I have not done a Tuesday 10 for awhile but I think it's time to do another one!
1. I am currently working on getting my BAISK8 from WGU, but teaching is not my end goal.
2. During my first round of college (1996-2000), I tanked my credit. I rebuilt it and then tanked it again after my divorce from the first hubby. After getting remarried, I avoided my credit and buried my head in the sand, feeling like my current husband could handle things. I am currently working on rebuilding my credit and have been since 2015.
3. Up until September 2017, I was pretty good at menu planning and keeping to a specific schedule for cleaning. Going back to school is hard, yo!
4. I LOVE psychology and counseling. It's fascinating to learn how the brain works and trying to find ways to reach the minds of my children.
5. My favorite bird is the Northern Cardinal.
6. I recently started a project that requires going through my old photos. This is very nostalgic. 💛
7. For 2018, I have read ONE book for fun. Last year I had over 50 books read for enjoyment.
8. I drive a 2018 Nissan Rogue that is equipped with a navigation system. I don't know how I managed with just Apple Maps for navigation until now. 😂😂😂
9. I'm pretty hardcore Apple product fan. iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro. I love how everything transfers between the three seamlessly!
10. I turned 40 in April. I thought I'd feel more accomplished by the time I turned 40. That's ok. I'm working on it.
22 May 2018
19 May 2018
Where I've been...
This year has been a crazy rollercoaster ride. It's been nearly a year since my last post and I've accomplished a lot but I've also have some setbacks. It's okay. I am trying not to be too hard on myself.
In June of 2017, I started the process of going back to school. It wasn't an easy process. It'd been seventeen years since I finished at Bemidji State University and twenty-one years since I graduated from high school. I had to track down transcripts and it wasn't just my college transcripts. No. I had to track down my AP scores from high school. Yeah. My records were so old, it wasn't available via the online database. Nope. I had to fill out a form to have it processed. As in, a paper form. As in, print it out and use a pen! What?! Okay, not to be melodramatic but, that was quite the process! I had no way of tracking how long it would take my records to get from point A to point B. That's hard for a planner like me. Little did I know that it was only the beginning of having to learn how to adjust my sails because there were a lot of changes that happened that I couldn't just "plan" for. I had to learn to rely on the process to unfold as it would unfold. That was hard for me.
Once everything was in place, I was set to start school at WGU-Texas on September 1, 2017. My term was six months and included four courses. I was able to complete the four courses within the first four months and then I moved one forward one term. And I'm now on my second term and I have completed two courses in two months. I'm still feeling pretty good about the progress I'm making in school. However, my home life and personal life has taken a little bit of a hit, and it's bruised the ego a bit.
My brain has been exhausted from trying to do the education thing and it takes a toll on my body. My housework has taken a back seat to school and I've not kept up with the cleaning and laundry like I had been. This is very embarrassing to me. It's hard to admit. At what point do you tell yourself it's okay to pursue your dreams and ask for help in the areas where you need it? It's a slow process. I take it day by day. That's all that I can do.
But, I am proud of myself, and I know that my family is too. That's all that matters. 💛
In June of 2017, I started the process of going back to school. It wasn't an easy process. It'd been seventeen years since I finished at Bemidji State University and twenty-one years since I graduated from high school. I had to track down transcripts and it wasn't just my college transcripts. No. I had to track down my AP scores from high school. Yeah. My records were so old, it wasn't available via the online database. Nope. I had to fill out a form to have it processed. As in, a paper form. As in, print it out and use a pen! What?! Okay, not to be melodramatic but, that was quite the process! I had no way of tracking how long it would take my records to get from point A to point B. That's hard for a planner like me. Little did I know that it was only the beginning of having to learn how to adjust my sails because there were a lot of changes that happened that I couldn't just "plan" for. I had to learn to rely on the process to unfold as it would unfold. That was hard for me.
Once everything was in place, I was set to start school at WGU-Texas on September 1, 2017. My term was six months and included four courses. I was able to complete the four courses within the first four months and then I moved one forward one term. And I'm now on my second term and I have completed two courses in two months. I'm still feeling pretty good about the progress I'm making in school. However, my home life and personal life has taken a little bit of a hit, and it's bruised the ego a bit.
My brain has been exhausted from trying to do the education thing and it takes a toll on my body. My housework has taken a back seat to school and I've not kept up with the cleaning and laundry like I had been. This is very embarrassing to me. It's hard to admit. At what point do you tell yourself it's okay to pursue your dreams and ask for help in the areas where you need it? It's a slow process. I take it day by day. That's all that I can do.
But, I am proud of myself, and I know that my family is too. That's all that matters. 💛
30 June 2017
Summer is HERE!
June has come and gone in the blink of an eye. It's hard to believe that the girls have been out of school for almost a month! WHAT???
I thought that life would get less busy when school ended. I was wrong! We had a few days of solace before the summer travels started. I am thankful for that time to recuperate and I am also thankful that we have the means and ability to travel.
On June 6, Princess Cranky Pants left for NYC on a trip with her theatre and choir classes. It was a whirlwind of sight-seeing, drama workshops and Broadway musicals. She had a blast! It was the trip of a lifetime for her and it left her wanting to do more travel. I don't blame her at all.
On June 16, we left for MN to attend my oldest niece's graduation party and visit with family in MN and IL. It was busy, exhausting, at times stressful, peaceful, relaxing, and long overdue. I am currently trying to catalog everything that we did in the month of June and I think that it might take me awhile to get the pictures sorted and everything documented. Whew! What a crazy and fun month it was. I'm looking forward to keeping busy in July and August.
