough research that I feel I have enough information (and oodles of personal opinion) that I can actually start thinking about the outline with confidence. Whew! Thanks for the help Genglo!

Just a tad stressed

Felt a little overwhelmed today while looking at the work I needed to do this week for my two classes. So much writing, and I am just not sure how I want to go about writing this weeks paper. When I finish writing, I usually end up thinking to myself, "that wasn't so bad", but this class is turning out to be much more difficult that I ever thought possible.

Okay, the class is Cultural Diversity, and it's crazy hard for me because I find so much of what I have to write about offensive, and even writing about it pisses me off. It is immensely disappointing to find out just how much racism and discrimination is still prevalent in the year 2010.

Well, that was fun. Time to cool off again, and work on this more tomorrow. Peace.

To Write Love on Her Arms

To Write Love on Her Arms

My amazing daughter has inspired me to join this amazing cause. Check it out, it's absolutely worth your time!

The Associated Press: Quake in western China kills 400, buries more

The Associated Press: Quake in western China kills 400, buries more

Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in Yushu county in western China's Qinghai province on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. A series of strong earthquakes struck a far western Tibetan area of China on Wednesday, killing at least 400 people and injuring more than 10,000 as houses made of mud and wood collapsed, trapping many more, officials said. (AP Photo)

I haven't done any research to find out if the trend in these higher magnitude earthquakes happens every so often, or if this is something new that the planet is experiencing. If anyone knows, please post and mention where you found your information.

My heart goes out to the people of China, and I will keep them in my thoughts.

Hurry up and wait

Got the referral from our family doc so M can get an appointment with someone for her depression. Now I have to wait for them to call me to make the appointment, the recording said 24 to 48 hours until they call me back. Then, it's 3 to 4 weeks for an appointment. Awesome, eh?

As for me, my algebra class is fairly remedial, any high school student could do it... but I am no high school student, and I have never been very patient with math. Week 1 down, and 8 to go. Human services in the US is the other class I'm taking, and I am really enjoying that one. I am doing alright in that one also, and that class is in it's 3rd week.

I've been having some intestinal things going on, and have been feeling sick for two weeks now. I cannot eat much, and when I do I end up in a lot of pain about 45 minutes after eating. I am back to eating a yogurt for most meals, and some rice or toast when I need  more. Lots of water too, can't forget that.

That's it for now.

Teen Depression

My hope is to find a way to help M with her depression. I hope that with better eating habits, more exercise, and with some required quiet time every day, she will feel better physically, which will in turn help her to feel a little better emotionally. I don't know how this is going to work for her; but I am willing to try with her, and I think we will have a positive change in her general well-being and attitude about herself.


 

9 weeks

I spent the last nine weeks with two classes that were quite time consuming. Behavioral science and nutrition, and they tried to kick my ass. Not because they were hard, but because they both demanded a lot of time reading, and writing essay's and creating PowerPoint presentations. I also found myself dealing with a teenager with depression, and that is a very touchy and difficult thing to have to deal with. There is more to it than with adult depression, and it can be very draining emotionally, as well as financially. I guess we'll see where this goes, and hopefully find that it doesn't go too far.

So, new classes started Monday, well new class. Human services in the US. The next class starts on next Monday, and it's an algebra class. Fine with the HSM, not so fine with the ALG. Bleh.

Taxes, Vitamins, and blood sugar.

Taxes have been filed for another year, glad to be getting some money back. I enjoy working on the taxes, I just don't always understand what needs to go where, which is why we always have our taxes done. Tax season makes me a little sad that I changed my major from accounting to human services, but my new major fits me better, I think.

Anyway, so vitamins! I decided that I needed to supplement my diet since starting this nutrition class. I knew I was lacking in the way that I ate, but I had no idea how much! So, I added just a women's one a day, nothing fancy, just a true supplement. It's been five days so far, and now I can't eat! I'm never very hungry, and when I eat, I can't eat a whole lot. What's up with that? Vitamins aren't supposed to make you full, are they? I am also having trouble deciding what to eat. I used to be starving all the time, and knew I had to have, just HAD to have something specific, not the last few days though. I may ask my instructor about this, cause it seems weird to me.

My blood sugars are normalizing a lot over the last week. I added glipizide to my insulin, and it seems to be what I was missing. I am almost normal in the mornings, and my sugars stabilize faster after meals now. Hmm, maybe it's the combination of vitamins and glipizide? Hellifiknow. Anyway, that's it for now.

Peace 

Easy does it

So J's birthday was yesterday, and we had a nice afternoon and evening. We all went to Cheesecake Factory, and had some yummy foods. I had two snack plates instead of a meal, since I am trying to eat better while I'm taking this nutrition class. I had a greek salad (roma tomatoes, onions, feta cheese, kalamata olives, and cukes), and fried zucchini. I know, it was fried, but I passed on the bread, so it balances out, right? ;)

Anyway, we also got J some new shoes, he got some green and black things that are nice, I like them a lot. Then we went to Best Buy and he bought Moon. Was a nice, mellow night, and we all had a good time. :)

Baklava

CJ made some amazing baklava on Saturday! I don't know if she took a picture, but if she did I'll have her post it.

On a side note, we tried for the second and third times yesterday, to get CJ her drivers permit. One place was closed permanently,  and the other was closed for MLK's holiday. That poor girl, I know I'd be so disappointed! We will try again next weekend.