July 31, 2011

Well it has been almost a week since I posted. I have been trying to destress a bit after classes and finals and all that good stuff. I finally finished reading the book I started at the beginning of the summer, read another one and have started on a third. I think that is what I missed most of all during that crazy busy summer semester, was just finding time to read and enjoy a good story. Checked on my final grades, and they were pretty decent, though I thought I had done better on my PLS final than what I did. Oh well, the semester grade is what really counts anyway. This last week has also been a bit of a let down for me. I was so super busy all summer long, with assignments to work on and complete, and stuff due all the time, plus work and family, that when it was all over, I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I kept feeling like I should be doing something. Well, only a few short weeks until the fall semester, than time to get crazy busy all over again. I am loaded for the fall also, with algebra, nutrition, anatomy and physiology and chemistry. I have been trying to think positive about all this, like the fact that I had a total of five semesters to reach my goal, and I have completed  one, so I am 20% of the way there. Trying to be a glass half full kind of person. Also trying to stay positive about what I have harvested from my garden, and not get so disappointed about what I lost to the heat. Despite aggressive watering, it has been tough to keep it going. Luckily, I got some rain at my house yesterday. What a blessing!. Not only did it water the garden, but it dropped the temperature 20 degrees. I actually got to turn the air off for a little while. It felt so good to sit on the front porch and really enjoy being outside for a while.

July 25, 2011

I just finished the last 2 of my 3 part research worksheet and got them turned in. It turns out, they weren't too bad, and did get me thinking. I believe that the worksheets will be able to help me when I have to write research papers for future classes. Instead of just trying to think up a single question to write about, I can work up several options and then choose the one that works the best. I can also use these concepts if I am assigned a topic to write on, like how to freewrite to come up with ideas. I also finished my final draft of my What Is a Place essay, and got it submitted. That was a really good feeling and I think I did a good job on writing it. I will know for sure when I get my grades. Got finals tomorrow, so time to do a little studying, then off to bed to rest the brain cells a bit. I am going to do all three tomorrow, so it will be a long day, but it worked best for my schedule. That is one thing I liked about the online classes, was the flexibility it allowed, within the given time frames. I am already starting to get excited about next semester as well. It will be a bit more of a challenge, as I am taking four classes, but I know how to stay organized and track due dates, so it should be just fine. I will also be attending a lab at the school, so I will get to interact face to face with some of my fellow students. It will be nice to put faces together with names, since this semester was completely online. I am looking forward to the little break between semesters, and it will be nice not to have to tote around my backpack and laptop every where I go!

A Final Reflection: July 23, 2011

For me, creating a blog in the first place was a brand new experience, one of many I have had this semester. It seemed a bit strange to me to create an online journal that other students, as well as Ms. A, were going to read. I worried about what to write about, how it would sound, and if anyone else would even read it or like it. I found that I was able to use this experience to look deeper into myself and to reflect upon some of what life has brought to me through the years. At times it was hard to think of something to write about, so I appreciated having a writing prompts resource to use. I wrote down quite a number of them early on, then found that I only needed to use it a few times. Those times I did use a prompt, I found that I was able to write something relevant and intelligent. It was interesting to read and comment on what some of the other students wrote as well, though I found it frustrating to click on a blog site only to discover that the writer had not posted anything new in days. I chose not to share a lot of personal information on my site, like pictures and location and such because I just wasn't that comfortable sharing with people that I didn't really know all that well. I think the blogging exercise has been good for me as a writer, because it forced me to write something everyday, even if I didn't really want to or feel like it that day. I found that this alone could be something to write about. I might not have written a novel yet or run the whole marathon, but I have made progress in a forward direction. I think I have written at least a chapter's worth and run a few miles.  I can use this experience as a reference for future projects, to just get started and put something down and eventually what I am looking for will come out. I can use this blog to work out rough draft ideas, and use the freewriting to gain insight. Doing it on computer also means that I will be able to read what I wrote when I look at it later. My handwriting isn't terrible, but it does get messy when I get in a hurry.  I might even try using this blog site when I find myself with something to say and no one around to listen, like when I have a bad day at work or when one of my favorite patients dies and I need to express my grief. My family isn't always the best choice for this as they don't always "get it". It doesn't even matter if someone replies, it is merely a form of expression that may be very therapeutic. I kept a diary for a time as a teenager, and this is kind of like that only better. This blogging project turned out to be something that I really enjoyed in this class, even though I was a bit leery at first. My younger son will be taking this class in about another year, and I hope he also enjoys the experience.

