A Triumphant Tale of Two Cities

Friday could have possibly been the longest day of my life.  It was the day I had to take the TEAS Test, which is the exam you have to take to get in to almost any nursing school. Because of some scheduling problems due to the class I'm currently taking, it turned out that the only school in the entire state of Virginia that could proctor the exam on the days I could take it, was in Wytheville.  Wytheville.  Otherwise known as, four hours and twenty minutes from where I live; 260 miles.

Do you see it?  There's little Wytheville all the way out in the boonies of western Virginia. Don't be fooled by the big dot, it's a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere. My testing appointment was at 1pm, and I didn't want to take any chances on being tardy, so I woke up bright and early at 6am and left home at 7am.  There's just something wrong about having to drive four hours and twenty minutes to take a three hour and 45 minute test and then turning right around and driving home again.  But that's what I did.

It was a good thing that I left so early, because there was a ton of traffic and I didn't get to Wytheville until 12:15pm.  By the time I parked, found the testing center, and signed in, it was almost time for the test to begin. There was no down time or time to think about anything- which was probably a good thing, because I most likely would have started to stress out. 

And then the test began and the next three hours and some odd minutes are a blur.  I guess it was a good blur, because I ended up doing much better than I thought I would do.  The scores are based off of the National percentile and my overall results placed me in the 91% National percentile.  And then they break it down into subject areas- Science, Math, English, and Reading and give you your percentile ranking in those subject areas.  They have to do it this way because many nursing programs won't accept applicants that receive below a 50% in any subject, even if they got perfect scores on everything else and their overall NP is 85%.  I wasn't really worried about that happening to me, but I still get apprehensive about any test that involves math (especially tests that won't let you use a calculator!).  So I can't even begin to explain how shocked I was when I read that I was in the 99% for math.  I did a double take when I saw the results because there was no way that could be possible.  I don't do math- numbers and I don't get along, especially when those numbers are attached to shapes and adjoining letters and other weird symbols.

I walked backed to my car with my results in hand and I actually wondered if my brain chemistry/neuronal synapse direction firing (I totally made up the aforementioned term) had changed.  When I told my mom, she thought there must have been some glitch in the computer scoring system.  When I told me dad, he said "you're joking? right? No, seriously, you're joking?" 

But it really did feel like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders- this test has just been looming over and taunting me for months now.  I almost fell back into my old buy myself something nice when I do well on a test pattern, when I saw the huge billboard for the Wytheville Outlet Mall Featuring 36 Stores, but resisted the temptation and kept right on going.  Finally, after a total 9 hours and 20 minutes of driving, plus 3 hours and 45 minutes of test taking, I got home at 9pm. 

My body hurt all over when I woke up this morning and my brain was begging me for a vacaction day.
But as my luck would have it, my physiology final is on Monday and I have a lot of studying that needs to get done.  I do see the light at the end of the tunnel though; I also see a really long, long, long nap.

The Post Where a Title Eludes Me

I feel like we've been so busy, but now that I'm trying to write about it, it doesn't seem so, well, busy. I'm just going to dive right in! On Saturday we met Spencer's MiMi at the airport to pick her up from a two week long business trip.  She missed Spencie so much that we've been staying with them these past few days.  Since we missed her birthday, as she was an out-of-towner, on Sunday we baked the most delicious, mouthwatering, make-you-want-to-weep, carrot cake.  It took almost all day to make and bake and ice that baby, but it was so worth every scrumptious, highly caloric bite!  I took many a picture of the baking and making process, but I don't have my camera doo-hickey that hooks up to my computer, so I can't download the pictures yet.

I finally joined the rest of mainstream America on Sunday night, as I watched New Moon for the first time. Yes, I'm about 5-6 months behind, but at least I can now say I'm like every other teeny bopper in the universe!  (No offense to those of you who aren't teeny boppers and love Twilight, etc.)