I'm currently working on DIY projects, recipe testing, museum trips, and other fun summer activities. I'm crazy tired, but, I'm crazy content.
I thought that life would get less busy when school ended. I was wrong! We had a few days of solace before the summer travels started. I am thankful for that time to recuperate and I am also thankful that we have the means and ability to travel.
On June 6, Princess Cranky Pants left for NYC on a trip with her theatre and choir classes. It was a whirlwind of sight-seeing, drama workshops and Broadway musicals. She had a blast! It was the trip of a lifetime for her and it left her wanting to do more travel. I don't blame her at all.
On June 16, we left for MN to attend my oldest niece's graduation party and visit with family in MN and IL. It was busy, exhausting, at times stressful, peaceful, relaxing, and long overdue. I am currently trying to catalog everything that we did in the month of June and I think that it might take me awhile to get the pictures sorted and everything documented. Whew! What a crazy and fun month it was. I'm looking forward to keeping busy in July and August.
I'm currently working on DIY projects, recipe testing, museum trips, and other fun summer activities. I'm crazy tired, but, I'm crazy content.
31 May 2017
Summer is COMING!
At the end of the day tomorrow, I will have a freshman and a first grader! Where does the time go? This year has gone by very quickly and I am not prepared for summer. It's time to make my summer bucket list. Perhaps this will be the year that I tackle more than two Pinterest ideas. Or, maybe I'll just not do any DIY this summer and just soak up the nothing that needs to be done. We'll see how that works out.
23 January 2017
Accountability
I have fallen away from my 3x a week gym visits. I was doing well until November/December hit and we encountered the holiday crunch time. It seems like school events multiply during the months of November and December; add to that holidays like Thanksgiving & Christmas and a birthday and it's a recipe for insane busyness. That's not a good excuse. There's never a good excuse.
I couldn't fit going to the gym into my schedule and doing my workouts at home proved to be difficult for me. Weight loss and working out is very personal to some and it's hard to do it with a "familiar" audience. At the gym I don't care because I don't know the others there and they are there for the same reason that I am. That's not to say that I think that my family is going to judge me because that isn't the way I think about it at all. It's a conundrum.
Add building a house/closing on the house to the holiday craziness and it seems like a recipe for failure. I fell into the trap of "I can do it tomorrow." The problem with that statement is that it is always today and never tomorrow.
So. Here I am. A new year and celebrating my ONE year anniversary of my gym membership and I'm questioning what it is that I am looking to get out of the membership. I know that when I was working out regularly, I felt fantastic. I found that counting my calories gave me an accountability that I needed to work out and lose the weight.
I'm ready to do this again. Can I do it? Will I fail? I suppose that it up to me, isn't it? All things are possible as long as you hold yourself accountable.
I couldn't fit going to the gym into my schedule and doing my workouts at home proved to be difficult for me. Weight loss and working out is very personal to some and it's hard to do it with a "familiar" audience. At the gym I don't care because I don't know the others there and they are there for the same reason that I am. That's not to say that I think that my family is going to judge me because that isn't the way I think about it at all. It's a conundrum.
Add building a house/closing on the house to the holiday craziness and it seems like a recipe for failure. I fell into the trap of "I can do it tomorrow." The problem with that statement is that it is always today and never tomorrow.
So. Here I am. A new year and celebrating my ONE year anniversary of my gym membership and I'm questioning what it is that I am looking to get out of the membership. I know that when I was working out regularly, I felt fantastic. I found that counting my calories gave me an accountability that I needed to work out and lose the weight.
I'm ready to do this again. Can I do it? Will I fail? I suppose that it up to me, isn't it? All things are possible as long as you hold yourself accountable.
11 January 2017
The journey.
In the first quarter of 2016, Mr. Lovebug and I made our second biggest decision in our marriage up to this point. We signed the paperwork to start the homebuilding process. We were given the time frame of 6-8 months and that is almost exactly how long it took.
We learned quite a bit during the entire process.
1. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. The timeframe that they give you is total time; it can take several months to break ground and a lot of that wait time is waiting for permits.
2. If you're currently renting, it's a good idea to plan that timeframe around the end of your lease if you're in a lease and not doing month to month.
3. Be involved in the process and if you see something is not what you asked for, ask them to change it sooner rather than later. It's easier to do make the changes if it's not too far into the process.
4. If you are afraid to speak your mind about something, make sure that you have an advocate.
5. Be patient. It's a lot of hard and tedious work to build your home from the ground up. Being kind and patient with your building contractor will go a long way.
6. Don't overestimate where you think the progress should be when you think it should be there. It's a LONG process and rushing will only make for shoddy craftsmanship.
We are still learning from this process and we've been in the house for 11 days. It's crazy how that works.
We learned quite a bit during the entire process.
1. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. The timeframe that they give you is total time; it can take several months to break ground and a lot of that wait time is waiting for permits.
2. If you're currently renting, it's a good idea to plan that timeframe around the end of your lease if you're in a lease and not doing month to month.
3. Be involved in the process and if you see something is not what you asked for, ask them to change it sooner rather than later. It's easier to do make the changes if it's not too far into the process.
4. If you are afraid to speak your mind about something, make sure that you have an advocate.
5. Be patient. It's a lot of hard and tedious work to build your home from the ground up. Being kind and patient with your building contractor will go a long way.
6. Don't overestimate where you think the progress should be when you think it should be there. It's a LONG process and rushing will only make for shoddy craftsmanship.
We are still learning from this process and we've been in the house for 11 days. It's crazy how that works.
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