Inspiration

I am sitting here in the Mudhouse working on my college algebra and getting inspired by the art on the wall. It is photography that has been taken in different parts of the world. Yum! I really think I want to pursue more in photography once I get done with my BSN. I am going to have to start saving for one of those cool digital SLR cameras. Ohhh, so exciting! I would love to travel and take pictures around the world!

Since getting back into scrapbooking the last couple of years has made me want to learn more about photography. One hobby can lead to another! I don't have the time to put into scrapbooking like I would like because of school and work but looking forward to when I graduate and I can do more of the things I want to do!

I also get inspired by some blogs regarding scrapbooking and photography . . . .

One that I really enjoy is rnjetta. She is an RN like me that enjoys scrapbooking. I find her layouts inspiring and glad that she removed the password protection on her blog so I can start reading it again!

I also get inspired by Elsie Flannigan which also lives in the same town I am in. I find this exciting because she will do classes at the LSS sometimes. She has been busy with traveling but I hope that she will be able to have some classes soon! I keep checking out the calendar at the LSS and hope I don't miss it!

I also love the multiple photo scrapbook blog. I have started a file on my computer of layouts I have seen on the web to hopefully scrap lift later.

My friends at scrapjammies also inspire me and they just started online crops with challenges. I didn't have the extra time to participate in the challenges but hope to be able to someday.

Here is a website of photographer Tara Whitney. I love her photos! She inspires me to learn more about photography. There are some other photographer blogs I had saved in my favorites before one of the computer crashes I had last year but can't find now.

I love sketches as it helps me figure out where to place things on a layout and pencil lines have sketches as does Becky Fleck's page maps.

I love freestyle book and the all about me book. I also have (somewhere!) Elsie's book of 52 challenges which I have somehow lost. I am not sure how I have misplaced it but I have. I hope I find it as I have it autographed! I also get inspiration from my Autumn Leaves calender and I am in a group on Yahoo! for calendar girls from 2 peas.

I am sure there is more that inspire me but this is what comes to mind at the moment!

I would like to make a scrapbook of my cats and how I came about getting each of them and there personalities. I got me some new pens today at Hobby Lobby with my 40% coupon that I would love to use! Maybe after I get my college algebra homework I will try to be inspired!

The Mudhouse is getting busy again. I am having trouble getting my homework done as I can't spread out on the small table I am sitting at. I believe I need to leave as I am not getting to much accomplished here! Just thinking about things that inspire me!

Crazy week

I was looking forward to Friday as I was going to relax and enjoy myself plus go to a crop with my sister. Jasmine is ill so she is staying home with her and my allergies are bothering me plus I have had about 6 hours of sleep in the last two days. We cancelled the crop. I thought about going by myself but realized how I wasn't prepared to go so I decided to just get some rest instead.

I am currently sitting in the Mudhouse relaxing a little and need to come up with a game plan for my next assignments at school. I have my first college algebra test next week and these chapters don't seem to hard. I am sure soon I will be wanting to go back to these first few chapters! I also have another paper due in two weeks. I need to start figuring out what I need to get done for it. I had a paper due this morning at 8am and I had to write my personal thoughts on a nursing theorists regarding a CD-ROM that was at the library. I had a hard time getting to the library with the hours I work. Of course, I get it done the night before it is due! I set my alarm for 3am to get up and write out my thoughts of the theorist I listened to. I never could get back to sleep after that. Crazy!

My yard is starting to look a lot better thanks to my Dad's help! I was going to take a picture of the brush pile today and last night while I was at class, the city was in my neighborhood and picked them up. I am glad that they are gone! My Dad also bent my gutter back in place so hopefully that will hold for a while. My next big thing is finding a tree guy to get rid of the tree in the backyard and to take care of my other big trees that have limbs partially broken. I never want to go through another ice storm! This has been a huge mess!! It is also interfering with my plans for my tax refund! :-)

I guess I should get to business and do some studying.

Good news!!!!!

I was worried about my Theories and Research class because I thought that the discussion board was due on Saturday morning. I even set my alarm to wake me up in the middle of the night to do the assignment as it was due at 0800. I got it done about 0430 and went back to bed. Then I got to thinking that it might had been due on Friday at 0800. When I looked at the syllabus it was due Friday at 0800!!!! I thought this wasn't a good way to start out my class! But today when she posted the grades for the discussion board I got all my points!!!! YAY!!!!! I have a theory review paper due on Friday at 0800 and I need to somehow get to the library as I am to watch a CD on nursing theorist. Working night shift and getting to the library is a challenge. I had brought my planner to work last night so on my break I could fill it in. I got interrupted as admitting needed the charge nurse. There is no rest for the charge nurse!

I was planning to only sleep a few hours after getting off from work this morning but I ended up sleeping until midnight! I was hoping to get to the Mudhouse to sit in a warm place to get my homework done. I feel tired still so maybe I can get some sleep and wake up early and get all this stuff done that is due for my college algebra class and maybe get to the library before going to work. I have a vacation coming up at work and it can't come soon enough!!!

I am excited about this Friday as my sister and I are going to a crop at one of the scrapbook stores! I can't wait! I seem to get more done when I am not at home. Part of that reason right now is it's too cold in my house! I wish my house had energy sufficent windows but the cold just radiated from them making my house have a coolness feel to it. I am ready for some warmer weather! I hope after class on Thursday that I can start planning on what I am going to do at the crop! :-)

Stress . . . .

Oh my! I miss the days when I wasn't charging as much as I am now. I cherish the days that I am not in charge anymore. I get called to the phone as someone seems to always want to talk to the charge nurse and I feel like my time is cut short with my patients sometimes. Our census was low this weekend which is unusual so I had to float staff to other floors and that seemed to send the day shift in a tizzy! I went by the numbers . . . . The day before I had enough staff and then the nursing supervisor pulled staff from my floor to help another floor and I had to hear about it yesterday morning too. I was frustrated when I got off from work today but glad that I don't have to come back tonight! :-)

Anyway, I need to get some sleep as I need to wake up early and get some studying done and work on my college algebra homework. :-) I thought a cute cat picture was in order!

Sneezy and cold day

I woke up with a stuffy nose this morning that quickly turned into an allergy attack! Finally, after my second dose of sudafed and a dose of claritin, the sneezing has slowed down. I hate day like this!

I had a dentist appointment this afternoon that I wasn't sure on how well it was going to go since I was sneezing. I was able to do okay and didn't sneeze when they were working on me. I learned that when they are spraying water in your mouth and you can't breathe through your nose, it isn't a good thing! I thought I was going to choke but she realized this in time and gave me the straw thing before that happened! I have a cool dentist and dental hygenist! :-) As long as they don't get the drill out, I don't mind visiting!

I got my taxes done today and getting a good return back this year. I am sure part of my return is going to go for tree removal. I do think one thing I would like is to get a desktop computer and sync my laptop and desktop. Then hopefully save the rest for homeowner mishaps that may come up! :-)

Maybe more later, but I need to get home to meet my sister. We are doing her taxes tonight!

Making a dent . . .

in the tree limbs that have fallen in my yard. At least I have a few piles and a pile of firewood. I don't have a fireplace but I have firewood! My dad said that he is interested in the wood though. My parents were shocked at the mess at my house and told me that the pictures I took didn't do the mess justice! They told me that I was living in a destruction zone! I am glad that my Dad is able to help me with this mess. I still need to get a tree guy out here to take care of the tree that fell in the backyard and someone that is able to trim the limbs that are broken off but still attached. I need to get out and take more pictures in the morning - or whenever I get up!

I finally got my card reader that is built into my laptop working. All I had to do was restart my computer! Phew! I am including pictures of my scrappin' cat! :-)

I wasn't very productive with my homework. After my parents left, I was tired as I never did get back to bed after waking up at 5am. I fell asleep and woke up after 8pm! It is cold in my house and I don't have the motivation to get my homework done. :-) I really need to get done with my college algebra so I can ask questions in class if I don't understand something. I have a lot of reading to do in my other class. I might just get all curled up and read some of my theories and research stuff so I can do the discussion board.

I am trying to catch up with Days of Our Lives. I did end up missing one week and have on my DVR from soapnet all of last weeks episodes. There are some spots that I am unsure what has happened but I am sure I will figure it out!

I hope by the end of the week, my yard is starting to look somewhat normal!

Yeah!!!!

