25 different directions

School is completely back in session for both Alex and I. Which means that life is out of our lovely summer mode and is now broken into daily and hourly schedules with lists all over the place. I have night classes this semester because I wanted to open up my days for more work so two times a week our normal schedule is all wonky and Casey is in full Dad mode. On Mon/Weds he takes Alex to tae kwon do, makes sure all home work is done, feeds everyone (leaving a plate for me, so sweet), makes sure evening chores are complete, gets Alex into the shower and in bed by the time I get home. Now he regularly does this when my classes weren't at night, but I am usually around to do most of it. Add to this schedule work and business meetings and the possibility of Casey traveling out of town and we have a highly organized week. On those occasions when Casey is traveling my mom is stepping in to take over for him on the two nights I am at school. Thank goodness for Grandmothers!

Alex is having a great time in 5th grade so far, loves his teacher and the kids in his class are great. We all have a great feeling about this year. That makes me really happy.

The four classes I am taking this semester are going to kick my ass! I have English Comp II and Fitness& Wellness online , neither one is really a big brain buster but both have LOTS of work. It's my night classes that will kill me slowly, first up is Accounting 1 ( yes I know a lot of this all ready, but the online quizzing/testing is very very detailed) and then Macroeconomics (still to early to decide how I feel about this one, I do have a crazy instructor though). I know it will get harder for me once the time changes and my classes are in the dark, I hate not being home at night so this will be an adjustment. Wish me luck!

End of these golden summer days

Six days left till school starts up for Alex and I.
Six days till my work schedule becomes out of this universe busy.
Six days till I will pack meals away from home for Alex and myself.
Six days till Casey has TKD duty two nights a week.
Six days till the alarm has to be set early.

So until then...

I have six days to finish painting.
I have six days to finish organizing.
I have six days to relearn that I love early mornings.
I have six days to tempt the kiddo in the pool for morning swims.
I have six days to plan lunches and dinners and menus that I will probably not use.
I have six days to daydream about an idealized Fall.

I have six days.

I made myself get off the fence!

My last post had me on a fence between two possibilities, waiting for an outcome. Well I decided to be proactive and change things up for myself. Which means...

Still going to school, but I now have 3 web classes and 2 evening classes on Monday/Wednesday.

Which means...

I can work days, which is especially important because I just gave a head hunter a go ahead to book me as much as possible for virtual gigs. She is as of right now booking my calendar up! Which is fabulous for the budget.

Which means...

We can breathe a little easier since it has been a very light year for Casey work.

It also means...

I need to create a strict daily schedule because I will be spending so much time virtually teaching and learning that I need to make myself exercise and get outside.

I am crazy... excited, giddy, hopeful, and must admit nervous that I am overwhelming myself.

Picket fences are not comfortable.

Summer session is officially over! Something small to celebrate for sure. Fall is right around the corner, 25 days to be exact. BUT my Fall is not solid yet. Yes I have registered for classes (5 to be crazy), and even made the first installment payment today. BUT there is a great business opportunity is very very possible, and very very time consuming. So consuming that I would have to drop all my face to face classes and try to switch as many as I could to Web classes. Because this opportunity would be 5 days a week, all day, for all most the entire Fall semester.

I know what I will do all ready, but this waiting, this limbo sucks! If the contract is approved and I am selected then I will take the job and switch as many classes to web as I can. If not, then I will just stick to my current Fall plan which is school on M-W, and work the other three days. I am only whining about this because I bought Alex's school supplies today, and I didn't know whether or not I needed to buy supplies for myself too.Truly, a tiny petty detail, but it made me whisper a prayer that the powers that be would hurry up and make up their minds.

Cause I am impatient damn it. :)

Braids are a sign of summer living

Tuesday, the day between finals.

The day to sleep in, deservedly, peacefully, happily, EPICally (as Casey put it).

The day where we have chili and tater tots for breakfast.

The first day of the year where Braids made their way on my hair.

Which means, this Tuesday, today, is a summer-ish day.

Tuesday, I love you.

**PS: Holy cow the above picture has finally given me concrete proof that my moisturizer with sunscreen is working on my face and I should TOTALLY use it on my chest. :) Duh!

**PPS: It is also a no makeup day.

**PPPS: My cheeks make me want to workout.

To the Blue Screen and back

My laptop took a header into crapville on Friday afternoon.

The weekend before Finals week.

The weekend where I should have been putting together my English portfolio that is due Wednesday.

The before mentioned laptop was pretty much the only easy source for all the English papers I have written this semester.

Said laptop was sporting a Blue Screen of Death.

BUT!!!

I have a kickass Casey who can fix anything, especially my laptop.

18 hours later, I can see my hard drive again.

And all my English papers.

And my portfolio is 75% done.

So is the Argumentative Paper that I forgot about, well that is completely done as of now.

I will resurface Wednesday afternoon, after finals and after I back up every single thing on this machine!

:)

Shade Making & Book Reading = Happiness.