On Monday I got to sleep in and when I woke up breakfast was made for me as I watched Regis and Kelly... heavenly.  And then us gals went and got pedicures!  It was Spencer's first "pedi," but she loved every second of it.  (I also loved every second of it because it was my first one in over a year!) Spence just stood in the water for a minute and then got her toes painted, nothing else, so it wasn't a real pedi for her, but she was thrilled just the same. I took a bunch of pictures of that too, but for the aforementioned reason, I can't post them.  I did try and snap a few of Spencer's tootsies in the car, but it was difficult- here's the best with the least blur:

Spence is absolutely in love with her toes and she takes great joy in showing everybody.  After we had our girly afternoon I had to go to my sociology class.  We had a test and after it was over he let us leave early. (And no, this wasn't our final, out final is on the 10th, which I think is kinda stinky- a test and a final all in two weeks.)   So on my way back the PGP's house, it's about a 45 minute drive, there were some crazy storms that I had to drive through.  But because it was such a long drive, and I was traveling behind the storm, I got to see two separate rainbows!  They were miles apart and I tried to my best take pictures of them while I was driving.  They aren't the best, but you get the idea.

I like to think it was a double good omen!  And I'm so glad that I took these pictures, because you couldn't see them from the PGP's house.  So where am I now?  Tuesday.  Which was yesterday and I should be able to easily recall the events.  I didn't do much yesterday except go the store to buy some sticker books for Spencer, hang out and do a little studying, watch It's Complicated (the movie with Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin), read a little, and watch GLEE, etc. I love, love, love, that show. It makes me miss high school, as I was a cheerleader and in the show choir, but it also brings back so many wonderful memories. And then I went to sleep at 11pm. Eleven P. M.  That is unheard of in my world.  

And now we are all caught up to today, whew!  Today the PGP's took Spencie to story time at the library while I snoozed and then woke up and watched the tube and did some studying.  When they got back we we went to the Farmer's Market only to find out that on Wednesdays it's from 3-7pm instead of from 8am-12pm like it is on Saturdays. So we will be heading back there later on this afternoon. Spencer is taking a nap right now, Praise The Lord!  She hasn't been napping since we've been here and she's not been all that pleasant to be around after 3pm.  I couldn't take another afternoon of it and I spent the last hour trying to coax her into dreamland.  

Tomorrow we are going home.  Which means this is my last night of having someone else cook dinner for me(us).  Sometimes it's nice to not always have to do everything by myself, ya know?  I need to make sure our homestead is still there and other various chores.  I have my Anatomy final on Saturday and that's going to be...special.  (not in the good way.)  How weird is this- even though our final is this Saturday, we still have two more labs and one more quiz left to do?  That's just C-RAZY!  

Okay, well I think that's all.  I'm going to try and get those pictures up here soon, along with the recipe for the-best-carrot-cake-recipe-that-has-and-will-ever-exist-here-on-earth.  And just as soon as school is over for the semester I will resume a regular posting schedule.  Promise!

A is For Embarrassing

I promised you some Katie Embarrassment and I'm here to deliver.  It all started on Monday night when I had a test in my Sociology class.  I studied for it, but nothing like the way I work my butt off for Anatomy.  You see, I took a government sociology class at W&M, but for some reason the nursing program here doesn't count that as "real." Now I'm having to take SOC 101- which means that even though I'm learning a lot of new information, some of it is also a repeat/overlap of my last class.

So when I sat down next to my "class friend" she was feverishly looking at her 100+ note cards that she made to prepare for our test.  She asked me if I studied and I was all yeah, but not too much. I should've studied more, so who knows how I'm going to do. (Big Mistake)

We take the test and I thought it went fine; I knew most of the answers and I felt okay about it.  After everyone was finished, our teacher went to run them through the scantron machine while everyone chatted about how they thought they did.  Once again, I was all I think I did okay, not great, and there were some questions I didn't know.  I wasn't trying to lie, but no one likes that person; the one who talks about how easy the test was and how great they think they did. 

Our teacher comes back in shaking his head. Out of the 50 student in our class we had managed to make the wonderful average of a 67.  Because he's a really nice teacher, his rule is that the class average needs to be a 75; so in this case everyone would be getting an extra 8 points added to their final test grade. But we'd have to wait til the end of class to find out how we did.  (That's his trick to keep students from leaving after the test- if you're not there when he passes them back out then he counts you as absent). The lecture begins and it's kinda interesting- I'm having no problem keeping myself from daydreaming.