I got home from work this morning and was putting groceries away. I decided that I would open the blind to the back door to let some light in and two men were in my backyard just looking at my big tree that feel over! When they saw me, they went to the front yard and I found out they were with the cable company! I was so happy! It didn't take them long at all to get my cable working. I finally have TV to watch!

Today my parents are coming over and we are going to try to tackle the mess of tree limbs in my yard. It is a mess! The houses around me have already taken care of this but then there is me that doesn't have as much extra time and can't get the yard work done as quickly! Then after we can get this somewhat cleaned, I can call the tree guy to come take care of the rest. I am sure there is a waiting list!

Last night was Scrapjammies first online crop! It was much fun chatting on a conference chat and scrapping! I was having adhesive issues and started using glue. The glue was making my paper wrinkle which I don't like. I need to get some more adhesive! Felix had to be in the middle of the action as he loves to be! I took pictures of my scrappin' cat! I couldn't get my card reader that is built into my laptop to transfer pictures last night. I hope that something hasn't gotten broken!

I should get back to bed. I had went to bed with my laptop last night to watch a movie in my warm, cozy bed but fell asleep! I need to save my energy for tree cleanup! Then later doing homework!

Blogger Beta

I finally made the switch to blogger beta. I still haven't had time to see what it is all about. I just hope I don't regret it!

It has been two weeks since the ice storm hit and my yard is still a mess. I haven't been able to get things cleaned up. My neighbors seem to be able to get things cleaned up so fast and me I work full-time and currently going to school full-time and have to wait till I have a day off from school and work. I hope to be able to get things at least started soon.

I am still without any cable TV and can't get the local channels either. I have missed Days of Our Lives for two weeks now! I have also missed Grey's Anatomy but have learned that I can watch episodes on abc.com. I will not miss any of those episodes! I called the cable company today as I received a bill and I don't have service. I was told that my account will be credited for the time I have been without cable. I talked to someone that was very pleasant and she even found out for me when they may be in my neighborhood. I called a few days ago and the lady started yelling at me . . . . I was told that I was to get a phone call within 72 hours and I have never received a phone call. I am glad that I got a pleasant person today and got more answers than I had asked for! I am just glad that I don't have cable internet or I would be in bad shape with my online classes!

I started school back up yesterday and it was a long day! I had ended up waking up at 3am and had to be at school from noon till 8pm. I was falling asleep by the end of the day! At least one of these classes is online I only have to met once a month! I have Theories and Research and College Algebra. So far so good! I just have a lot of reading to do and math to do!

I finished up my Diabetes Across the Lifespan class and I got an "A". Yeah! It ended up being a stressful class because of the ice storm. The school website was down for a few days and this class relied on the internet and blackboard. Our teacher gave us 48 hours after the website came up to get all of our work done that was past due. That was a little difficult for me as I worked part of those 48 hours. I finally got it done and then work hard, waking up early and not getting enough sleep for work and got alot of the work that was due by 10pm on Sunday. I even brought my laptop to work and worked on things during my break. It was rough getting all of this stuff done and working. I was got upset Monday morning when the teacher emailed us and told us that she was giving us a 24 hours extension! I worked so hard and lost sleep only to learn that we had an extension! I was glad that I had the work done though. I did have to work on the Discussion board that day to get all my points. It was a stresful few days!

I am going to finish watching Grey's Anatomy online! What a great feature! :-)

Ice storm

I have had quite the experience since my last post! While I was at work last Friday, my power went out. I was afraid that the huge sweet gum tree in my front yard was going to be on my house when I got home. My Dad told me a few months ago that the notches are hollow and that it might not hold up in a storm. That tree is still up and it didn't look very bad when I got home the next morning. I went into the kitchen and opened up the mini blinds and got quite the shock! One of my other huge trees had split down the middle and fell sideways (thank goodness!) and barely missed my neighbors house! This tree is half in my yard and half in my neighbors!



It was 55 degrees in my home Satuday morning and I called my parents and they still had power. They told me that I could come over and stay with them. I told my Mom that I was bringing my cats and that didn't go over well. :-( I decided just to go to bed and get some sleep. I woke up that afternoon with this loud noise outside and I thought it was a big truck. It turned out that is was a generator outside my window that my neighbor had. It was now 52 degrees in my house and any body part that wasn't under the covers was frozen! I also have a waterbed which it was loosing heat and wasn't as warm as cozy as it normally is. I called my Mom back and decided to stay with them and I did leave the cats at my house. I just made sure they had plenty food and water and a clean litter box.



I got to my parents house and my youngest niece (she is 9) thought this was great that everyone was spending the night! It was nice to be with family and I got to spend fun time with my nieces. Jasmine and I shared a bed and she is a wild sleeper! I would get hit with an elbow or her hand and didn't sleep very well. When she got up, I got some sleep except she kept coming in and telling me to get up as she was bored.



I finally did get up and went to my house just to see how things were and to check on the cats. I got to the intersection and saw that several limbs from the tree in the front yard had fallen and they are the size of small trees! But at this time, nothing had hit the house. Pandora and Felix was excited to see me but Chloe was mad and wouldn't let me near her. It was 46 degrees in my house that morning. My neighbor came over to tell me some things regarding my huge tree. He started parking in the yard as he was afraid of a limb falling on his van. I don't blame his for doing that either! He talked to a guy from CU that was doing something with my tree and was told that they were going to get try to get the power on in our neighborhood in the next hour. I finished taking care of the cats and getting a few more things and went back to my parents.

My sister, nieces and I all decided to go see a movie. We went and saw "The Night of the Museum". It was a good movie! Before leaving for the movie I had called my house and the answering machine picked up so my power was back on! WOOHOO!!!!! I didn't return home till about 7pm that night. I knew it was going to take awhile to get my house warmed back up.

When I returned that evening, my phone wasn't working (which means no internet!!) and my cable tv wasn't working. I was bored! Since my bed by this time was freezing cold, I slept on my futon in the living room and watched Season 1 of Will & Grace! I am finally sleeping in my waterbed again! Of course, more tree limbs had fallen and this time hit my house. I still have one tree limb that is standing up resting on my house. My gutters are damaged but that is all the damage I have seen. I am glad that I decided to park my car in the garage as another tree limb fell after I got home in my driveway where my care would have been! My neighbor is smart to not park in the driveway!

The next day I needed to move this tree limb that was the size of a small tree. Phew!!! That wasn't easy and it was frozen to the ground! I poured hot water on it and attempted to move it. I didn't get it over very far at all. One of my neighbors saw me and came over and moved it for me! I hadn't meet these neighbors before as they just moved into the neighborhood a couple of months ago. It was nice to meet my new neighbors even though it was under frigid conditions! :-) My front yard is so full of tree limbs you can't walk through it.

I now need to get rid of all this debris in my yard. My Dad said he would help me and what he can't do I have someone that my grandma has used before that I am going to call. I am going to post some pics of the aftermaths of the ice storm! I hope everyone is safe and warm!

Work and icy weather

It is raining here and it is 30 degrees!!!! We are supposed to have freezing rain all weekend and of course I work tonight. It always seems that when the weather gets bad, I have to work. I would really like it if I could just be at home and not slide all over town getting to work and then returning home! At least I only have to work tonight and then I am off this weekend and have all kinds of reading and homework to do! I still need a snow shovel and found out that Wal-mart won't be getting any. They are putting spring stuff out! I am so ready for warmer weather! That should be in 2-3 months, hopefully!

I had better get ready for work!

Relaxing and studying

Not to much going on today, just sitting in the Mudhouse studying. The main book for my class is online and then my teacher post other links related to the class. I am looking at the computer screen too much! I do have a book to read for this class, "The Discovery of Insulin." I am curious what the history is but how does it get to be 250 pages??? I will have to read it to find that out! :-)

The light burnt out on my front porch a week or so ago and I thought I would finally get it changed today BUT I can't get the globe-like thing off! The last time I changed it which was in March, I had the same problem. This time one of the screws is too tight. Of course, the screw doesn't have any indentions in it to use a screwdriver so I thought maybe my rubber jar opener would help. It didn't. So, I guess my front porch will be in the dark until I can figure a way to get it loose. I finally got under my house today to change the furnace filter. I really hate the fact that it is under my house! I always have to get rid of spider webs. That gives me the heebie cheebies!

