Snow cancels school!

Ah, winter. I started the "spring" semester this week and snow closed the college today! This semester I'm taking physical science, history of the foundation of education (something like that) and educational psychology. There was a fourth but there's so much work required that I decided to drop it. I don't need that class to graduate but I do need these three. I feel a little scared of how much is required but I'm giving it my best shot. I have several papers to write, group projects to do, individual presentations and have to go into the field to attend a school board meeting and volunteer in a school setting. Whew!

This winter we've had a snow storm every week and I'm so tired of it already. I want spring. TB and I need to move someplace with a warmer climate, a place where snow is a rare occurrence. Say ... North Carolina. I know they do get snow too but it's more of a once in a blue moon occurrence. So this is what we woke to this morning:

Everyone piled out the door to shovel ... except for me!

Oh...and Mouse didn't go out either. He sez: Dis da way I spend a snowwy day!

With the threat of another snowstorm coming next week, TB and I decided to get an electric snowblower, the kind we could afford. He found one at Lowe's in stock and bought it and we all started to pile into the car to go get it. First I took pictures of our street.

Pretty yes! Aggravating and frustrating yes!

Off we went to Lowe's but it was a wasted trip. The store tried to call us back after the order was placed but TB had accidentally put down the wrong phone number. There was no working electric snow blower for us and so we had to turn around and come back home. Everyone piled out and had to finish digging out the driveway with shovels.

I guess that's what we'll do next week too.

Come on, spring!

Trying to catch up

I knew I hadn't updated in ages but hadn't realized how long it's been!

Going back to school ended up being much more demanding than I thought but it was worth it. I still feel wiped out though!

Finals began December 15th. I found out all my grades right before Christmas and it was a very nice gift! I earned 4 A's and a B+. A couple of things I learned: I'm not too old to go back to school and can retain information in my brain most of the time. I still have my fibro days but there weren't enough of them to throw me off completely. Another thing I learned is that I can still write stories well. My instructor wanted me to try and get one of them published so that's something I want to work on for the New Year. I learned I can sort of teach myself when I have an instructor who's very disorganized. Most of all, I felt challenged and stimulated by these classes.

From finals, I went right to trying to prep for Christmas. I didn't have much time to devote to decorating or cards or baking or wrapping or any of that stuff while school was going on. If I thought I was going to be able to sit back and relax after finals, I was sure wrong! I probably could have let go of some of these things--like Christmas cards--but I just wasn't ready to do that and so I didn't.

Now, though, I sort of feel like a popped balloon. I keep telling myself there's things I should be doing but my body and brain are saying "uh uh". I decided to listen to my body and that part of my brain saying "uh uh" and am just resting. I read a little, I nap a lot and I just have been "vegging out" since Christmas.

The new semester starts in about three weeks. My batteries should be recharged by then.

TB's been suffering a lot and I worry about him. The pain meds don't seem to be helping very well. He has this issue with his hip now. He needs a shot using a fluoroscopic machine. We were supposed to go on the 27th but then there was this massive snow storm and so it was put off until January 3.

The doctors don't seem to be sure what's going on with his hip. An Xray seemed to show a foreign body (like a piece of arthritis) floating around. He had a CAT scan of his hip and one of the surgeons that looked at it thought he had a torn cartilage.

Why aren't they doing surgery to correct the problem? I don't get it. I don't get the explanation--that TB's baseline pain medical management and fibromyalgia makes the prognosis not hopeful. The surgeon wanted him to put up with the pain until he can't stand it anymore. Well...it's at that point now!

It looks like we're getting a loan modification after all from Bank of America. TB got the news over the phone just before Christmas but they've told us so many stories that I didn't believe it. I wanted to see it in writing and the paperwork just got here. We have a three month trial modification period starting in February. I am cautiously thrilled. I guess I still don't trust the bank and have heard other stories of the modification being cancelled capriciously. We'll see.

The three kids are still hanging in with us. They're all in school full time, working part time and right now not in a position to be able to live on their own.

The gang is doing great! Is the cold winter the reason they've all become extra snuggly lately?

So that's the major stuff that's been going on around here since I blogged last.