Now here's the thing you have to understand- people in this class don't ask questions.  Most of them just sit there, some sleep, and others play games on their indiscreetly hidden cell phones.  Also, all 50 students where in there because it was a test day- usually only about 25 show up.

And that's when I did it:  I asked a question.

The teacher looked at me and smiled.  Then he said, "That's a great question!  That's the kind of question that makes me teach instead of just talking to all of you who aren't listening."  My face began to turn pink as every pair of eyes turned toward me. (Which was pretty easy to do, as I was sitting directly in the middle of the room)  I tried to shrink in my chair as I could feel the negative vibes radiating in my direction.

It got worse.

Our teacher then said something like this: (I can't remember verbatim, but this is almost word-for-word)   

You're Katie, right? Katherine?

I shook my head, yes.   

Class, she's the only one who's yet to ask a question and guess what?  She's the only one who got an A on this test!  And she got an A before the extra points were added!

(Oh, it get's worse.)

Let me ask you a question- I have a theory about these kind of things.  Did your parents pay you for good grades? 

With my mouth agape, I should my head no.

Were your parents the "B is for Bad" type?" 

I managed to squeak out "Yes, sir."

He smiled again and said that this  just re-proved his theory about parenting styles and learning.  Something about how parents who pay their kids for good grades aren't instilling a love of learning into their child. Instead, they've turned it into a chore rather than making it an "intellectual lifelong journey." (he actually said that! "intellectual lifelong journey.") And that your attitude about learning extends into adulthood; I didn't just want a good grade- I wanted to learn something new "just for the sake of knowledge." 

At that point into this tangent I was hearing his words, but that's about it.  Then for the next few minutes he talked more about why we needed to ask more thought provoking questions. My "class friend" was glaring at me, everyone was staring at me with looks of disdain, and I was just sitting there like a deer caught in the headlights.  And we still had over an hour of class left!  Mercifully, after this 10 minute "discussion" about me, my grades, my parents, and my question, he made his way back to what he'd been talking about in the first place.  It was sweet, sweet relief when I finally realized that the stares and glares had stopped (mostly).

You're probably thinking it can't get any worse.  Of course this is me we're talking about, so you'd be wrong.  About 15 minutes before class was supposed to end, our teacher finished his lecture and started getting ready to hand back our tests.  So I'm packing up my things, trying not to draw any more attention to myself, when he calls out the first name; it's me.  As I'm making my way to the front of the room he tells me that I can go home now, but everyone else has to stay!  He wanted to talk to the rest of the class about the poor performance on the test and ways to help them improve their grades and I didn't need to stay for that.

But I'm not sitting down in the middle row this time - now I'm standing at the front of the class!  I can actually see everyone's mean looks at me- and it was everyone. I wanted to put my head down and stare at my toes, but I somehow managed to keep my head up.  After getting my test I tried to fake a smile and I said goodnight to everybody. I've never been so happy to leave a class before!

I was plum full of righteous indignation and was all "how dare they" during the 30 minute drive home. It was just me yelling out loud to no one in particular about how unfair it all was, how people are so mean, how I never should have asked him that question, how I never should've said that I didn't study very much, etc.  And then I started to get mad at myself for being mad at myself.  I didn't do anything wrong!  I made an A on a test, I asked a question about something I really wanted to know the answer to, and I received praise from my teacher.  Those aren't such bad things.

And that's how I'm choosing to think about it all right now.  It annoys me that the other people were so easily able to make me feel embarrassed about something which I should be, and am, proud.  It was an unpleasant reminder that I still care too much about what other people think.

We went over to my parent's house tonight for dinner and I was telling my dad this story. It's Wednesday night- two days after the "incident,"  but it wasn't until he pulled me in for a hug and told me how proud he was of me that I truly started to not feel that embarrassment.  If my dad is proud me, I should be proud of me.  Period. End of story.