Wrapping Things Up July 21, 2011

Week 7 of the semester, with not much left to do but get ready for finals next week. I have already arranged to take a day off, so I can take all 3 of my finals in one day and get them done instead of dragging it out all week. I have turned in all of my Algebra assignments and just finished up and turned in my last Political Science assignment. Now all that is left to do is finish up the last two research assignments, read and review the essays in my writing group, and edit and submit the final draft of my essay. I feel a bit sad that the semester is almost over because the classes I have been in have become such a part of my life. I did take time to water the garden this evening before getting started on the computer. I have become so used to coming home from work and spending 3 or 4 hours a day doing schoolwork that I have almost forgotten what life was like before school. I am looking forward to the break between semesters to give my brain a chance to relax and recharge. I might even get the chance to finally finish the book I have been trying to read all summer, and maybe read one or two more before fall semester.

July 20, 2011

Today has been a really good day. I got my political science project and worksheet done and posted. I also got my What is a Place essay completed and ready to post as soon as we get the kinks in the system worked out for posting. What a big relief, like a ton of bricks lifted off of me.I still don't care too much for elephant, but it is a much smaller piece to have to eat right now (figuratively of course, I would never knowingly eat and elephant). I actually just got done with a nice bowl of beanie weenies. I don't care too much for the weenies, but they are tolerable is you smother them in some really good beanies, though I might have to open the window in my office tomorrow if you know what I mean!! I just can't help it, I like really good baked beans. For me it is comfort food from my childhood. My mother used to make baked beans the old fashioned way, from dry navy beans and homemade sauce with brown sugar, bacon and onions. She had a special crockery pot with a metal lid that she used for cooking them. She didn't make them very often because it took over 8 hours to cook them, but it sure was worth it. My mother was a good cook and a firm believer in making everything from scratch. I remember when she would make lasagna, it seemed like she dirtied up every pot, pan and bowl in the house. She made a lot of different things, but her specialty was cookies. She made every kind of cookie known to man and had a cookie recipe for every season and holiday under the sun. I recall many a day helping to decorate the cookies with icing and sprinkles and then getting to taste test them when they were done. This lasted up until my teenage years, when she totally changed her diet to a whole foods/natural foods/vegetarian one. Not that it was a bad thing, but cookies just aren't the same without the butter and the sugar in them. I have tried to bring some of the homemade to my own family, in fact we used to make homemade butter at Thanksgiving and Christmas with whipping cream and a big mason jar when the boys were little. I thought it was fun, but them not so much. They are more of the idea that it doesnt matter what it looks like as long as it is edible and it doesn't really matter if you make it yourself or buy it in the store.
I do make a lot of homemade things for the holidays, and try to do what I feel is a traditional Thanksgiving meal of venison, if we are lucky enough to harvest a deer that year. I really think the Pilgrims and the Indians would have eaten that instead of the turkeys we cook today. However, a fresh wild turkey is quite tasty and nothing at all like the grain fed farm raised ones you buy in the store. Wow, enough about food for now.

July 19, 2011

Another late night on the computer, nearly midnight now so I am just going to write a quick blog and then off to bed. I have to get up early for work tomorrow, though I think I am actually getting used to not getting much sleep and that probably isnt a good thing. I made some really good progress on my What Is a Place essay today. Once I got some research done and actually started to write, it seemed to flow quite well. I also made good progress on project in another class, so all in  all today has been a good day. Even work went pretty good, busy but not too crazy like some days. I have been thinking and trying to decide if I want to keep blogging after the end of this class. It doesnt even bother me if no one else reads what I write, but I like the idea of having someplace to unload all the thoughts that sometimes crowd up my brain. Plus the writing practice is good as I have many more classes to go before I graduate and I am sure I will have writing to do in many of them.Well, looks like even the dogs have gone to bed, so I guess I will go now too. I hope to have another productive day tomorrow and get one step closer to being ready for finals next week.

July 18, 2011

Today I find myself really struggling for something to say. Imagine that, me at a loss for words. It seems like the last 2 weeks or so have been extremely stressful for me, which in turn makes me very emotional. I have been happy, sad, angry, depressed and apathetic. I am still struggling with my final essay topic which only adds to my stress. I think I have finally decided on a topic, but I have to see what research I can find about it. I am a little sad about this class ending, because I have really enjoyed it. Next fall my younger son will probably be going to OTC and he will have to take this class also. Isn't that funny, mother and son in college at the same time and at the same school. The only difference will be that I will graduate a year before him. Work has been really draining as well, which seems to sap my creativity. Home life has been very strained lately as well. I feel like all the frayed ends of my life are coming apart just a little bit more. Finding time to fit everything into every day has been a real challenge. I thought I was doing pretty well at it, but now I am not so sure. Maybe it is just that the stress has widened a bit the cracks that were all ready there. Sometimes I just want to not do anything, but my personal fear of failure will not allow that. I just have to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other, even if I am not going very fast. I also think that a change in the weather would really help. The garden has needed water every day, but the heat is still making my lettuce and turnips wilt a bit every day. That is a good description for how I feel right now, wilted. Well, I am going to try and work on some research now, since this blog was the only thing due by a certain time today, and I can work as late as I need to on other things.