School'sOut

        



       Today was the last day of classes for the semester and I am glad to say that I survived !! For someone who never considered ever going to college I have faced my fear and I actually liked the college experience. I have really enjoyed the last few months of classes but let me also say that I am very much looking forward to this 3 week break.  I have met some great people and have had excellent teachers, which I am very thankful for because it made the whole process alot easier. I know as time goes on the classes are going to get harder and the teachers probably won't be as nice, which is to be expected but I have now gotten a taste of what school is going to be like and hopefully it has prepared me for what is yet to come.
        I must that starting over after 16 years is a little intimidating.Thinking to myself are they going to think of me as the old lady in class or am I going to feel out of place. I didn't feel that way and it was a pretty good feeling. I think it was hard at first I hadmyself a little worked up about the transition and thankfully it was a pretty easy one.
       I know I have alot to learn yet to refresh all the things that I learned 16 years ago but it will all come in time. No need to rush I have plenty time of time to play catch up. All I have to remember is that it just takes alot of hard work and determinaton to achieve whatever goal is is that you are aiming for.

ChristmasTime

    Well the holiday season is in full gear. Even though the weather is still really nice it is indeed the Christmas season. It  was a little funny yesterday as my family and I were on our way to get our Christmas tree and we actually saw people golfing.
     Now Christmas has a different meaning to everyone. To me Christmas is all about the tree. Getting the perfect tree is the best part of the holiday season. Every year my family has the same tradition we go out to the tree farm and walk around until I find the perfect tree for the year. To me its all about tall and fat. I don't want some skinny Charlie Brown looking tree, I want the fullest tree I can find without it over taking my living room. My husband doesn't even bother trying to pick out a tree because he knows it won't be the one that I want. Once I have found the perfect tree we cut it down and load it onto the car, but not before we get a cup of hot chocolate and a doughnut and I make my son get his picture in front of the yearly Christmas sign. I figure this is probably the last year he will let me do that. He is getting older and probably doesn't enjoy the Christmas tree adventure as much anymore, but I still get lucky to the point that he at least humors me and pretends that he does.
      Now picking out the tree is the easy part the hard part is getting it home and it the stand and into the house without me and my husband arguing. Once that is done it's time pull out all the lights and the decorations. It never fails every year once you start putting the lights on the tree that at least one or two strands don't work. That is another part of the Christmas tradition running to Walmart at 9:30 at night to buy new lights so we can finish decorating the tree.
      After it is all said and done I love to shut off all the lights and just sit and look at the Christmas tree and think that I have been blessed with another year with my family.

1 weeks left

                                                         


       I must say that the whole college experience has been more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I have met alot of new people, taken some good classes and over all I have gotten alot out of school. I know had I been mature enough back 16 years I could have gone to school then and things would probably be a little different now.
       Well after all the stressing I did before actually going back I now know it was for no reason. I have struggled with some of the work. Relearning all the things that I had originally learned 16 years ago but I did the weekly work and took all the test and I survived. To others this may not mean a thing, but to me it was a great accomplishment. Considering when I was in school I really disliked it. I didn't want to be there I couldn't wait to graduate and start my life and that is what I did.
        Even after all the enjoyment I got out of the experience I am glad to know that I only have 1 week left and then I get to enjoy a 3 week vacation. This will  be a time to rest my brain and relax before the next semester of classes start. I will get to spend some weekdays with my family and catch up on together time with them. I know the 3 weeks will go by fast especially with the holidays getting close. Regardless of what I do over this break I will remember the first semester that has gotten me motivated to keep going and that is what I intend to do. I know my classes are going to get harder as I keep going but I feel that being older and more mature now will help me get through it all.

Holiday Season

      So the holiday Season is well under way. Thanksgiving has come and gone. What a great day to get together with family to laugh and eat! Who doesn't love the traditional Turkey dinner with all the fixings. The holiday weekend usuallyy starts with some family members traveling from somewhere to get to the family for the long weekend.
      My Thanksgiving was nice and relaxing. We drove to Cincinnati to spend time with my husbands family. We also saw family members from Kentucky and Florida. It is sooo nice to see and spend time with the family members that you normally only see every few years, but when you see them you realize how much you actually miss them.
     Thanksgiving morning I started my holiday with a 10k run. Which is 6.2 miles. It was an amazing race. Running through the streets of Cincinnati Ohio and Newport Kentucky with 2 of my family members and 18,000 other people the energy around me was so exciting. Talk about a way to get the adrenaline pumping. Crossing the finish line with thousands of people cheering and music blaring it was the perfect finish to a wonderful run.
    Then we had the best Thanksgiving dinner. My father in law and husband cooked which is the normal in our family. It was the biggest dinner with everything you could possibly want on for a dinner. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing everything homemade nothing instant or out of a box which is what I would probably get if I had gone to my side of the family. We finished the day off with some homemade cheesecake. Talk about gaining 10 pounds in one day.
     Even though the weekend was extra long the time still flies by so fast. Before I knew it, it was time to come home. Saying goodbye is always hard, especially when you know it is possible that it will probably be at least a couple more years before you see your family members again.