And that's the end of this Katie Embarrassment episode.  Since next week is our spring break it'll be awhile before I have to face my classmates again.  I'm hoping that by then they'll have forgotten what happened.  I'm hoping by then I won't if they've forgotten or not.

Wednesday? Really?

How did it get to be Wednesday already?  We've been super busy, but still... Wednesday?

Well, this weekend my parents were out of town, so we stayed over there dog sitting for the four puppies.  Although they aren't really puppies.  One two and half year old plus plus four dogs (one of which is our Vivi- the 95lb Great Dane) equals one really tired Mommy.  But it was fun; I love being with all my dogs and so does Spencer.  She really loves little Gus, he's not too fond of her, but he did like to sleep by her feet at night- so she went to sleep in 7th Heaven!

My parentals and brother didn't get back until Monday evening and then yesterday we went over to Spencer's PGP's house for the day/night.  I had to take an Anatomy quiz, (I'm now taking Anatomy 2) so they occupied her while I locked myself in their upstairs office studying, etc.  And this morning I took my quiz (I aced it) and then had to go to the school bookstore for a new lab manual.  For some unknown reason they switched lab manuals, but not textbooks, and I had to go buy a new one.  Are you ready for this?  The new manual was $120!  It wasn't even a hard back book.  CRAZY!

So after many nights away, we're now back home and Spencer is napping.  She doesn't nap well away from home, or sleep well for that matter, so she was in serious need of a nice long snooze.  For the first couple of days she was okay, but for the last two she's woken up around 6am, hasn't taken a nap, and wouldn't fall asleep until almost 10pm.  Needless to say, or write, we're both pretty exhausted. 

Spencer's PGP (her PGrandaPa) gave me the funniest nugget of wisdom today and I just had to share it with ya'll.  A little back story, he is a republican and Carol (Spencer's MiMi) is NOT.  Okay, so this morning I came downstairs for breakfast and he was watching Fox News.  I gave him a half smile along with a raised eyebrow and slight eye roll and he laughed.  Then he said "Katie, when you get married you need to marry a democrat- that way you can both watch the same TV." Hahaha!  Whenever it's time to watch the news, one of them goes upstairs to watch their channel while the other stays downstairs to watch their preferred channel. But typically, I don't like my news with any kind of partisan slant, so hopefully I'll find someone like that. Anyway, I just thought that was so funny, so I had to blog it. 

I Resolve

Today's Show Us How You Live topic over at Kelly's Korner is about our New Year's resolutions. Ever since Wednesday when I found my old high school resolutions, I've been thinking about what I wanted/needed to change and improve in myself.  One thing I think about resolutions is that they have to be realistic or else they're easily discarded by the third week in January and never thought about again until the next year.  But they should also be a little challenging, you should have to work for it a little.  One of my favorite quotes is:

The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.

Every time I hear or read those words I'm motivated to become the best version of me.  I think about what I want in the future and what it will take to get me there.  Yes, there are a lot of things that I'd like to become that are completely unrealistic or aren't worth the sacrifice in the long run.  But knowing that it's possible, and not just some pie in the sky dream, to become someone greater than I am today makes me ready and willing to stick to my New Year's Resolutions!

I Resolve to:

1.  Strike a Balance.  I'm more of an all-or-nothing kinda girl and I've found it difficult to correctly balance my school work and "mother work."  I know this was my first year back to school since law school, since becoming a mother, and I knew there would be an adjustment period.  But it's taken a lot more getting used to than I anticipated and I either feel like I'm being a bad mom or being a bad student.  I need to work on this; I want to be a good student and a good mom every day- not a good student one day and bad the next.

2. Maintain my GPA.  I'm hoping that by finding a better way to balance everything in my life, keeping my 4.0 will be easier than getting it.  So much of the first 24 years of my life were centered around making good grades, excelling in school, and being "smart."  I worked for it, but it also came to me easily.  I didn't feel that way this year, and even though I ended up with all A's, it wasn't the easiest of roads to get there.