Best wishes for a happy and safe New Year!

Feline Friday and other ramblings

Ever take a picture of your black cat only to realize you couldn't see his or her face? Here's Indigo. I can barely see one eye and can just make out her other eye, nose and mouth in the first picture. Can you? I'm posting the second one to show her very pretty face!

Want more Feline Friday and cat blogging? Check out Blogging Cat Noos for all the latest!

So Hurricane Earl is supposed to skirt by us today. It's cloudy right now and maybe we'll get some rain later. One of my classes was cancelled today and I'm a little annoyed about that. Either the teacher wanted to go away for the weekend or was scared off by Earl ... or maybe something else. She didn't have a syllabus for us on Wednesday and was late to boot. We didn't go over anything that day in fact and I was hoping we'd get some material covered before my lab meets again Wednesday. No such luck.

Today I found out there's an Education club and expressed an interest in joining.

Kristin and I went to the wellness center and worked out for a little while. It's very small--only two stationary bikes and three treadmills, two of which work. We'll probably use it while the weather is hot and then just go for campus walks when the weather's cooler.

Tonight I have Deaf Culture class. I'm looking forward to that one and haven't decided whether or not I'll reveal (tonight) that my parents are/were Deaf.

My 10 Favorite Movies

1. Casablanca
2. Forrest Gump
3. To Kill A Mockingbird
4. Parenthood
5. West Side Story
6. The Sound of Music
7. It's A Wonderful Life
8. Arsenic and Old Lace
9. Harvey
10. Miracle on 34th Street

These are all movies I can watch over and over, and I never tire of them!

First day of class for the women folk!

College started for my daughters and me this morning. This was a first for the youngest and she was excited. Apparently so was I because I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep! My older daughter isn't here because she's got a class now on one of the campuses.

So this is the first time I'm back in a classroom in over 10 years. I didn't quite finish my associate's because I got hung up on geometry. Thankfully, I don't need to have taken it to get my associate's here. I only needed algebra and I passed that with an A.

My classes today: college math and earth science (and lab). I think I will like all three of the classes and there are even 2 mature students (meaning older, like me) in the science class.

Two of the teachers had a rough start. Our math teacher didn't have any of her hand outs because of some kind of moving crisis. Our science teacher didn't have a syllabus or any handouts because who ever is doing the xeroxing is totally backed up. The science teacher was also late because she was given the wrong room and apparently didn't realize we're also meeting on Friday.

In the lab, we reviewed information about latitude and longitude. Sigh. In the good old days, teachers released us early on the first day of class to get our books. Not anymore! Now everyone wants to keep you until the last minute.

I had ten minutes to get from class to class and no time to eat today. That'll only happen on Wednesdays. On Mondays and Fridays I'll have a two hour break between math and science to eat lunch and go for a walk.

Would you eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000? Explain why or why not? Yes, I would although I'd try to hold out for as much money as possible. Think of all the things I could do with $40,000! If the kids were out of school, that would be plenty to put down on a smaller house for TB and me. If not that, it would buy us a brand new car. If not that, we could have a lavish vacation cruise and another vacation somewhere else. That money sure would come in handy! Make me a legitimate offer and I'll eat those darn things all right!

Between the ages of 5 and 10, what was your favorite activity? I would say playing outdoor games with friends and cousins. I remember one game I played with neighbors and my friends on the next street. It was based on the TV series Combat and I had to play Sergeant Saunders. I had something of a crush on the actor, Vic Morrow, and I was a real tomboy so I could play the part. We also played other games of war and then I always wanted to be a John Wayne character. Other fun games included tag, freeze tag, Red Rover, Mother May I, Red Light Green Light, and many more. I can't remember the names of all the games I played as a child. Bring back the good old days!

Where do you keep it the rest of the year? Write about something that comes out of storage whenever a certain holiday rolls around. That would be our Christmas decorations! They are kept packed in boxes and those boxes are stored in our attic until the day after Thanksgiving. Then it's time to bring them out and decorate the house! We enjoy the decorations for six weeks and then it's time to pack them up again!

Wordless Wednesday: First day back to college

Wordless Wednesday