Tonight is the art walk which I might walk around downtown for a bit before leaving. I have a good parking spot and really only want to go to a few places. I saw that Saw III is finally showing at the cheaper movie theater. I might have to catch it later tonight or next week. I don't want to wait too long as it may leave! I thought Saw II was awesome on how it ended and didn't really thing they could have another. But I thought wrong!

Back to school

I started my winter term course today, "Diabetes Across the Lifespan." I find this class interesting and I know I picked up some new knowledge tonight! :-) I just love the teacher too! She has a fun personality and makes class interesting. I have a project due on Tuesday and all this reading to do. Yuck!

I am at the Mudhouse tonight just to chill and go over some of readings for class. Tonight for some reason, they somehow lost my drink order which happens every so often here. I went and told them and they told me that this always happens to you and you are one of our regular customers! I had to laugh and they even gave me a card for a free drink! :-) I love the Mudhouse!

My parents came over last weekend and helped me finish up some projects that we had started but I needed to buy some parts. I finally have my remote control system working in my ceiling fan in my bedroom again! Yeah! I just love it! I can now read in full light again all warm and cozy in my bed then turn the light off without getting out of my warm bed! I had been without light in my bedroom for almost 2 months so it is exciting to have light!

Anyway, I am thinking about heading home and doing some unfun stuff but I will finish it with the Sims2 so that will be a nice reward! :-)

Happy New Year!!!!

I had a fun New Years Eve and I forgot my camera!!!! I went to my sisters house and spent it with my sister and nieces. I brought the new games I had gotten for my nieces for Christmas and we played them. We played Wacky Word by Cranium and I also brought a puzzle type game about getting the hiker across the river. The hiker game seems to easy soo we decided that we must be missing a rule that would make it harder. Of course we didn't read the instructions!

We had decided to go to the clubhouse at the apartment. We were figuring out how to play Wacky Word and my sister needed to let her boyfriend in so she left for a little bit. Shortly after she left, security came into the clubhouse and told us we had to leave as it was after 10pm and the clubhouse closed at 10 pm. She wasn't a happy security officer either! So we gathered our stuff and meet my sister on the way back to her apartment. My sister thought it closed at 11pm - but I had the hours of the clubhouse stated to me so I now know!

We went back upstairs and played the game and then we weren't paying to much attention to the time. At 2359, Jasmine got all excited and had silly string ready to go! We got silly stringed and then we were cleaning it up. Jasmine was pouty in the kitchen and said, "I stayed up for this?" It made me laugh! She wasn't happy that we were having to clean the silly string up! But we hung out till about 0130 then I left and they went to bed.

A little behind

I have fallen behind in my blogging. I was busy finishing up the semester and then doing all my Christmas shopping, working. This is my first weekend since being out of school that I feel like I don't have much to do! It feels great! :-) I actually start school again next Thursday for a winter term class then start the Spring semester.

I had a good Christmas. I did have to work Christmas Eve and for some crazy reason something triggered my allergies at work and I couldn't stop sneezing! I was so glad to get off from work on Christmas morning so I could get some sleep! Then I woke up and had a stuffy nose but felt fine. I went to my parents house to celebrate Christmas!

My nieces are soo cute! I got them each a disney micro pix digital camera and each their own art set and some paper. They were taking pictures and making art! Jasmine was making collages with the pictures she took and I told her she would be a good digital scrapbooker!

My Dad, I got him a couple of James Bond movies - Tomorrow never dies and Octopussy and also a book "The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book". I also got my parents each a unique luggage tag - my dad's was a dog and my mom's was a womens head. They were really cute! My mom had made the comment that they didn't have luggage tags for when they traveled.

My sister, I got her basic scrapbooking supplies and an organizer. We are always sharing stuff when we scrap together so now she has her own supplies so she can scrap whenever she wants!

My Mom, I got her two pair of PJ's and slippers.

I got a Paris calendar and a picture that I love of the eiffel tower that is painted. My parents had it matted and framed for me! I have motivation to get my extra bedroom cleaned so I can hang it! I also got some new towels, bath stuff, Jenga, a swivel sweeper which works wonders on my hardwood floors! That is all I can remember at the moment.

I did get a gift card to Target from one of my Aunt's and I had to go shopping the day after Christmas with it! I had went to Hobby Lobby and I was glad that traffic wasn't that bad. When I got closer to Target, I found out that is where everyone was! Traffic was backed up to get into Target!!! It really wasn't to crowded in the store though. I used my gift card and got me a eiffel tower lamp! I am excited about my lamp!!!! At Hobby Lobby I also got some vintage travel things to hang also. All the stuff I got at Hobby Lobby was 50% off that day! I enjoyed my little shopping day!

I am sitting in the Mudhouse which I haven't been here for two weeks! It is nice to sit in the coffee shop and just chill. I have been downloading new stuff for my sims and hope it doesn't mess up my game. Something messed up my Strangetown neighborhood and I had to restore it and start over! I am working on getting things back in order again. :-)

I am unsure what is with blogger and posting pics!!!! I can't get them to load again!

Productive weekend

I have been busy busy on this little vacation from work. I started it out with appointments and studying for finals. Then I was busy doing some errands then the weekend came and my Dad helped me with some stuff around the house and also helped me rake leaves. I was really hoping to get my house cleaned a little and then put my Christmas tree up but that still hasn't happened!!! Maybe later this week.

One of the home improvement things that my dad helped me with was installing a new kitchen faucet. I have not had hardly any water pressure from the kitchen faucet but I do in the rest of the house and the sprayer worked good so I thought it had to be the faucet. I was correct!!!! We got the faucet installed and I had water pressure! I was excited! Then my Dad made the comment that it didn't have very good water pressure but he didn't see what I had before! It took a few minutes to fill up a glass for water now we are back to a few seconds.

We also tried to install my old shower head that I used to have but it leaked to bad. I really enjoyed my handheld shower head but it happens to be plastic so it has just worn out enough that it wouldn't work. I took my old showerhead and soaked it in lime away before putting it back on.

My bathroom faucet has problems that I hope can be easily fixed. I am unable to use the hot water because the knob slips over the seat and the water won't turn on. My Dad told me that I might be able to get a replacement knob thing. Not sure what this piece is called but I have it in a baggy and I need to make a trip to Lowe's. That sink has been clogged for a little while now. I but bleach down the sink and it slowly drained out and it seemed to help. Today, I got some liquid drano gel/foamer and now it work like a charm!

The other project we did which isn't finished as I had to get a part for it is my ceiling fan/light in my bedroom. I had installed a part that made my light remote control so when I am in bed all cozy and warm I can turn it off without getting up. It quit working the beginning of November so my Dad brought this meter thing and we found out that that part I had installed quit! I had only had it for two years so I went to Home Depot as that is where I got it and found me a new one. I like Lowe's over Home Depot - at least in my town. I get so frustrated when I need assistance as I can't find anybody. It is always in the lighting and window coverings that I want help and can't get it. It is like I am bothering the employees when I ask for help. When I finally did find someone, he was hurrying to get away from me! Anyway, I got my part and the guy told me that I need to call the company since it went out after 2 years. Hopefully my Dad can come over later this week and help me install this back into my ceiling fan.

Then my Dad and I raked all the leaves in my front yard. I am glad that is done and I wore a face mask for my allergies and it helped! One year when I was raking my leaves, I went into some sort of allergy attack and coudn't breathe. I never thought raking leaves would bother my allergies but I learned different that year. I am a little sore from raking leaves and that just shows me how out of shape I have gotten . . . need to get back with my personal trainer and get back into shape!

I was really hoping to scrapbook, figure out digital scrapbooking and play my sims a little more while I was on vacation but I am also glad to get some of these things done! I have two weeks off till I have to go back to school so I hope to do some of the fun things I want to accomplish.

I am going to include a picture of a friend of mine that stopped by today and he was having me take silly pictures of him! He is a fan of Micheal Jackson and was doing poses like he would do! I keep laughing when I look at these pictures! I will have to scrapbook these crazy photos! (He doesn't even know that I have posted this! SHHH!!) :-)

Cookie Crop

I have had quite the busy week but I am done with the semester!!!!!! I am just waiting for my grade in English II to show up on the website. He said in class that he had to have them in by 4pm Tuesday. I might be Tuesday before I know. I got "A's" in my other two classes!! I really hope I end up with a "B" in English II, we will see! :-)

I have been so exhausted this week and can only sleep a few hours at a time. I know that has to do with me working night shift for so long. My body is confused!! I had to do a case study earlier this week regarding an older adult is having sleep problems and she had asked me for advice. In doing this assignment, I found a website that has some good info that I need to go back and read. I have worked nights for 5 1/2 years now. I don't think adding school to that helped me any. :-)

I still haven't gotten my tree up yet but I did get insulation for my house a week ago today. I think I can notice a difference but not 100% sure. I have a thermometer in my bed room and it has been 2 degrees higher than what it used to read. :-) This thermometer used to tell me the outdoor temp also but Felix, one of my cats, chewed the cord in two!! I need to get me a wireless one now! I have noticed he has chewed on my AC adapter cord to my computer. Not good!!! I am unsure why he feels the need to chew on things but electrical cords are the wrong thing to be chewing on!!!

