It hardly seems like it's been 10 months. Coming home from dinner tonight, my husband and I agreed that it couldn't possibly be Christmas again. It's the day after Thanksgiving and some houses are already decorated with the traditional lights and outdoor decorations. Can it be? This year has come and gone in an unprecedented speed of "life"! This is what led me here to see just how long ago it was that I last made an entry.

Yikes!

Well, I will not berate myself nor feel guilty. What good will that do...and, judging from the profile hits and lack of comments....the only one who has really missed on my ramblings is really just me.

One good thing is that of all my diary and journal attempts in my life, this one has been the most consistent. So, rather than delete this one and start over, I will pick up where I left off. I want to add a section where I can post some of my reflections on teaching students with learning disabilities and one for being in school (this time grad school!) and how challenging it can be when working full time and trying to have a life. I am also a first time grandmother! Thank God for Facebook and Skype...My son and his family are still in Japan and will be visiting over the Christmas break! (27 days and counting)

This is it for now. I wonder if anyone will even read this!

Is it almost December?

Where has the year gone?

I am still here but been on Facebook mostly. I don't kow who all reads this blog...for sure no one in my family :( otherwise I'd know.

It's Sunday evening and I am where I always seem to be at this timeof day and week....wishing I had a few more days, hours to add to my long to do lists...

School is almost over--semester is done on 12/14! Then, I get a wonderful break until 1/23...I will have my first 12 units of my grad classes done. Yes, I am in grad school now. I never thought I'd say this. It's the only way to get that much awaited Spec. Ed. credential!

Let's see if I can recap some major life events:

My son got married last December in Japan and he and his wife are expecting their first baby--my first grandbaby-- in March! I am flying out to meet this little one over my Easter break which is the week of April 1. I can't wait!

I started running again in August and am back with the LA Roadrunners. We are well into our training. Next Saturday we have a 14 mile run.

Work is going well at the middle school. I am learning something every day. My students never cease to amaze me and I feel blessed to be there. I am finally feeling like part of the team there...I love it.

This is it for now...

I is a Straight Line - Neck and Shoulder Exercise by StretchClock

Posted using ShareThis

I have this saved as a Google Gadget on my desktop. It goes off every 60 minutes and prompts me to do a 30 second stretch to keep me from tensing up. If I get up and leave the computer for a bit, it also allows me to pause the timer and resume it once I return. This has been a lifesaver for all the hours I have spent on my computer working on school and work stuff! If you spend a lot of time on your computer, give this a whirl...the stretch on this link is one that I just did...there's quite a few different ones that the guy uses. You do need to turn your speakers up so that you can hear the guy's calm soothing voice, along with the chirping birds...I love the fact that the "model" is a guy in a shirt and tie in the middle of the wilderness...

I would love to hear what you think so please post a reply!

Cheers!

I've been trying to set the Playlist in my blog and cannot figure it out!
So frustrating....(stay tuned!)

It finally rained last night! When I went outside this morning, the air was crisp, cool and clean....the ash smell is all gone!

I just hope and pray there are no mud slides in the fire areas....

I am off work today and after an errand, I will be back to finish my paper!

13...18...24...

No, these are not some magical Lotto numbers that you should play. (Although, if you do and you win, then, I would like to know!)

The picture above represents what I have on my desk right now! Well, I googled the picture by searching "stack of papers." I think my real pile is slightly taller and bigger!


My journey of going back to school to get my degree began in the fall of 2001. In fact, it was a month or so before 9-11. That year was a pivotal year for me. I had made the decision to go back to school and get my degree. Little did I know that this decision would take me this long. Well, working full time and going the traditional route wasn't pribably the best way to do it. Add in a busy family schedule and all the other stuff that life throws at you and you get what I got!

Tears, smiles, frustrations, joy, success, failure, fear, exhiliration, impatience, paptience, growth, wisdom, character, tenacity, perserverence, endurance, anger, love....just about every one of these words describes what I have felt in the past 7 years.

My pace picked up in 2003 when I quit my corporate job and took a part-time office job at my daughter's high school. It was by far--the best move I had ever made!
Even if everyone thought I was a bit crazy to give up the good salary and position I had at the time in a major corporation....but if you knew me then, you'd agree and say that the corporate life was sucking the life out of me...

I have saved every class's notes, tests, projects and assignments. I probably have most of the books too. I have a hard time letting go of things I invest so much of myself into...(this translates into boxes full of papers and notebooks!)

The past 2 years, I have attended Hope International University in Fullerton. This accelerated degree program nearly sent me off the edge a few times and--even as I write this- I am deliberately avoiding work on one of my final research papers.

Papers! Ugh! I have lost count of all the papers I have written....enough--if combined--for a few dissertations and at least one major thesis!
(Just wait until I start my graduate prgram next summer!)

So, what are those dates that title this post?
--13 days until my last class is OVER
--18 days until my graduation! (I am getting a B.S. in Human Development)
--24 days until we leave for Japan to go to my son's wedding!

What a way to end the year-eh?

Well...I best get back to work....Ugh!

Is it really Sunday?

The weekend flew by. It's amazing just how the weekend came and went. Perhaps it's the schoolwork that makes my time fly....there's ALWAYS a paper, a book to read, a test to take. Add to it the work stuff, laundry, housework, and everything else....
and then there's sleep--not enough of it.

So, before I brave yet another task, I thought I'd have some fun with the new Shelfari feature which shows you what I am currently reading: The 2 books for ethics are for my new class....they are quite ineresting. Since the class is a mere 5 weeks though, we are reading them fast! The One Year Bible has been in the works for more than one year. Every time I have started it, I end up failing miserably and then get behind. Anyone else have that issue? I have to work harder at this...It has to become a non-negotiable daily must (kind of like brushing your teeth...)

Then, I just started "The Shack" and I can't seem to put it down. A friend at work highly recommended it....boy, was she ever right! I won't say more....but this: It's a MUST READ!

Cheerios for now!

Bringing work home and homework...

Maybe it's because I am getting older (and more tired) who knows....or maybe it's because I am closer to that final graduation day for my degree....that I am so ready for this insance schedule to just be done.

Oh, the joys of coming home after work and just making dinner, doing dishes and vegging with my hubby....

Not a chance--I bring work home and I have homework too....never a dull moment.

After my degree, I will be looking at credentialing..........ugh. Just when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...there in the near distance, another long, dark tunnel.

If I could write an ode I would...

Monday,Monday....da-da-dada-da.....


Some of you may remember that song from way back when (I'm dating myself).
Every time I hear it, I find myself back in a tree house that my dad built in our back yard when I was about 13. My best friend Diana and I spent the night in it and had a portable radio which only had AM stations....and this song was playing that Sunday night....on a radio station called KHJ.

The memory is so vivid because it was so special....the carefree days as a 13 year old. I didn't dread Mondays as much as I do nowadays. It's more a dread that I didn't get everything done like I wanted to during the weekend.

As I sit and make my list of things I still need to do....this song pops in my head.
I stop and look out my window to ponder the sun outside. Better get a move on I say to myself.

I think it's because I am going to school full time AND working full time that I feel so time deprived. Getting up earlier isn't even an option because I need every minute I can of sleep...

So, time to log off....until next time.