Healthy Eating

   I am all about eating healthy on a regular basis with the occasional splurge of a cheeseburger or a steak sandwich. What I am just trying to figure out is how to eat healthy on a budget. I find that it is so expensive to eat healthy. You always see all the fattening foods on sale such as frozen pizza's, candy and chips but, what about the fresh produce and the healthier meats. When they do go on sale it's not very often so it's not like you can stock because you can't stock up on produce it will just go bad.
    I can see why it is easier for people to turn to the frozen and boxed processed foods because that is what is easily available to people on a grocery budget. I even use coupons but, when trying to eat healthy couponing does you no good because their are never coupons for healthy foods and once again if their are it is not very often.
   I have come to find that what you spend for one or two healthy meals could be your weekly budget for all your groceries if you weren't eating healthy. This is what is so frustrating all you hear is eat healthy, exercise but both of things are hard for everyone to afford. What we need to keep in mind is that we can still eat healthy on a daily basis even of your fridge isn't stocked with all healthy foods we just need to be a little more careful. It's all about portion control.
   I wish eating healthy was easier but for me it's not. The right thing to do would be the healthy choice but sometimes it is easier to go the easy route and just swing through a drive thru.

Work

This was the week from hell at work! I don't know what it was. I don't know if their was something in the the water or what, but their was something seriously wrong this week. I think I dealt with every idiot/ dumbass this week. I don't know if that is even possible, but it was pretty damn close.
  I work for State Farm Insurance as a licensed agent and I am not going to lie I know my job. All the ins and outs of insurance policies,claims and most guidelines. After 12 years it pretty much gets burned into your brain. I won't say that I love my job, but at certain times I really do enjoy it. I love the people I work with. My boss is great when it comes to flexibility and a laid back work environment. I couldn't ask for better coworkers we keep each other sane during weeks like this last one. I consider myself to be pretty laid back and easy going. I don't let much get to me that I can't just shrug off and get past but this week was different.
 People need to understand just like everything else insurance rates go up, but what doesn't. The cable goes up, the phone goes up and so does consumers. It is just a part of life. I do my best to work with people to help them find the lower rate but sometimes their is just nothing more we can possibly do. Just because they call everyday with the same complaint that doesn't mean that their rate is going to miraculously go down. It doesn't work that way I wish it did, but it doesn't.
 If I have to listen to one more person complain and tell me that they are on a fixed income I am going to SCREAM !!!. Well guess what? I am on a fixed income to! I know everyone has different incomes some may be more than others, but come on. I don't know many people that aren't on fixed incomes. I don't know many people with unlimited funds that they can just spend and spend and spend.
  Last but not least if one more person tell me how to do my job. I am just going to tell them they can have mine. Don't tell me how to do my job. Don't sit there and tell me I have no idea what I am talking about, when after I sit their and listen to them speak they are the ones who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. I think some people just speak because they just like to hear themselves speak no matter how ridiculous or stupid they actually sound.
  Well now that I have gotten that off my chest I feel much better. All I can hope for is a better upcoming week.

Half way mark

  So the first semester of school is at the half way mark for myself as well as my son who is a freshman in high school. I actually think college is going smoother for me, than high school  for my son. It is hard to think that is even possible, but it seems to be. I am so far passing all my classes and actually enjoy school. Which is hard to believe since 16 years ago I disliked school so much that I always said I was never going to go to college. I now understand the importance of a college degree. I should't say that. A college degree has always been important, it's just now I am mature enough to see the big picture that I didn't see before.
  I preach to my son everyday the importance of school. It seems that these days it is in one ear and out the other. He frustrates me so much! Learning comes to him naturally to him, he doesn't seem to struggle which is to his benefit. The issue we are having is that if he doesn't understand something, he figures well I guess I just won't do it. So then I get a call or an email from the teacher letting me know of the situation which makes him so mad. Which I don't understand why he gets mad, it's not as though I won't ever find out. So for the last couple of years we go through the same thing. He spends the last month before the marking period is over turning in all the missing assignment, paying extra attention and passing all his quizzes and tests just to get a passing grade. If he would just do everything when it is supposed to be done he would save himself so much time and save argument between the two of us.
  I would like to say that I forget what it is like to be a teenager, but that would be a lie and besides I am not that old. It is  just sometimes hard being on the other side of the situation. I was once the moody teenager, the kid who didn't want to do homework, the one who always talked in class and got in trouble for it. Now I have to be the adult. Talk about a role reversal. All I can say is that everyday is a learning experience for both of us.