August 29, 2011

Well here it is, the second week of school and I think I am starting to get back into the routine again. Got my first few assignments done and turned in on time. There wasa some computer problems the first week, but it was on the school's end not mine for once! Today someone at work was asking me about doing classes online and I have to say I really like it. I know that it might not be the right thing for everyone but it does seem to be the right thing for me. Enough about school for now and time to move on to other subjects. My son won his football game on Friday night. It was the first time I got to go to one of the out of town games and I had a blast. It was even more fun than a home game. My unexpected guests are also now gone. Last week, the babies left the nest, but had to make a trip to the inside of the house first! That was quite an experience, as the two of them ended up between the fish tank and the sliding glass door, requiring me to get on my hands and knees, then convince them to get on my finger so I could let them out the front door. They didnt appear any worse for the wear, despite the excitement and flew as soon as they got outside. It was nice to have had them share my porch these last few weeks. I hope more decide to nest next year. I still have the hummingbirds for another month or so. I saw a picture on the news last night with a hummingbird pirched on someones finger. Now that would be really cool! I did get a picture of my baby birds in the plant, which turned out pretty good. Well, I am running out of things to say and my A&P homework is not going to do itsellf so I guess its time to go.

Starting the Semester-August 20, 2011

I started off the new semester today with a slight bump in the road. I had been checking my e-mail and blackboard and hadn't seen anything new so I thought my first chemistry lab was today. Turns out it wasnt, but another student also showed up just to be sure we didnt have lab and she gave me some good info. So a plus was getting to meet a fellow  student. I also had trouble logging into the school's wi-fi, not sure why, but its good I have my own wi-fi access. It turns out I only have to go to lab 5 times this semester, but the rest of the chemistry schedule looks pretty full. I did get started on my reading and also my intros and replies to fellow students in the class. I learned last semester that this is a great way to get to know people that you only interact with via the computer. One of my fellow students is also a first time online student and it felt good to be able to give her some encouragement in the process.
An update to my unexpected guests: Turns out the wren that built the nest in my plant not only built a nest but built a family as well. I think there are 2 babies in the nest and it is pretty cool to watch the parents bring in bugs and stuff for the little ones. Yesterday my husband had the front door open and one of the wrens flew in the house!! It stayed a couple of hours, until he lured it outside with some bread crumbs. I was at work and missed it, but he called me to tell me about it, so I was able to share the story with everyone at work. I just wish he had gotten a picture of it!
Looks like a storm headed this way, so I am going to get off the computer for now. I had to go out and buy a new mouse today, and I would hate for lightining to fry my computer and have to go out tomorrow and buy a new one of those. LOL!

Getting ready for fall August 17, 2011

Well I think I am just about ready for fall semester to start. Went school shopping yesterday and got supplies for me and my son. He is going to be a high school senior this year, and a football player also. Lucky that buying supplies gets easier as they get older. Oh yeah, we each got brand new scientific calculators!! Got chemistry lab starting this Saturday. Luckily I figured out what building to go to when I picked up my books the other day. Textbook reservation is definitely the way to go!. I hope I havent gotten too lazy being out of school these past couple of weeks. I had someone ask me the other day how many classes I was taking and I said 14 credits. They asked how I was going to do that and work full time and the only answer I can give is because I have to. I don't have the option of working less, and the only way to accomplish my goal of getting into next fall's nursing class is to follow my plan, which means a lot of classes each semester. I know it will be tough, but I am motivated and I hope nothing goes too terribly wrong. I remember that when I started LPN school, on the first day one of the instructors said that whatever can go wrong will go wrong while you are in school. I didnt believe her, but 6 weeks later I was in the hospital having emergency surgery for appendicitis!. At least I got that out of the way. Time to go and try to load my computer programs for chemistry and A&P.

Unexpected Guests-August 7, 2011

I have had a few unexpected guests at my house in the past few weeks, but they were welcome none the less. First, there was a large skink lizard running across my porch yesterday. He was quickly running toward the ivy that grows along the front of my house. I believe this may be where he is living, eating the bugs that are everywhere. Second was the walking stick I found climbing up my gutter drain. I always found them to be an interesting insect to look at. Third is the pair of trees frogs I see on my bathroom window every morning. At first it was just one large one,  and now there is also a smaller one. It is amazing how they can stick to the glass with those suction cup like feet. The final guest at my house is the small rust colored wren that has built a nest in the spider plant that is hanging on the front porch. It sits under the porch roof, so it is nice and shady there. At first I thought the leaf material I was finding had been blown in by the wind but then my husband said no it was a bird nest. I agreed with him when I went to water the plant with the water hose and this poor bird came flying out. I am not sure who was more surprised, me or the bird! I looked in the plant again the next day, and sure enough here came the wren flying out again. I have learned that if I peek in very carefully I can see if he is there or not without startling him. I am also being careful to check if he is in the nest before I water so as not to disturb him. The nest looks a bit like a cave and sits on the dirt under the plant. When I peek in, I can just see the white stripes that run horizontal across his eyes.  It looks like a very cool and restful place to spend these hot summer days, and it is protected from the worst of any rain we may get. I dont know how long he will be here, but I will leave the plant outside until I am sure he has left for the winter. My goal is to try and get a picture of him, and I will post it if I am able.

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.