Last night, my sister and I went to a cookie crop. A friend of mine that I meet on one of the MB that lives in the area told me about it. It was fun and it was good to see my friend from the MB again! I didn't get to much accomplished but that is okay. I brought some of my scrapjammie kits that I hadn't but together and got one put together, just need to add journaling. I started another LO scrapping my dog we all when I was little. I finally finished putting together one of SEI scrapbook kits together and I am hoping to put pictures of my family when we were little and give that to my Grandma for Christmas. I love going to crops in a scrapbook store because if you are doing a LO and then need something, you can go get it!! :-) I might just need me a spot at the store to scrapbook and shop! :-) That might get me in too much trouble!

My parents are coming over today and my dad is going to help me put a new kitchen faucet in. I have no water pressure from my kitchen faucet but the sprayer thing works fine. I am hoping that changing the faucet will help this problem. If it doesn't, then I need a plumber! It will have to wait awhile! Tuition and new insulation is enough for now!

I am hoping to get to Petsmart this weekend as Santa is going to be there for the pets! I would love it if I could take my Grandma's dog to see Santa! Last year, santa was grumpy! I don't think he was very thrilled with me coming in with 3 cats! I hope that he isn't grumpy this year!

Blogger is up to its old tricks again and won't load pictures!!! Anyway, I need to start getting ready for my day!

English II is over!

I am so glad that I got my paper written and then did my final today which was writing a paper. I am soo excited to have this out of the way! Today when we started on the final, I went to the computer lab as I find using the computer easier than hand writing an impromptu paper. It took me almost 2 hours to complete the paper, printed it out and headed back to the classroom. I was the last one to turn in my paper!!!! My teacher told me that he was getting ready to leave as he thought everyone had turned their paper in! We laughed about that for a while since it didn't happen. I am glad that he was still their so I didn't have to figure out how to get my paper to him! :-) Glad to have that out of the way!

I now have to finish up my online class, Gerontological nursing. I have to type up my journal, do a case study which is due tomorrow. I am also still working on the study guide for the final. I have till Thursday to take the final. I am hoping to get the journal and case study done tomorrow and then fully concentrate on the study guide for the final. I am trying to work on this now but I have had very little sleep all weekend and I am falling asleep at the Mudhouse tonight. I think I just need to get some sleep and then wake up fresh in the morning and finish everything up! :-)

I am on vacation from work mainly so I could concentrate on my finals but also to relax!! The first few days will be studying and then I can do what I want! So nice! That won't last long either as I am taking a winter term course but I can just see that I am almost done and can't wait!

I guess I should try to get back to my studying! :-)

Crazy busy . . . .

I have been sooo busy with the last bit of school work to get done. I am ready for my English II class to be over but I am having problems with my paper that is due on Monday - and I have to work the next two nights. I am unsure how I am going to get this paper finished! When class is over on Monday, it will be over! But then I have another class that I have a bunch of stuff due on Tuesday and then I have to have the final done by Thursday.

I am going to bring some of my resources with me to work tonight regarding my paper and hope something comes after I read them again and I can finish it in the morning when I get home. I have hardly had any sleep so this is going to be interesting! I am going to be going to my English II final half asleep and we have to write a paper in class for our final. Uhhhh.

The good thing is that I am on vacation next week and I can hopefully get some much needed sleep! I am going to be too busy but one week from now I can relax a little! I really can't wait for that! :-)

Kinda freaky . . . .

After class today I went to Barnes & Noble to get me some of that Passion Fruit Tea! YUM!!!! I decided not to hang out like I like and left. As I was leaving, a guy opened the door for me and then all of a sudden said, "You cut your hair!!!!!" I wasn't sure who this guy was so I asked him how I knew him. He told me that he had seen me before in the cafe and remembered me having hair all the way down my back and now you don't. I found that kinda freaky that he had noticed me and remembered my hair. I am sure that I will remember him now but that caught me off guard.

Tonight I had my English class and I got my researched movie review back and I was happy with my grade. I am ready for this class to be over as writing papers isn't my strong point but I do feel like I have improved. I have a paper due on Monday plus in class we are to write an essay for our final on Monday. He has told us what the paper is going to be about so we can get our notes together and then write it in class. I have ended up getting behind in getting my paper written because the day I was going to go to the library was when we had all this snow and then the library isn't open on the weekend. I was able to talk to the teacher a little more about the assignment and he helped me with some points of the books he has on reserve in the library so it will all work out! After my final on Monday, I will be able to wrap up my online class and hopefully enjoy the vacation that I will start on Monday! I am so looking forward to that!

I still haven't gotten my tree up! I thought I would this weekend but I was tired! I need to get the Christmas decorations and my tree out of the attic so that when they come to install more insulation, it will be out of the way. I will then also have to make more room in the smaller part of my attic to store these items. That might be a little bit of a job! :-)

I feel like I need to get some sleep and then wake up early afternoon to start organizing my paper, finish an assignment that is due, and work on the study guide that is for my online class. Yeah! I am ready for a break and it is soo close! :-)

The end of the semester is soon!

I can't wait till the end of the semester as I am tired of writing papers! I have been sitting here at the Mudhouse trying to get some homework done. I have done some research, saved it in a word document and also started my journal. I should have started my journal a lot sooner and realized today that it is due in one week so if I do one entry a day, then I will have it done before the due date.

I was really hoping to get a head start on a research paper that is due in one week this weekend. The snow ruined my plans on that as I had planned to go to the library at school to make copies of this book our teacher as on reserve. Since the weather got bad, I decided the less driving I do the better. Of course, the library doesn't reopen till Monday so I will be there for class that day. I have too much to do in one week!

I am contemplating on what to do the rest of the day. I would really like to have some passion fruit tea from the Barnes & Noble cafe. I have really gotten addicted to that tea! So good! I am wondering if I should go to Lowe's to see if they have a snow shovel but wondering if they will have any. I also need to work on more homework so I can concentrate on this paper this week. Only two more papers left! :-)

I did bring my camera with me today but haven't taken any pictures yet. The parking downtown is difficult, esp. since the majority is parallel parking! The parking areas are packed with snow.

I do believe that I will make a list of what I need to accomplish this week and make me a schedule. I still haven't gotten my Christmas tree up yet. It just might be next week unless I somehow find time tonight to do this. I had better get going . . .

Too much snow . . .

and not enough snow shovels in Springfield, MO!!!! I almost bought a snow shovel before the snow storm but thought it might not snow like they said. Well, I should have bought it! I now can't find one because they are sold out! I just hope that it warms up soon and melts the snow off my driveway as it is causing me to get stuck . . .

I think I am going to have to take some pictures of some of the snow around town. I will have to remember to put my camera in my coat pocket and hopefully I will be able to get some fun pictures!

I ended up having to work when the storm was hitting and I always hate that! I seem to have to drive in the worst of it before they have time to clear off the roads. I made it to and from work safely. On Friday morning, it had snowed more during the night and when I got home I got stuck in my driveway. I was wishing that I had bought that snow shovel a few days ago at that point. Someone that was driving by stopped and helped me get unstuck. I am glad that she came along as I was unsure how to get my car unstuck! :-)

Tonight when I was at Wal-mart, I almost fell in the parking lot but I was able to catch my step and not fall. A couple of ladies that was walking by told me that I would be good at surfing! It made me laugh and then I wished I was at a place that I could surf as it would be warmer!

Anyway, I had better get to bed - but I have to play the Sims2 first! :-)

Locks of Love

Today is the day that I get my hair cut and I am excited for a new hairstyle! I did find out that I will be unable to donate my hair as I was hoping. I have highlighted my hair 2-3 times in the last 5 years. You are allowed to have your hair colored but if you have your hair bleached, they can't take your hair. I even emailed them to ask why and I got a reply saying that hair that has been highlighted, bleached, disintegrates with the wig solution they use to make the wigs. I wouldn't have grown my hair out as long as it is if I knew that I wasn't going to be able to donate. I will be getting about 12 inches cut off today! More later . . . .