3. Confidently remember that everything I do is for Spencer.  It sometimes gets me in a funk when I think about how people see me now, as if I'm doing nothing with my life because I've chosen to stay home with Spencer for these first few years. I know differently; this is the most difficult and most rewarding job I'll ever have. Spencer is my most proud accomplishment and being her mother is my greatest privilege.  But I need to remind myself of this more and spend less time thinking about anyone else.  When I'm up late studying for a test and up early in the morning to give her breakfast, I need to remember that I'm doing it for her instead of thinking about how tired I am. 

4. Be Receptive.  I often close my mind to different ways of thinking and fail to really listen to others' perspectives.  I'm polite, but it's more like I'm just hearing the words instead of listening to the idea.  This needs to change.  Even if I don't agree with an opinion, that's no reason to ignore it; at the very least I should be trying to understand it. 

5. Take More Pictures.  You might think that 10,000 pictures is a lot to take in one year, but I want to take more!


And those are my big resolutions!  There are a few more that didn't make it on the list because they're "life" resolutions, things that will never leave the list -exercising more, being more organized, and keeping my car clean.

And those are my 2010 Resolutions! 

4.0

Yep! All my whining and complaining and stressing out and I have a 4.0. I really am proud of myself, in a way that I haven't felt in awhile. And now I can focus on having Christmas! As soon as I take an extended nap...

Crying Over Spilled Orange Juice

I am alive. This is my week of finals. Spencer spilled her orange juice on my laptop. It had my completed 15 page paper and all the research I'd done on it. Psych final is tonight, but I'm not worried. It's the 500 question anatomy final that has me going crazy. If you are the praying kind, I sure could use them!
Regular blogging will resume when my sanity returns.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

And the hits just keep on comin'! Yesterday morning my TV died. It was kinda old, but I really loved her. It was a SONY Wega, flat screened, but not a flat screened or even a LCD screen. It was the TV I got when I started law school many moons ago. I turned her on and she was all red, and would only stay on for a minute or two before turning off again. After some googling and a call to a repairman, I found out it was something to do with a capcitator. Since it was an old TV that they don't make anymore, it was going to make things much more difficult and more expensive. Of course!

Spencer was very upset because in the morning she watches Elmo (Sesame Street). It was an interesting day- we read a lot of books and went to a sing a long at Barnes & Noble. I got nothing accomplished. As much as I'd like to fancy myself as one of those mothers who can entertain her child all day long without any help and no TV- I'm not. I need at least an hour a day to get "stuff" done in the house and keep things running. So this morning I dipped into my "New Camera Fund" and bought a new TV. Normally I'd be happy about something like this, but not today. I didn't want a new television, I was perfectly happy with my old one. It was also not in my budget- not at all. I got a good deal on Samsung, it's smaller than my last one, but oh, well. We don't need a huge TV, just one that works.

Unfortunately, it means it's going to be even longer before I can buy a new camera. Yesterday I just got so frustrated thinking about finances and I started to cry. Spencer came up to me and put her hands on my cheeks and said "Don't cry Mommy, don't cry." It kinda melted my heart.

I'm really trying hard to think positive thoughts...

On that note, I only have one more week of classes left! It's followed by two weeks of finals, but at least the end is near!

Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

Life is anything but lazy, hazy, or summery right now. I have a ton of school work, Spencer is a wild woman, and it's cold and rainy. Technically I'm on Thanksgiving break right now, but it doesn't mean much in the real world. I'm also EXHAUSTED, bone weary kinda tired. We spent Sunday night with PGPs and I fell asleep at 8:30pm!

Tomorrow night we're going home to my parents house and spending the night with them. Thursday is Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt's followed by a long nap- hopefully. I don't participate in Black Friday- do ya'll? So that's what's new with me, not much.

Show Us Your Life - School Spirit and Sporting Traditions

I think this is going to be a very interesting Show Us Your Life, since it's about our favorite sports teams, traditions, and anything else involving our school spirit - I'm interested to see what everyone says! It would seem obvious that William & Mary is my favorite, but that wouldn't be right. I'm sure it's obvious by now that I LOVE W&M and fully plan on Spencer continuing the legacy, but we're not the most athletic bunch. (Except this year, the Tribe is doing amazingly well!)


