21 days.

I've been counting down since the day I flew back from Japan on April 10 this year.

That was the last time I held my brand new grand son in Japan. My visit there lasted 10 days but I made the most of it! Little Ray Andrew was born on February 26 (USA) time, February 27 (Japan) time, so he was a little over 1 month old when I first held him. I can't say that I haven't seen him since! Thankfully, via Skype, Facebook and email, I have been able to literally watch him grow. He will be 10 months old when I see him again and even though I fell like I know every inch of his sweet face, mine will be that of a stranger. I am hoping that he will at least recognize my voice...who knows. At 10 months of age, babies are usually fairly aware of people around them and very sensitive to new and strange faces. His initial reaction may not be at all what I expect as a doting grandma...so I will have to be patient. My son, his wife and her brother, will be staying with us for about 10 days! We will be celebrating Christmas together...a first for Naomi who is Japanese and has no idea what Christmas is.



I spent 3 Christmases in Japan when I went to visit my son there. Sadly, even though there are plenty of Christmas decorations, music, and lights everywhere, it is only a "shopping" holiday and nothing more. Ironically, while it's been deemed politically incorrect to say "Merry Christmas" in America, in Japan it is completely fine! In fact, I saw so many banners and signs depicting Mary and baby Jesus that I had to laugh at the irony of it all.

Check out these statistics:

84% to 96% of Japanese adhere to Shinto and Buddhism are not based on self-identification but come primarily from birth records, following a longstanding practice of officially associating a family line with a local Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. Furthermore, 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha. With this said, Japan is a country full of temples and shrines.


My son said that Naomi is curious about Christmas and would like to go to a Christmas eve service at my church. I am so excited about this and am looking forward to sharing the Christmas story with her!

For now, I am in the final 13 days of my semester for grad. school. Three more projects and a final stand between me and a much needed Winter break from classes. To top it off, I off on Christmas break on the 17th from where I work and I can't wait! It's that time of year where a much needed break will not only help me regain some rest but hopefully help to get rid of the bags under my eyes. I can't wait to only be able to focus on getting the house ready and doing some much needed stuff around the house.

I made a list. It's long and dare I say--a bit overly ambitious? But, even if I don't get it all done, I will have fun trying.....right?

I still can't believe that tomorrow is Friday! Where did this week go?

I haven't decorated the house yet...but, hope to at least get the lights up outside this weekend. I have a huge paper due on Monday so unless I finish early, the inside of the house will have to wait until next weekend.

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!

Almost done...

It's almost too good to be true. A week from today I may be just reading a book (one that I want to read and not one that I have to read for a class) or maybe taking a nap on the futon while I wait for a load of laundry to finish doing its thing.

I am about to start up again--on my final paper--I have about 10 pages left to edit one last time and type up. This paper has been interesting and it definitely has sparked my interest into using the topic for my Masters Thesis...but I won't worry much about that right now....that's a ways away--next summer.

Right now, I need to remain focused, finish and post it. How am I going to feel once I hit that "send" button? Exhilarated? Relieved? Content??? Who knows....I know I won't feel sad about it. Will I go through school withdrawal? Will it be like being pregnant for 9 months and having the post-partum blues one sometimes gets?
Or, the post-marathon blues I have experienced after training for 7 months and then finishing a 26.2 mile marathon? The cure for that is to keep on running and to put another marathon on the calendar to work toward.

No, I don't think so...we are talking 7 years! 7 long years mixed with family, kids, work, house, and school...not an easy feat...no, not at all.

This will be a very special week...on Friday we are going to the Graduation Banquet which will be real nice...My dad and Joan will join Jeff and me for a night of recognition and a lovely dinner...all my professors are supposedly going to be there too. Then, Saturday morning, is the official Graduation Ceremony....Cap and gown and all. (The last time I did that was for my two AA degrees in 2006.(Yup! Almost 3 AA degrees with all the units I've taken.)

Time to hit the books...my case study paper awaits completion. The sooner I finish, the sooner I get to bask in my own glory of being DONE!!!!

I am soo tired....Glad it's Friday....my last weekend as a student...soon to be graduate! A week from today is my graduation banquet...!

More stats...

5 days until the END of my FINAL class
7 years...YEARS....of school: Night classes, summer classes, accelerated classes
Hundreds of papers...(I dare not count!)
Hundreds of books
10 days to Graduation

oh....and one final paper....ONLY 20 pages....due in 5 days.

Am I really almost done?

Only one more paper...

Well, it's Sunday night and I have to get up early tomorrow. Mondays are the early staff meeting morning where I work.

I have my stack of research articles and notes nearby...I really need to make a plan and start this final paper. It's going to be 20 pages and is basically a mini-dissertation written in case study format. Ugh! I so don't want to do it....but at this moment, that stack of papers and deadline (12/8) are all that separates me from 7 long years of classes, papers, and countless hours of frustration , tears, happiness, exhiliration...and hope.

The sooner I get this paper done, the sooner I can relax....right? A friend suggested moving up the deadline on myself....(Yeah, right!) My dear brother gave me an even earlier deadline--This Tuesday....oh yeah! Although, from the seriousness of his voice, I think I best get started.

I am determined to FINISH this research paper before I head off to the Thanksgiving festivities later today. The sun is shining outside....the rain came and went much too quickly. As I sit here--still in my PJs--I find myself looking out the window and looking at the VERY blue sky patches amidst the big white billowy clouds...December 13 is not that far off. It will ALL be over then....Wow! 7 years of blood,sweat and tears....(really!) Ok, there were some funny, happy, and great times too...but I am going for the drama...so go with it!

As I ponder my next thought, I realize that one cup of coffee is not enough. I think I will make some more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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!

Where do I begin?

It's been a while. (I think I have said that before!) I figured out why I don't post quite as regularly> It's because I have this expectation of writing something deep, profound and long. Well, after perusing a few other blogs, I realized that that is not really necessary. Given my schedule--I don't have that kind of time so I will have to try this new way.

Thepicture you see above comes from the Getty Museum gardens. When I saw that maze/labyrinth...it made me think about how similar it is to life. At times, I feel like I am getting nowhere when I am actually making progress. At other times, I feel like I am getting somewhere and realize that I am right where I started. Confusing....I know.

Right now, it feels like I am going through that maze at 100 mph. In exactly 37 days, I will be done with school and will be graduating with my B.S. degree in Human Development. This educational journey began back in 2001....one class at a time.
Of course, I am not done....I am going to pursue a Masters in Education with Special Ed. credential. I can't wait until I am done!

Then, in about 2 months, we leave for Japan! Yup...Japan. My son who's been living and working there is newly engaged and is getting married there. This should be interesting. My husband is going for the first time (I've been theer twice already)

So, this is it for now...got to get back to my reading for my last class!

Cheers...

Time really does fly!

Has it been this long? Really? Here's a quick recap:

I need to work on posting more...I guess since I really don't have many regular readers, I feel like it's OK to go a spell without a post!

My daughter came home from her first year in college mid-May and was off to Colorado for her summer job. It was nice having her home even if only for a couple of weeks. She'll be back end of summer before she makes it back to college.

My son in Japan is paying us a visit mid-August so I am super excited to see him. He is bringing his new Japanese girl-friend who also sings Italian Opera! That should be interesting....

I am done with work for the summer. I brought home stacks of papers and reading materials. I do have a conference coming up in July which I am excited to attend!
Other than that, I am concentrating on finishing up the last few classes with my last class being on 12-2! Hooray!

The weather has been crazy-hot and I am praying for cooler breezes...the air in my house only works downstairs....and unfortunately, I spend most of my day working/studying upstairs :-(

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.