Ironic . . . .

That Friday is National "Sleep In" Day but it is also the day that the stores open at 5 am for the start of Holiday shopping! I guess this is a commercial that is being put on TV for Ebay. I am all for the sleeping in and missing all the crazy shoppers! I did that one year and that was enough for me!

I actually woke up at a decent hour this morning and have stayed up all day. I am getting tired now but glad that I got some things accomplished today. I need to get laundry started though so I will have something to wear to work tomorrow!

I called my hair dresser and got me a new appointment so I can donate my hair to locks of love! I am excited about getting a new haircut and even got me a hairstyle magazine today of a hair style I think I will get and then for my next hair appointment, I will get me a different cut again! I love having my hair long but their is only so much you can do with it. I am just ready for a change and something I can do more with! I wasn't able to get in till next week and I even have to wake up early!

I went to the Mudhouse today and it was too busy! I was even there last night and it was even busier. I am not sure if the cold is bringing people in or what it is. It is getting to the point that I can't concentrate! I have learned that going in the early morning is the best as you can have the place almost to yourself. I am normally getting off from work and to tired. Maybe I will go to the Mudhouse Friday while everyone is shopping! :-)

I have been trying to teach myself digital scrapbooking. When I went to the crop at my sister's church, I went to a digital dynamics class and got some pointers on how to digital scrapbook. When I went to this before, I didn't have the proper program. I do know since getting a pen tablet that came with photoshop elements 3.0. I started working on my first layout last night! I am going to work through more tips I have found on 2peas and learn even more!

I am going to go learn some more on digital scrapbooking and then play the Sims before going to bed. :-)

Finally, some Halloween pics!

Oh my! I was ill on Friday. I felt fine when I got home from work and looking forward to my hair appointment that afternoon. I woke up at noon and had a horrible stomachache! It wasn't long after that I was vomiting and that continued the rest of the afternoon and had to cancel my hair appointment! I was feeling better by Saturday morning but I have been sleeping the majority of the weekend. Glad that I am feeling better! I had to leave a message with my hairdresser so I am going to try to get ahold of her again on Monday to make a new appointment. :-)

I have a funny geeksquad story to tell. They called me last Wednesday and told me that my 1GB of RAM that I had put in my old laptop was in but it wouldn't work in my new laptop. He told me to bring my new laptop in and they would replace it with one that would work in my laptop. When I got there, I found out that my laptop wouldn't have been considered a lemon because it was my 1 GB of RAM that went out in my old laptop!!! But since I had already gotten a new laptop, that I could keep what I had. :-) I am soo glad that I went in for a loaner laptop! I never pressured anyone to make my old laptop a lemon, it just happened. So far my new laptop has been doing good! I just hope it continues!

I have been busy with school and work and just haven't taken time to blog. I have some pics of Halloween to post! I just hope it works. The last few times I have tried to post pics, it wouldn't work. These are pictures of my nieces and one of their cousins. Shilo is a Christmas present, Jasmine is a princess and Sidney was an 80's drama queen! They were all so cute!

The results are in . . . . . .

Chloe was voted the prettiest cat! That didn't come with some drama though . . . . I am glad that the drama is over! All because of my cat getting so many votes, they are changing how you vote. Other members thought that I was cheating because my cat had so many votes. All I did was spread the word that Chloe was in a photo contest. Nothing wrong with that. Her winning picture has been posted on the catspace website. Here is the picture:



I am a little behind in keeping up my blog this week. I have been enjoying the last days of my vacation and I have to go back to work tonight. I had made a list of things I wanted to accomplish when I was on vacation and I hardly got any of them done - except school related items. I am ready for the semester to be over so I can get caught up with housework and other things that I have neglected since school has been a little too busy.

I am getting rather sleepy so I will have to recap on my week later!

Busy days

School kept me busy Sunday into Monday! I was working on homework since Sunday evening till Monday when class started! It was 23 hours - with 3.5 hours of sleep in those 23 hours! Phew!!! All because I was playing catch up since my computer died. I started my next online class tonight and I am excited about starting with a working computer and hope that continues!!!

I voted today and I didn't understand what I was voting for the way things were worded. I hope I voted the way I was trying to vote! :-) I hadn't voted for two years and they have changed the way the ballots look. When I was trying to vote, a family was sitting in front of me and they kept talking!!! I wasn't able to concentrate very well. I am curious what the election results will be.

Today is my Dad's birthday and I went over to my parents house before going to school tonight. When I was over their, I noticed that my parents house at 68 degrees is warm. My house at 68 degrees is freezing!!!!! Which my Mom did have the gas log going which might have had something to do with that. I am going to have to get my insulation put in my house. My Dad told me that I can get a 20% rebate on my utility bill by increasing the instulation in my house so I need to call and have an estimate done! I hope to be a little warmer this winter or I am going to go south for the winters!

I talked to my advisor after class tonight and I should graduate in Spring 2008!!!!! She told me that I could possibly finish Fall 2007! I got excited when she told me that but that all depends on how some classes are offered this summer. In December, I am going to send off to take a correspondence course, either history or government. I haven't decided which one to first. I will have 6 months to complete each course.

I haven't been able to get blogger to post photos for the last few post. It says that a picture has been added but then their isn't a picture. Hmmm. . . . . . . . .

Vote for Chloe!!!

I entered Chloe into a contest on myspace for cutest cat! Please vote for her!!! She is the cat that is looking cute on my bed with zebra printed sheets! Check it out!

Please click her to vote!

Computer problems are hopefully in the past . . .

I have awesome news!!!!! Last night I decided I was going to check out what the loaner laptop would be at Best Buy. I haven't checked into this before now as I have had my other laptop but it is heavy, old and slow. I am soo glad that I did this time!

I had my geek squad paperwork with me that showed that I was approved to get a loaner and told the salesman my story on all the replacements my old laptop has been through. He had to keep checking with the manager because they had changed some things and I guess they used to give open items for loaners but they no longer sell open items. He came back and said that I could pick out any laptop they had for sale. I asked him if I could pick a loaner computer that I would most likely be able to keep when they decide my old laptop is a lemon. While he was talking to the manager, I was making a list of the features I remembered and was most important. They didn't have any laptops that matched my old laptop but he showed me one that they would most likely trade it out with and it would be a down grade of what I had. I was nice, but firm, that I don't want to settle for anything less than what my soon-to-be lemon laptop features had. He kept looking around and we saw another HP that was an upgraded version of what I had but told me it would be possible that when they did consider my laptop a lemon I might not get to keep it. I decided to go ahead and get it as my loaner computer and I was lucky that it was in stock.

We fill out some paperwork and he has to get the manager approval for me to have the loaner. He was talking to the manager for a while and he came back and told me that the manager has decided to make my old laptop that has been sent off to service a lemon!!!!! WOOHOOO!!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!! I didn't even have to ask! I was playing by their rules and trying to be patient. :-) They decided I could go ahead and get the upgraded laptop for the exchange! Another WOOHOOOO!!!!! I mentioned that I had upgraded the memory in my old laptop and would like to have at least equal memory in this computer. At first he wasn't going to since I had a better laptop but he talked to the manager and they are going to call the service center and have them send me back my 1GB of memory that I added. I was happy with that! I also bought a new service plan for the new computer - just in case! So far I have needed the service plans on both of my laptops. I

I have been working today on getting my computer back in order and hopefully I can get some homework done now that I have a working computer. I have to get it done tomorrow as my homework is due Monday! I still have to read the "Old Man and the Sea" before Monday which I also will have a quiz on too. Phew! I am ready for the semester to be over with!

I had better get something accomplished!

More computer problems!

Ohhhhh . . . . . well, I accidently slept all day and through the alarms and woke up at 1700 tonight! I was determined to get my homework done for my online class tonight. I get ready and head for the Mudhouse, my studying place.