Don't get me wrong, when the Tribe plays, I'm always rootin' for them, but sports just wasn't our thing. We only had tailgates on select game days and they were very limited by the lack of available space. I didn't even go to one until two years after I graduated! How crazy!

Tribe Pride Hip Hop Style

So even though I have endless amounts of Tribe Pride, I'm really a UNC and ACC girl at heart- I've written about it before. That might seem strange too, seeing as I'm a born and bred Virginian, but it's not! My Papa was from that area and he was a huge Carolina fan as were his 11 brothers and sisters. Oh, maybe I should just preface that he was a GREAT basketball player. But in December of his senior year of high school the US officially entered WWII and he enlisted in the Navy- patriotism beat out basketball and college.


Okay, so back to UNC- my whole southern half of the family loves the Tarheels. It was a point of pride for my Papa that my mom (his only child) could always name the entire starting line up and second string every season. When I heard this I just HAD to beat my mom, so I went about memorizing every single player and their positions! My Papa laughed when I recited all of the stats to him, he thought his brothers would get a real kick out it - his only grandchild, a granddaughter, (my brother wasn't born then) knowing more about UNC basketball than all of their gazillion grandsons combined. I was a cheerleader for most of my life, cheering at varsity basketball games when I was a freshman and every other type of basketball game there was- up to 5 games a week sometimes! I learned more about "the game" in those years then you could imagine. Now I don't make myself memorize their stats, but I still always know the starting lineup and second string.


But for our family, it's not just UNC pride, it's also ACC loyalty that's important. Even though I can't stand Duke, I still root for them when they play a non-conference team. And if both teams playing aren't in the ACC, then Papa would say to support the team closest and most southern in geographical proximity, haha!



The only other "odd" caveat in our rules system is state versus private- and public schools trump private schools. Papa would say that's because the state schools represented "our people," and it was the "Yankee rich folk" who started private schools and now they were trying to do the same in the South! (Sorry to offend you Northerners! But my dad is from NJ AND went to private schools and my Papa Loved him- it's just how many people in the south tended to think back then) And while I don't exactly agree with how he arrived at his conclusion, I still agree with it, because I think private schools undermine state programs. But I'm just a fan of public education, so maybe that's clouding my opinion, haha.


So that's the heirarchy of how I go about basketball season. It's the same rules for football, but I just don't like that sport very much, so I don't have the same passion for it as I do basketball. And that's how my family does sports! Sometimes it can be hard to follow all the rules, especially when something crazy happens, like Boston College becoming part of the ACC, but I still did/do it. It's almost like a weird code/badge of honor- because above all else, we're "loyal people." (As my Papa would say!)

**More Show You How I Live Posts**

Baby Gear Favorite Dessert Recipes
Favorite Go-To Dinner Recipe
My Baby Shower
School Pictures
Favorite Vacation Spot
I Have a Child. The Jig is Up.
Here Comes the Maid Of Honor

The Day Before the First Day of School

To me, Labor Day has always meant the last day of summer vacation, the day before school starts, and the beginning of fall. I guess this technically changed when I started college, but I didn't really notice or pay attention to it because we still had classes on that day. It wasn't until my first post-graduation Labor Day that I felt sad- it no longer represented what it once did.

I know a lot of states start school sometime during August, but in Virginia, when I was of the "school aged," we had something known as the Kings Dominion Law. It mandated that public schools were not allowed to start the year before Labor Day- in large part because of the tourism industry.
I've always loved going back to school, school supply shopping, and getting my new school year wardrobe. It was something I was so ready for by the beginning of every August. There was never any dread about starting school again, just the anticipation of all the great things I imagined would happen that year. I could never sleep the night before, even more so than on Christmas Eve. (Isn't that crazy?) My dad took me to breakfast every year on the first day, even in high school when we had to get up at 5am because my ride was picking me up at 6:30. (Yes, I was too cool for the bus by the 9th grade).