I had two hours before Alex got home from school today and I was ansty being inside. I had reading that needed to be done for next weeks finals and other reading that was tempting me. The sky was amazing, and the air was cool, so I did the logical thing and made a shade canopy and a nest of quilts out in the yard.
Bring in music, my blackberry, the two required readings, a passel of pups and combine it all into a perfect afternoon outside, shaded from the Texas sun, but enjoying it to the fullest.

It was lovely and a much deserved bit of relaxation as I near the end of semester.

My Mental Scramble over School

I need to go with Bullets on this one, my brain is a bit scrambled right now what with term papers, finals, planning Summer School and Fall Session (registering for both tomorrow!), AND figuring out a summer camp situation for Alex.

• All classes are A's right now. I could literally not show up for the rest of the semester and get A's. That feels good.
• Trying to decide how many summer classes I want to take? Monday/Wednesday are the days I take in person classes, have two listed so far. BUT I really want to pile on two easy Web classes, State Government and Personal Fitness ( a state requirement). I love having an online class right now, so I know I could fit these into my days. And it would possibly shorten my time at community by a semester before UTSA transfer.
• Looking at the possibility of Alex going to college with me for two weeks in kids programs! Very cool!
• Planned out the rest of my time here at community college before I transfer to UTSA. I could possibly transfer by Fall 2011 if I kick my ass with classes. Hmmmm...
• Didn't realize how many of my classes were going to be math-ish. Guess it makes sense for a business degree. LOL.
• Also working on real business stuff, we are taking our business in a new direction, which is lots more work, both teaching and paper. Whew! I am going to be crazy.
• Super excited to have the month of May off from school! Sooooo glad to have a mental break coming up soon. Yay!
• I have even been looking into a double major. I know it's crazy, but it gets me all excited. :)
• Thinks it is sad that my only creative class for a semester is Speech. It's what I do all day for a living, so I foresee lots of Mini Excel classes in my college future.
• Planning on KLEPing out of a class this Fall, Computer Basics (REALLY?!). So happy about that.
• School rocks my socks.

My Daily Station

Every single day I sit in this seat, burying my feet under the blanket that the Muffins lay on under the desk. I scatter mugs of coffee, tumblers of water and bowls of pretzels over the surface, dodging books and folders and papers and pens. I stare at the layers of reminders and quotes and bills and plans tacked to my cork board. I warm my shoulders with the light coming through the window and I write.

I write papers and answers. I reflect on topics that are required. I scratch out figures and punch buttons and square my answers. I study through words and thoughts and edits and copies.

I distract myself with blogs and flickr pages and news sites and iTunes. I avoid writing by writing something else like emails and posts and recipes and reviews.

I knuckle down to finish what is due both in school and work. And then I start all over the next day because the assignments never end.

I love it.

Spindling

I am overflowing with things to do. My sanity is running on paths made up of lists. Lists of things to do for every category of my life. School, Business, Budget, Meals, Bill dates, Books to read, Monthly goals, Crafts to complete,Family things. My days are listed and arranged as I shuffle the multiple pieces of paper around in order of importance.

Behind the wallpaper of lists are two people who have kept my week running smoothly. Casey has been the cooker, the dishwasher, the laundry rebooter, the encourager, the extra alarm clock in the morning, he has been everything I needed this first week.

Alex has been both a start and stop watch to my day. I start with a shift of mental gears once he is safely on his way to school, and then I spin for hours in my new exciting whirlwind and come to a stop when his feet coming running up the lawn to a home waiting for its boy. Alex has been curious and aloof, distance and underfoot, he has been my everything, my daily bookends.

Between the listed items have been snippets of my days that I am holding close. I work out a problem with pencil and calculator but my mind is thinking of Alex's handwritten birthday wish list. I have been logging in and playing my part on discussion boards, but my gratitude has been wafting downstairs where Casey's perfectly planned comfort meals have waited. So I am savoring these little bits that have kept my day steady and purposeful. These thoughts and memories and actions spinning onto the Spindle in my mind, crafting my new goals into our daily life.

And I have been so alive and so happy.

The Return to School

My book load for five classes, and that is with one that I don't have yet.

I went back to school yesterday and let me tell you, it was awesome. I woke early, got Alex all set up for the day, ate breakfast with him, and then we bundled up in the car to wait for his bus because it was 22 degrees out! Brr... once he was officially on his way to school, I headed to my school. I went early because I really wanted to make sure I didn't have a hard time finding a parking spot. That is really one of the only reasons I picked an 8am class. Just as I expected the parking lot was perfect and I found a great spot simply because there were not many people there yet. I bundled myself up in my jacket and made the trek to find my first class. The one thought that really stuck out in my head was how damn cold it was outside. Gloves are a must for tomorrow. After some trial and error I found my first class. I have a cool Math partner, who is a little bit older then the rest of the young crowd, yay for that! He also walked me to my next building because he was going there too. Along the way he showed me some cool places like the library cyber cafe and the least busy coffee shop. :) Study adn caffiene go hand in hand right?