I get to the Mudhouse and order a sandwich and my usual coffee drink and I am enjoying reading my scrapbooking message boards when all of a sudden my mouse pointer won't move. I thought the batteries had went dead on my wireless mouse but after checking it out realized it the light was still on so it wasn't the mouse. Then all of a sudden, my computer screen flashes and has this huge message telling me their has been a serious error and your computer is going to restart - and a bunch of other stuff but the computer had already started to reboot. When my computer came back up, I decided to back up my school files - just in case! I continue doing some surfing on the web and enjoying my sandwich when this happens again!!! WTF!!!!! I thought this time I am going to back up more files but for some reason this time my computer won't reboot. It just stays at a blank screen. I turn it off and turned it back on and the lights are on the keyboard but nothing is on the screen and it never goes anywhere else!!!!

It was only 8pm and Best Buy is open so I pack my stuff up and head for the geek squad once again. This time is the fourth time that my computer has done this so I should get a new computer. I get to Best Buy and talk to a geek squad member and they told me since this is the fourth time that this has happend I should get a new laptop BUT they have to send it in to the service center and they make that decsion! I was aware this was going to happen as I asked last month when my computer did this. He told me that if the service center doesn't consider it a lemon this time that I can talk to the manager. He told me that this process can take up to a week! If it wasn't for school and ONLINE classes I wouldn't be so inpatient about this. I am glad I have my old laptop but it is old, heavy, and slow. I hope that they get my laptop quickly and make quick decsions! I finish up my current online class Monday and start another on Tuesday next week. I just want a computer that is going to work and I don't think that is too much to ask!

When I got back home from dealing with the laptop, I relaxed a little and then left again to get groceries. When I got back home, I decided that I was going to clean out my fridge before putting the groceries away. My fridge looks so much better now and everything in it is edible now! :-) I finally got the boxes in my car to take to recycling! Yay! I also put clean sheets on my bed tonight! I am going to watch my Three's company DVD and then go to sleep! I really hope I don't sleep the day away tomorrow as I am going to pick up my nieces tomorrow to spend the night! Yay! :-)

2peas challenge: Favorite holiday movie

My favorite holiday movie is "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation"! I finally bought it on DVD and watch it every holiday season! It makes me laugh everytime I watch it! :-)

For some reason I can't get pics to load. Whenever I get pictures loaded from Halloween, I am going to post pictures of the evening! Later!

To early to be up!

Last night when I got home from doing a little shopping, I thought that I would start getting some boxes packed up in my car to take to recycling. I guess since I only slept about 5 hours, I was feeling quite tired! I was relaxing a little trying to catch up with Days of our Lives and at about 2300, I thought I would lay down in my warm bed and read a magazine. I ended up falling asleep and woke up about 0400 - still had my contacts in. I got up to take them out. I hate it when I fall asleep in my contacts because they get stuck to my eyeball and I have to keep putting rewetting drops in my eye to get them out. When I got back to bed, I kept thinking about things I wanted to get done and couldn't get back to sleep!

I have been trying to upload the Sims2 Pets onto my laptop but for some reason it is freezing up before it finishes. Ohhhh, computers . . . . . I hope to get a little bit of sleep before the alarm goes off.

Fun day!

I decided today to see what is going on at the message boards I like since I am somewhat caught up with my homework. I have things due on Monday but I am on vacation so I am relaxing today! It is needed! :-)

On one of the message boards today, someone posted about a reality show that is doing casting calls in my area. I am curious on who they get to be on the show! The reality show is about a farmer looking for a wife. Makes me curious on what the show will be like!

I went to bed at 0500 this morning as I was up doing homework till 0300. I set my alarm to wake up at 1000 this morning so I can get on a more regular schedule while I am on vacation. I did pretty good and didn't feel to tired till later in the day.

I went shopping today at my fave scrapbook store and got me some new goodies! I can't wait till I can organize what I got and come up with ideas for the paper I bought! I got some new cat stuff to scrapbook my cats! :-) I also went to Hobby Lobby and they are reorganizing their scrapbook section. I thought at first they might be downsizing the scrapbook section! I also went to Best Buy and got the new expansion pack for my Sims2 - Pets! I am excited to load this on my computer but unsure when I will have time to play the game.

I also checked on getting more insulation for my house. I need to get in my crawl space to see if it is insulated or not. Then if it doesn't, I am not sure who is going to insulate it for me as I can't see me crawling around under my house! My crawl space scares me! My furnace is under my house but I don't have to reach in too far and their are always spiders and I don't want to know what else! Then I found out that installing insulation in my attic will be a little difficult because a previous owner or maybe when the house was built has the attic with flooring. I was told that I would have to take all that up or have blown in insulation on top of the floor. I am going to consult with my dad about what he would suggest. I am unsure if that will help me from freezing to death this winter but I am sure it will help. My windows aren't energy efficient and they do play a big part in my house being cooler. I have some of this film you can put on your windows with a hair dryer so I hope that helps me some. I need to go south as it is too cold here! :-)

Vacation time!!!!

I am sooo excited to be on vacation for 12 days!!!! I have some fun things planned, and also things that aren't so fun but need to be done! My time has been so limited with work and school that I haven't been able to keep up with housework and I need to work on my yard too. I am really excited about the scrapbooking event with my sister too!!!!! :-)

I was having some issues with blogger on Saturday. I made two entries and I finally got them to post today. I kept getting an "There are errors" message and it would tell me the error but it just jibberish to me. I am glad that I am able to post to my blog again!

I got off from work approx. about 0730 this morning and needed to get in bed as I had to be in class by 1600. I finally went to bed about 0930 and maybe got 3-4 hours of sleep. I didn't sleep very good because I was afraid that I was going to sleep through my alarm! I have done this several times before when I am tired enough and I felt that way today. I was nodding my head in class quite a bit and then my instructor had us start reading "The Old Man and the Sea" in class today. Reading when I am that tired isn't good! I wasn't comprehending what I was reading and I kept nodding off! Then I wasn't sure where I left off. I somehow got the first 28 pages read like he asked us to do but I wasn't able to recall very much! I need to start reading from the beginning! I hope to get started on that on Wednesday and maybe even have time to read it a second time as we are having a quiz on the reading next week. At least that is my only assignment in English this week.

Tonight I checked Blackboard and their was a message from my Transcultural Nursing instructor on when things are due. I have to have my annotated bibliography and discussion 4 done by Wednesday and the journal is due next week!!! I was happy to see this. I can start on the journal Wednesday and not cram so much in! :-) I also have to do a reassessment of cultural awareness which is due next week. Phew! I am so glad!

I haven't been to productive tonight with the homework thing. I am at a small table and can't spread out which seems to slow me down. I am hoping to be able to get good rest tonight and get everything done before I am meeting my sister to go celebrate Halloween! I will have to bring my camera and make sure the batteries are ready to go! I actually don't know what my nieces are going as so I am excited to see the little cuties! I had better get busy so I can do some much needed relaxing tomorrow!

Yeah!

I think I am done with my English II paper! :-) When I return back home, I am going to print it out and review it to see if their is any changes that I need to make. I am so happy that I finally got it done! I sat at my computer for almost 2 hours this morning at home trying to figure out how to start my paper but once I got over that, it went okay. Getting started to me is always the hardest part!

I am enjoying some iced tea and a sandwich then I am going to go home and get a nap to get ready for my 13 hour night at work! I can tell that I am getting tired. :-)

Getting closer . . . .

to getting things accomplished! I have been working on my research review for my English II class this morning and decided to move it to the Mudhouse when they opened. I tend to be more productive when I am away from home. I am hoping that I will be able to get this finished in a few hours and then go back home to catch a nap before having to be at work tonight. I really would like my paper done before Monday so when I get off from work, all I have to do is get some rest and then get up early to go to class. That would be wonderful! :-)

Since I work the night shift tonight and the time is changing, I have to work an extra hour tonight. This could be a a bad thing since I haven't sleept like I have been lately. I am going to bring my homework and work on it on my breaks. I normally don't take my 2, 15 minute breaks but I might this weekend as it will help me accomplish my goal of getting the rest of my homework done by Tuesday afternoon.

I got an email from my instructor for my other class that I start in a little over a week. She was letting us all know that we can access the class on blackboard and to read everything over. She wrote, "This is going to be a fast paced course and we are going to hit the ground running." Ohhhh, can we please walk? :-) I haven't taken the time to look at the syllabus yet as I want to concentrate on my paper before it gets cluttered with other things I will need to get done in the future. I will peak at it on Monday as I do need to start the search for cheapest text books for the class!