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who have nothing but glorious memories of my formal schooling years. I guess I'm doubly lucky that I have nothing but the same memories of college, too! But that's beside the point. Erma Bombeck once said "There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child." And how true is that? I've spent every year since I stopped believing in Santa Claus trying to recreate that magic- the magic I once felt. But I also think there's something very sad about waking up on Labor Day and knowing that you aren't going to have your first day of school tomorrow. That those years have passed, this is now an ordinary day, and tomorrow the school supplies will all go on sale.

I'm sure when Spencer starts kindergarten the same feelings will return, but I can't think about that now because it makes me teary. I know people always say that some of the Christmas magic returns when your children start believing in Santa, so I'm hoping the same thing applies to this craziness I feel about the first day of school! Sometimes I can't believe that era of my life is over- it will never happen again- it just doesn't make sense to me. When I was growing up I always remember adults telling me to enjoy my youth because it goes by too fast. I used to think they were nuts, because I was enjoying my youth! And now I think that might have been really bad advice, because I loved my youth so much that it's really, impossibly hard for me to let go of.


I've always thought it's unfair that we're young for such a short period of time and then old for the rest of our lives. Now that I'm getting older my definition of old is of course changing a bit, haha, but the day is going to come when there will be no about it- I'll be old. (The Lord willing.) And it's days like today that remind me of how fleeting this whole thing is. One of the Bible verses that's always haunted me is James 14:4 - You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. And there's nothing I can control about that.

Today is my bestie's birthday and we celebrated as we have done every year, reminiscing about old times and the good old days while wondering about our futures. A song came on the radio from that time, reminding us of our youth, and suddenly the memories came flooding back of the angsty days gone by. And I was happy. As much as I loved my youth, I'm looking forward to what's still to come. There are still the feelings of butterflies and anticipation about the tomorrows in my life. I'm so lucky that I have such wonderful memories but I'm even more thankful for all the ones I still have to make.

Happy Birthday Sara!

High School

College

And Beyond!

Acts of Kindness

Yesterday afternoon I went to the mailbox, as I always do, expecting to find nothing in it but bills. When I opened the door I saw a little red envelope. (And no bills!) I hadn't ordered anything recently, and it's not my birthday, so my first thought was that the Letter Carrier must have put it in the wrong mailbox. But when I took it out, there was my name written in big bold letters.

I was so excited!
Something for me!
That I didn't order for myself!

I had to force myself not to open it until I got back to the house- so I could savor the moment, haha. When I got to my porch I sat down and opened the envelope, reading the card first. It was from my college Roomie, Beth- kind and encouraging words about me going back to school.


Tears immediately began to well up in my eyes as I closed the card. I started to open the little box underneath of it and that's when I saw these perfect, darling earrings.

The Fleur-de-Lis is the flower of my sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. It's also my favorite symbol/design/motif and I have them all over my house. Bethie was in a different sorority, but she still remembered that after all these years!

Aren't they so cute? When I saw that they were little Fleur-de-Lis earrings, the brimming tears in my eyes came spilling out and I felt so thankful, filled with gratitude. This whole week I'd been feeling unsure about going back to school, nervous that I wasn't as smart as I once was, and thinking that I might have made a mistake about everything. Then the mail came and I read Beth's thoughtful card, saw the sweetest earrings, and I instantly felt her support and encouragement. And did you notice the message on the card holding the earrings? It says:

HOPE_

LIVE IN POSSIBILITY

(How perfect)

I've always been one of those people who has many acquaintances, a lot of casual buddies, some good friends, and just a handful of Real Friends. But I have the BEST Real Friends. They've always been there for me, even when I was unfriendable. They were supportive and never gave up on our friendship. Beth's generous token reminded me of how grateful and lucky I am to have her in my life- how fortunate I am that she's my Real Friend.

Thank you so much Beth, I love, Love, LOVE the earrings, and as you can see, they're already in my ears :)

Show Us Your Life - School Pictures

This week's topic on Show Us Your Life is all about your school pictures. I'm not sure if this means first day of school pictures, yearly pictures, or just plain old embarrassing pictures from the "ugly years." In the spirit of openness, sharing, and some loud laughs at my expense, I'm posting a wide variety :)

Just to warn you, give you a heads up, I started off cute. Some (me) might say adorable. Then came the ugly years. Or as my family calls it, "the awkward times." I rebounded okay, I guess, but those years were difficult. Well, difficult might be the understatement of the year, they were torture! I'm glad I can laugh about them now, because back then, to me, it was NOT funny.