The rest of the day went by fine, have some great professors and some really young people in class. While waiting for class to start I totally felt like I was standing in a high school hallway, some of these kids dress so ridiculously, but that is what self expression is all about. I never once felt uncomfortable about my age, if anything I think it helped for my Professors to remember me, which I want, because I am going to rock this semester.

I came home and was famished, I ate a huge brisket sandwich while telling Casey all about my day. I started on homework right away, even studying ahead because who knows what the rest of this week will bring and I am honestly shooting for great grades!

I am excited for school tomorrow, I know that we will get into the curriculum more and start going over assignments. I am also going to hit up the Math lab for the first time, I have to log 10 hours there this semester and as my Math buddy says, doing your home there is the best way to do that.

My online class is going great as well, I have in fact all ready gotten Kudos from my professor and have turned in all my homework. :) It will be interesting interacting with my classmates only through a discussion board, but all ready they seem more my age and living the same kind of life style, that of a working parent.

Tomorrow I want to put up some school goals, expand on what I posted at the beginning of the month, semester goals. So excited to be back!

T minus two Days

Two days of freedom before school starts! So how should I spend it?? I think I will start off with a nice sleep in tomorrow, followed by an awesome family breakfast, random house chores, family time, stitching time, reading time, and most likely a really nice shower/soak.

I am so excited about the next two days, and then DAY 1 after that! Yeah!

Core Knowledge

I start school on Monday and over the last week I have found myself obsessing over anything school related. I have logged into my virtual classrooms a bunch of times, I have devoured any syllabuses I can find, and I have been planning ahead when I discovered assignment lists. I actually got the reading done for my English class last night, even though school doesn't start till Monday. I am completely excited, a little bit nervous, and more then ready. I all ready can see that I am going to be busy, overloaded with school. But I need to remember that I am happy to jump through these hoops to get the degree that I want to complete.

This first year I am going to be finishing up what they call my Core Knowledge, which I find incredibly funny as a title because really I doubt I will use my soon to be knowledge of Early 1700 Texan Woman in my Business degree. Who knows, maybe I will. But the facts as I see it are that I think they are lacking many classes that people need to know before they can face the world with their paper degree and book knowledge stuffed brain.

My college would teach these in the Core Curriculum classes:

• Balancing a Checkbook 101
• Understanding Credit Card and Bill Statements 102
• How to do Laundry without ruining half your clothing.
• How to change a tire, change your oil, check your fluids, and replace windshield wipers.
• Scratch Cooking for Dummies
• Thank you Card writing 101
• How to Budget a household101
• How to stretch a households budget in a pinch 102
• How to apologize and mean it
• How to say No when you all ready do too much.
• Enjoying the simple things every day.

And finally...

• How to admit that your parents really were right 101

Swapped Rooms!

We did it, today we decided to switch rooms around! Alex and I spent a solid 5 hours swapping rooms. Man Alive we both have a lot of stuff. Well, mostly me. His room is pretty much done except to hang some pictures and swap closets. Both will be done tomorrow. My new office needs to be super organized, which will be much easier to do once my massive closet space opens up.

I have been refilling my bookcases and setting up my massive desk, which is just a 6 foot banquet table. I had a couple small thrills when I was emptying a package of highlighters into my desk caddy, soon I will have a need for those! Yay for school.

Needless to say I am beat and tomorrow it starts all over again since I need to get the closets done and the painting HAS to be finished this week. HAS TO BE FINISHED!!! I will post some pictures tomorrow, mostly of my many piles. LOL.

So Excited!

I have been a wee bit quiet on here the last couple of days because I am working on something big, well very big for me at least.

I am going back to school!!!

I have been knocking around the idea for a couple years, but never really decided that I was going to actually do it, but something changed a couple weeks ago and I have been on a mission! Today I take my placement exams, which has me nervous and excited. Nervous because of the math, I can do it, but the practice questions in math that proved to me how removed from school I have been. The essays and reading will be a cinch for me, I could rock those with my eyes closed. I am excited because the test is the last big hurtle before I am official registered and can start enrolling for classes later this month. I still have to wait on my high school transcripts to arrive to turn in and have to take a advisement class next week, but those are no biggie.

Soon, I will be a student again. Focused on my goal, and keeping a handle on all my regular life, including work. Which I am okay with. Just need to remind myself of that in a couple months.

Have I mentioned how excited I am?? I am buzzing like a live wire today!!!! I have been planning out the classes that I want to take, trying to make sure that they all fall into my academic plan to transfer to UTSA in 2 years. And let me tell you, so much has changed in college, everything so far has been online, from the enrollment process, to registering for classes, to today's test, to ordering books, all online. Yay!

So, once this enrollment process is complete in the next two weeks, I have two months till classes start, to get as much done here at home that I can. I want to reorganize and clean and finish home improvements, I want to make lists, and complete taxes and sell some stuff laying around. I want to tidy it all up so when classes start I have zero distractions. Yeah right, life is a distraction, but I can at least get the objects in our home in order. Two months, ready to watch me lose my head in excitement for a while?