I decided this week that I am taking a short break from the message boards that I read. I am doing this as I am a little busy with work and school. I don't feel like I am taking the time to really read everyones post and I rush through it. I hope to start back up next week when I am on vacation.

I am excited for my vacation that starts Monday morning! I have a list of things I would like to accomplish. I am looking forward to Halloween night and to go with my sister and nieces to a harvest party at a local church. I am also going to take some much needed time to organize my house and scrapbook stuff. I think I am going to start packing my tote next week for my scrapbooking crop that is in two weeks! That way if my new class requires to much time that week, I will at least be ready to scrapbook!

I really enjoy coming to the Mudhouse early in the morning. It is quieter and not so many people. There are a lot of people here reading the morning paper or just sitting enjoying their morning. :-) More later.

Slowy progressing

I am slowly but surely getting my homework done. I was excited that I actually fell asleep at 0200 and I woke up at 0800. I fed the cats and went back to bed to sleep till 1000. Well, I happened to wake up at 1330 when my second alarm went off! I was a little disappointed but I will just go to bed later then. I still should be able to get a good dent put in my homework.

I am sitting at the Mudhouse and it is a little chilly in here today. It has been cooler outside but I am unsure why it is so cool in here. I ended up running into my dentist tonight here! He is such a cool guy! I love having him as my dentist. I just wish that my dental insurance was better! :-) The good thing is that I get it for free through work since I have been there longer than 5 years. I can't complain about that.

My break is over, gotta get back to the homework!!

Stressful week ahead

My friend did call me tonight at 2145 to let me know that he wasn't going to be able to email me but would like to do the cultural interview over the phone. I have to give him credit that he did at least call and didn't blow me off. So I had told him that I had already interviewed someone else but was interested in what he had to say. He said he would be happy to answer the questions that I had. I now have a comparisions of two cultures!

Tonight I realized how much I have to get done in one week! Way to much!!!!!!
1. I have to type up and attach nursing dx to my cultural assessments by tomorrow!!!
2. I have a research review paper due in English II next Monday.
3. I have to write a weekly journal for my Transcultural Nursing class.
4. I have to find 10 journal articles on a particular culture of my choice and write a short paragraph about each by next Tuesday! (Forgot about this till tonight!)
5. I have to work on my discussion question on blackboard - Due Wednesday morning.
6. Then Wednesday, I get a new discussion board question that will be due by next Wednesday.
7. I have a short novel to read, "The Old Man and the Sea" by Nov. 6 and haven't had time to even think about reading. At least it is kinda short, 127 pages to be exact!

The bad thing about all this is I work 12 hour shifts Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. I have to get all this done Tomorrow and squeeze what I can in before work on Wed., after waking up on Friday and before work on Saturday. WOW!!!!! When Monday comes, I will be sooooo ready for my vacation!

Relaxing evening

I slept the most of the day and got up and decided to hang out at Barnes & Noble and sit in the cafe. I ended up floating last night but was lucky to get to float to our sister unit as they have patients very similar to what my floor has. I made the 3rd nurse and we all had 8/9 patients. It started out okay and then admitting started calling and I think we all ended with 9 patients by morning! Phew! I was glad to give report and go home. :-)

While I was at Barnes & Noble tonight, I went on a hunt for the Creating Keepsakes special edition "Hall of Fame" without any luck. According to Creating Keepsakes website, it was release on September 26 but I can't find it any where. I asked the information desk regarding this and they took my name and number and someone that works tomorrow might be able to let me know if they will have it soon or not. I did pick up the newly formatted Memory Makers magazine. I have always wanted to do genealogy and there are all kinds of website listed to help so I had to get it! I am not sure what I think of the new format yet. I will have to sit down and look at it in more depth.

I have all kinds of homework to do this weekend. I have four days off from work and I am hoping to get caught up and maybe work ahead in my classes so I can relax on my vacation instead of doing homework! I need to get ahold of a friend of mine as I have to interview someone of another culture and time is running out. I hope that I can sleep tonight so I can spend most of the day working on my paper and getting this assessment thing done.

I am actually watching a movie "Tuck Everlasting" tonight. I am ready to send the dvd's back to netflix to get more! I love netflix! I don't feel rushed to have to watch a movie and love that fact that there aren't any late fees!

2peas: Thoughts on blogging

Blog about how you feel about your blogging.
Is it too time consuming? Do you love sharing? What are the benifits of blogging? and the negative things of it? With Rhonna's and Cathy z's blog ending, I am wondering why both of them are doing it... it's just interesting to me. how about you??
blog about it...

I enjoy blogging and actually have been surprised that I have kept it up for the last 1 1/2 years! I tend to use it to vent about school anymore though! I love being able to add pictures and make it my "own" style! I enjoy sharing pictures with others and getting comments. You can use blogging to keep friends and family in touch with what you are doing. I don't find blogging time consuming, it is a nice way to organize thoughts. I enjoy being able to go back later and see what I was doing and thinking at a certain time. I love sharing pictures of my cats and nieces! I have become a blog addict and have quite a few blogs saved in my favorites that I check every so often.

I am disappointed that Cathy Z. and Rhonna F. are closing their blogs. I really enjoy reading them! Reading blogs that are scrapbooking related helps give me inspiration! I wonder also what has prompted them to close their blogs and around the same time.

Crazy Mudhouse night

I woke up this evening and went to the Mudhouse to work on my "to do" list for my classes. I decided I would get soup if they had good selections. The board said the soup was mushroom bisque which is my new favorite! I ordered a small bowl but when I got it, they had given me something with corn and potatoes. I told them that wasn't what I had ordered and they erased the wrong soup off the board so I had ended up with corn chowder. *sigh* They actually gave me my money back for the soup since that was there mistake. I am just not a chowder kind of a gal.

Then, I am also having a hard time staying connected to the internet at the Mudhouse tonight. I finally connected to the cities free internet but it is so slow and I have a low connection. I don't understand why the wireless at the Mudhouse keeps going out. It is very frustrating when you need to get school work done and it happens to be online. So I have been using copy and paste features into Microsoft Word of the stuff that I need to do and then I can later copy and paste it into blackboard when I can be connected to my own internet at home.

I don't feel like I am getting much accomplished tonight. I am also sitting at a table with no light and it makes reading a little difficult. If I position just right I can get the light of the table behind me! :-)

My laptop that I just got back from the geek squad has been much cooler since they also replaced the fan/cooling system. I wonder if the cooling system wasn't working properly and the heat was burning something on the motherboard. It would get pretty hot on the keyboard and now it doesn't It has also been quieter and not as loud as the previous cooling system. Maybe I am done with the geeksquad! I can hope.

It is time for me to depart the Mudhouse and there crazy internet connections! I just can't concentrate unless I can get on the internet. Strange but true. :-) My napster music keeps buffering with the slow connection and will only play a few seconds and then it is buffering again. This is about as bad as dial up! Later . . . . . .

Rainy, cold day

I really hate this cold and rainy weather! I would have preferred to stayed in bed with my cats today. I ended up sleeping through my alarm since I went to be at 5 am and was planning to get up around 10 am. I just happened to wake up at 12:50pm! All I had time to do was type up my works cited page and head to school. I was hoping to get all my homework for my other class done before my English class tonight so I could go home and relax. I am sure that I needed that extra few hours of sleep!

I got my movie review back today and I got another "B"!! I am excited! Today in class he kept talking about our paper of researching the professional movie reviews and I have a feeling it will be a little challenging. I am not very good at quoting things. I think did it correct but there is always something that I didn't do. He wrote all the places in our handbook that will help us. I have a stupid schedule the next two weeks so I am going to have to get busy on this ASAP!!!!

I am at the Mudhouse getting some studying done. The table in front of me is for two people and there is 8!!!! Okay, now there is 9. It is a little distracting to me. It was nice and quiet when I first got here. Oh, well. I am getting things accomplished tonight.

I don't like my work schedule this week as I work one day, off one, then work two. One day off isn't enough when you end up sleeping it away! *Sigh*

I can't wait till my vacation and also the scrapbooking event! :-) I am looking forward to making kits for the scrapbooking event! I should have time if I can cram just a day of so of studying and then a day or so of gathering scrap stuff! :-) I have a few idea books that I would love to use to inspire me! :-)

Feeling better :-)

I am finally feeling better! My rib pain is feeling better and I am so glad! It still hurts but nothing like it was. Work it is kinda hard for it not to bother me a little bit with the lifting and pulling on patients that I have to do. I have been drinking lots of hot tea to help soothe my throat and it is getting better. I just hope that after I finish my prednisone dose pack that I don't get sick again! The last time I was on a dose pack, I ended up with a bad sinus infection! Working in the hospital isn't the best place! :-)

I also got my laptop back and they didn't consider it a lemon. I was a little upset about this since I have had such bad luck with this computer! The next time I will get a new computer! They replaced the motherboard for the third time and replaced the fan system. They didn't restore my computer so I had all my information still there!!! I am so glad! I have transferred my school files to my flash drive and need to back up my pictures and such and start doing this on a more regular basis so when this does happen again, it won't be as bad.