I know this isn't a school picture, but it will help you appreciate the later years more!

What a cute kid I was! This was after the first day of school in kindergarten.




3rd Grade, I was 9 years old. This was the last "semi cute" picture I would take until I was 14. That's 5 years of bad pictures!

I can't believe I'm putting this out there for the world to see. 3rd Grade talent show.

My 5th grade picture. I got the dreaded glasses, sigh. Not so cute, haha

This was in the 5th grade, too, these were taken on Valentine's Day. Just in case you wondering why I'm in ALL red.




You know you wanted a close up of this "classic picture!" haha

7th Grade. It's a little improvement, but not much.

This is probably the picture that shows the biggest jump- this was at the end of 8th grade, one year after the picture right above. I was 14.

++++

These were before my Senior year, I'm not 100% sure where exactly, but I think I'm 16 and 17, respectively. But I could be wrong.




Senior year, at our last game. I'm third from the right.




High School Graduation



My 20th birthday




Last day of my Junior year of college- 21 years old

College Graduation

Me now. 27 years young!

**More Show You How I Live Posts**

My Baby Shower
Favorite Vacation Spot
I Have a Child. The Jig is Up.
Here Comes the Maid Of Honor

Back in the Saddle Again

I'm a nerd at heart. I love school and learning new things and if I had my way, I'd probably be a lifelong student with a bunch of different degrees and majors. But getting back in the habit of studying, reading, and note taking hasn't been as easy as I thought it was going to be.

It's not like it's been that long since I was in school (at 25 when I was in law school) but it feels like so much longer now that I'm trying to retrain myself to get in learning mode again. Maybe it's because back then the only thing I had to was study and now I have a full time mommy job and then I have study. But I also had an active social life back then and now, not so much. To put it mildly!

I know it takes 21 days to make a habit, so hopefully things will start to feel normal after I've been at this for a little bit longer. We went to Office Depot yesterday so I could get a few things that I needed for class and lab. Spencer left the store quite happy, carrying a jumbo sized coloring book and crayons. So what did I do when we got home? Colored pictures of Dora and Diego with my girl. I hate to miss these moments of her life, it's all happening way too fast, and I feel like I need to savor every second of it. This means that I'm up past my bedtime reading my anatomy book, but that's okay with me. I just hope I can get back in the learning groove sooner rather than later.

Bye My Friend

My computer has gone to Electronic Heaven. It's with the Geek Squad now, as they recover all of my pictures and documents. Luckily, they said I won't have lost anything stored on my hard drive. My dad has graciously donated me his laptop (he has a desktop too) until I can buy a new computer. My math class is online, so I have to have a computer. But I have no pictures on this thing and it's too big for my hands. I know I shouldn't be complaining, but I feel like I've lost my friend! I'm such a drama queen.


Yesterday I had class from 8 am to 4:30pm, so I'm pretty wiped out. Hopefully I'll get used to this thing and be in a better mood tomorrow :)

First Day is OVER

Okay, I promised a report, but I just got home a few minutes ago (9:30pm) and I'm exhausted. I'll leave you with these tidbits until I can tell you more about how it was.

• I was the 5th oldest person in the class
• The overwhelming majority of the class was born in 1990
• There were 31 females and 4 males
• Of those 31 females, 6 had things written on their butts
• One of our assignments is to interview our grandparents. I don't have any grandparents that are still alive.
• One of the girls in the class is friends with my 17 year old brother.
• The professor mentioned Watergate, confused glances all around me

But it was good to get my brain working again and I really liked the guy teaching the class. I think I'm going to learn a lot, if I can just get over this being really old complex I've seemed to develop. haha! It was so nice to see Spencer when I got home. She was still awake and now she's asleep in my arms. Happy.