I am working on my English II homework tonight which is fairly easy. I just need to make a works cited page on my professional movie reviews that I found. I also need to be working on my transcultural nursing class too. The internet has been flickering tonight at the Mudhouse but I think that it is finally fixed. :-)

I am soo ready for my next vacation which will be in two weeks! :-) I am hoping to be able to get my house a little more organzied and then make a day trip to Branson. I just hope I don't have some big assignment that is due during that time. I need to check my syllabus and see what I can do ahead of time just in case!

I will also be going to scrap camp at my sister's church with her in November! I can't wait! I haven't had the opportunity to use my big cropper hopper organizer so I need to start planning my layouts and pictures now so I will have lots to work on!

I have included a cute picture of Felix when I was cutting ribbon for the ribbon swap I am in! I finally gave him his own ribbon and then he took a nap with his ribbon! To cute!

Lazy day

I have been sleeping like crazy. I think part of it is the muscle relaxers - which so far I have only taken one! I guess with me being tired from working nights and taking the muscle relaxer, I have been sleeping! After I took my shower today, I was feeling tired and cold so I curled up in my bed for a while and slept from 2pm to 6pm!!! I am still tired and could sleep some more! I feel like my back is feeling better, still sore though.

I had plans to go scrapbook shopping today at a couple of stores since I have a cingular gift card. I guess depending on how I feel tomorrow, I might do that before work! I still need to finish organizing my scrap room but school has interfered with me finishing that.

The weather here has turned a little bit to cool for me. I woke up this morning and my house was 63 degrees! I hate this time of year and refuse to turn on the heat this early! I hate those heating bills! I also need to change my filter before I turn on the heat. I wish I could head south for the winter!

I haven't heard anything from Best Buy yet regarding my laptop. I am wondering what is going on. It has only been one week but I am anxious! My old laptop is heavy and I like my new one as it is light weight and easier to tote around. I also would just rather have a new one and hope that they consider it a lemon. I was told that they were going to do "hardcore" testing on it so I am unsure what that means. I am just am anxious to hear some news!

I suppose I should get back to my researching for my English class. :-)

Crazy week

The last week was a little crazy to say the least. I had my laptop die for the third time this year, I have been a little under the weather with a sore throat and muscle aches and to top it all off was the chiropractor trying to help my rib pain and made it worse!!!! I have been having muscle spasms in my upper back and I really think that he pulled more out!

Yesterday I went and saw my primary care physician and he told me that I had some disk irritation and that I my muscle were tight and had spasms in my upper back were my rib pain is. He gave me dose pack of steriods to take for 10 days and muscle relaxers. I wasn't able to take the muscle relaxers till I got off from work though. By morning, my back was in such a spasm that I ended up putting ice on it at work when I was able to sit down which helped. I have been taking the ibuprofen like crazy too. I am sure that all of this will be better by next week and I can slowly recoperate from this. No more chiropractors for me!!!! When I have talked to other people about the treatment they were going to do on me, I got told that they were trying to rip me off. No one else that has had treatments as much as they wanted to do on me. My doctor even made the comment to me that everyone that goes to a chiropractor was diagnosed with almost the same things as I was.

Well, on a good note, I finally got a "B" on one of my papers in English! I was so happy! I will just keep working hard and hopefully improve on my papers! I got my movie review done and now the second part of this assignment is to find professional movie reviews and then write a paper on what they said about the movie compared to what I thought. I have started some of my research.

The weather is getting cold and gross here. While I was at work last night, it started raining and it was quite chilly when I got off from work! I am not ready for the cold weather! It made for a good sleeping day!

Feeling iky . . . .

Last week I woke up one day with a sore throat and then I started having achy muscles. Finally, my sore throat and achy muscles are better but I still feel tired and I have developed a stuffy nose. I ended up sleeping till 4pm today and my mom called me to ask how I was doing and if I got my paper written. I haven't gotten my paper written put I am going to do that next. I finally got my printer loaded onto my old laptop so I am now ready to be able to get my work done for both of my classes! I hope that Best Buy calls me this week to tell me that my new laptop has been considered a lemon and you can pick up your vocher to pick up a new laptop! :-) We will see!

I am going to watch "Born into Brothels" again and write my movie review! I think this is a fun assignment! I just hope that he doesn't tear it apart! :-)

Hmmmm . . . . . .

I had been typing and then all of a sudden everything disappeared!

My laptop died again so I have been out of commission for a while. Of course, I started a new class this week which is online so I have gotten behind in this. I have a paper to write for English II and all this stuff to do for my online class which I hope to get done on Sunday. Best Buy told me that they don't consider computers lemons till the fourth incident but they said they would but in a request and it would be the decision of the service center. I hope that I get a phone call this week telling me that! I am tired of this game and losing files every few months.

I started seeing the chiropractor last week and I am unsure if this is the right thing to do. I have had two adjustments so far. From the xrays they took I have a tilted pelvis and vertebrae that has rotated. They say that they can get my spine realigned but I am unsure how popping things realigns things. Just doesn't make sense. This stupid rib thing that started it all, they aren't really concerned about. I am not sure this is all worth it as I am in more pain now than I was when I started.

A little scared of chiropractors

I called my insurance company today to find out about coverage about the chiropractor I have an appointment with. It wasn't good news as he isn't included in my network so I am unsure what I am going to do. There are only 7 chiropractor's in my network! I have to ponder this issue more but I have to make a decision fast as my appointment is on Thursday morning. It would be nice if I could get my rib back in place.

So I call the office that I have my appointment with and try to cancel. She proceeds to tell me that I don't have to worry about them being out of network as they accept my insurance meaning that they will write off the 30% that the insurance won't pay. So I kept my appointment. I am just a little scared of all of this!

There are too many rules . . . . .

in English and writing! I got my second paper back tonight and thought I had done better. I used my first paper and then made all of those corrections - so I thought! I keep having problems with writing in present tense. I have to work on this! The next paper I am writing is a movie review which I think will be an easy paper but then again . . . . . . .

The movie that I am going to review is "Born into Brothels." I had never heard of this movie before till I was reading elsie's blog one day and she made a comment regarding this movie. I was curious and have fallen in love with this movie. Tonight I have found Zana Briski's website! To cool! I need to take a class in photography!

I found out on Friday that I have a dislocated rib! I really think I have had this for at least 2 years, if not maybe longer. I have occasional pain near my shoulder blade and I have been told it is from to much computer use. If I happen to be on the computer to long, it does make the pain worse. That made sense to me because I do computer charting at work and I am also on the computer more since going back to school. I happened to go to the mall last Friday and there was a home show and a chiropractor had a booth in it. I was telling him about this pain and he had felt up and down my spine and told me that I had a rib out of place!!!! He said that is easy to fix so I made an appointment for this week. I am scared about going as I am unsure what they do to put a rib back into place. I also need to see what my insurance will pay too. If my insurance won't cover this then I will just make an appointment with my doctor to see what to do.

After class today, I decided that I need to just hang out at the Mudhouse for awhile before going back home. I have all kinds of fun things to be watching on my DVR at home and hope to view one or two programs I have saved tonight. I have gotten caught up in the Amazing Race 10 and Survivor. I also have almost a weeks worth of Days of Our Lives that I would like to watch. I saw a preview today of things to come and realized alot has happened this week! I also think that Sean is a different actor. I also have Grey's Anatomy which I have never watched before but would like to start watching. I also have ER to watch! I don't have the time for this but I look forward to being able to watch them!

Tomorrow night I start my new class, "Transcultural Nursing". I just hope that it isn't going to be too much work but I have a feeling it is! This is a 5 week class that they normally taught in 16 weeks. I was told by my advisor that it will still cover everything they did in 16 weeks but in 5 weeks! I will find out tomorrow night what kind of a mess I have gotten myself in! :-)