:)

It felt so nice to be able to sleep until my body woke me up this morning, instead of having my wake-up time be dictated by an alarm clock. My bladder woke me up around 10:30 this morning, but I kindof wish that I wouldn't have slept that long. I have so much stuff to get done this weekend, and I really shouldn't be sleeping for 10 hours each night. But, it did feel nice to have the option. :D

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In other news. I was informed a few days ago that yet another friend of mine is going to be getting engaged. That makes 2 that are engaged and 1 that will be soon, and 2 of which are a year younger than me. It seems like everywhere I go, everyone is engaged or getting married. Not that I'm in a hurry to rush things, but I just can't help but wonder when that will be happening for me. I don't think that I'm feeling left out, but maybe I really am...?

I know that I want a family and it's really important to me. I want a husband and kids, and I want to be able to raise my children with the help of my hubby and watch them grow up. I want my parents to be able to enjoy spending time with their grandchildren before that's not possible anymore. I think the whole thing with Dad and his cancer has made me think about these things more. I want, more than anything, for him to be there to walk me down the aisle and to be there to welcome his grandchildren into this world.

When I was younger, I used to imagine how weird the "father-daughter" dance was going to be at my wedding, just because Dad and I never really do stuff like that. Now I can't imagine having my wedding without it! It's still probably going to be a little awkward because it's my Dad, and he gets emotional a lot more than he used to, but it would be far worse to not have him there at all.

I also wish that I had something of my grandma's to wear at my wedding. My oldest female cousin got grandma's wedding dress and her necklace (I think she had one) passed down to her from her mom (my aunt). And none of the other granddaughters really got anything. It's not that I want a valuable piece of jewelry to show off on my wedding day...that's not it at all. But, my grandma can't be there, and I just thought it'd be nice to have her represented in some way, maybe by a piece of her jewelry or something else that she used in her wedding. But my selfish cousin (mentioned above) snatched up all of her jewelry the day that everyone was going thru the house before we cleaned it out to sell it. I really hate people that put monetary value on everything!

In Grandma's "will," I got her grandmother's engagement ring, which is beautiful and something that Grandma wanted me to have, but it's way too small for my finger, so I have no hopes of wearing it. :( I'm the only daughter of the youngest daughter/child and I don't get to have anything passed down to me on my wedding day. In the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," there's a scene where Tula's grandmother and her mother come into her room the night before her wedding, and her grandmother puts the little flower wreath on her head, and they all turn to look in the mirror. Three generations are represented in that reflection, and I wish that I could have that for my wedding. If I could pick 1 thing, anything, to have at my wedding, I would pick my grandparents.

To you who still have living grandparents (I do, as well), cherish your time with them. Don't ever forget how much they mean to you. Enjoy each and every day with them, and let them know that you love them. I sometimes fear that that's the 1 thing I didn't do enough...

So, this blog got a little more personal than I had intended, but I don't think it's a bad thing. This way, I can get my feelings "off my chest" without having to tell certain people how I feel about the way they have acted, so as not to cause any awkwardness at the next family gathering.

But now, I think I'm going to take Phillip (my spider plant) outside to play, since it looks like it's a lovely day out. :)

This..sucks..

So, I had my 5th and final class today (I still have class tomorrow, but it's not a new 1). I'm now convinced that my classes are going to team up and attempt to assassinate me this quarter! I only have 1 5-credit-hour class, 1 4-credit-hour class, 2 3-credit-hour classes, and 1 1-credit-hour, which brings my grand total up to 16 credit hours, and I think this quarter is going to be even worse than last quarter, in which I had 18 credits.

The 2 3-credit-hour classes and the 1-credit-hour class are actually going to involve the most work...which isn't what you'd normally expect. And they're all mostly done on Carmen, which is not cool. In fact, in the 1 class, we will get 10 points taken off on any assignment that we have to turn in a paper copy for (unless we have an extremely valid reason for doing so). I think that's completely ridiculous, but apparently the teacher feels that it's important for us to submit everything online to prepare us for the future...this may be yet another arguement to add to the side opposing my becoming a teacher.

Speaking of my future...I'm still not sure what I'm going to do once out of college. I really don't want to think about it right now either, except when I think that it's got to be better than actually being in college and taking classes and having all of this work!

Family Participation in the Classroom...

I had my 4th class today. The prof was actually in New York (for some reason), so her TAs came to the class, passed out the syllabus and told us a little about the class, what we'll be doing, and what will be expected of us...fun fun. I'm not really sure about this class, and I think it's mostly because the actual teacher wasn't there today to tell us about it. I've had her before, so I kinda know what to expect, but this class seems like it's going to be a lot of work. It seems like I have several of those this quarter...great!

I had a really big blonde moment today. I got an e-mail from one of my instructors the other day telling us (me and my classmates) that we needed to go ahead and read the 1st chapter before the 1st day of class because we have a lot to cover and only meet 1 day a week. So, I brought my book to work today, hoping that I could get 1 chapter read. When I was at work, I discovered that said chapter was 40 pages long. I only freaked out about that a little... But, as the day progressed, we kept getting a bunch of people in the office needing help or calling on the phones or whatever. So, I didn't get much done.

By 4:00, I pretty much gave up. I was talking to one of my co-workers who, I found out, was in my class that night. And she was freaking out because she hadn't gotten said e-mail and the class wasn't on her Carmen page (as I thought my class was), and so on. Come to find out, I brought my books and was reading for my class tomorrow. So, I was freaked out about nothing. The only bad thing was that I left the actual books for my class today at home. But, it turned out that we didn't really need them today, anyways, so I guess it worked out.

I just couldn't believe what I'd done. And I managed to freak my co-worker out because she thought that she was missing all of this stuff and that she wasn't getting the e-mails and wasn't on Carmen...that was fun. But, I don't really care much about that because I'm not exactly the fondest of her (she's the 1 they hired when they thought they were replacing me Fall quarter) because she's got an attitude and she thinks she knows everything (even after she had only been there a few weeks). But whatever. That's not the topic of this blog.

So, I hope that I remember to bring the right books tomorrow and that I get all of the reading done. I've only got about 15 more pages to do, which shouldn't take me that long. And class isn't until 1, so I'll have some time later tomorrow morning, after I wake up, of course. ;p

Oh, on an exciting side note: I got my new phone in the mail today! It's a "Motorazr" (which is basically just a Razr, but I think it's Alltell's version of it), and it's red ("fire" is the color name, I believe). But, I spent about 20 minutes sending my phone pics to my e-mail after my brother showed me how so that I didn't lose all of my pics when I transferred over to the new phone. Now all I have to do is transfer over my contacts once Mom finishes activating the phone. Yay! :)

Computers in the Classroom

I had my 3rd class of the quarter today: "Computers in the Classroom." We're scheduled to meet up every Tuesday from 4-8 pm. That's not going to make me very happy when the weather starts getting nicer. At least the prof told us that we'd most likely be getting out around 7-7:30 each class instead of 8. Even tho it's only about 30 minutes difference, it'll still be nice. At least I may have a hope of getting out of the building before the sun goes away completely.

I have 2 more classes tomorrow (1 which I've already had). The 2nd is another night class, from 5:30-8 pm. I hate the idea of having them 2 days in a row, but at least they're at the beginning of the week. I'm supposed to be reading for my morning class and doing some activities from the book, and I'm also supposed to be reading the 1st chapter for my night class tomorrow, but obviously that isn't happening. I may get around to it sometime before bed. But, I'll be at work for about 5 hours tomorrow, so that'll give me some time to work on it.

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In a somewhat related side note, I'm trying to figure out if I want to take summer classes this year and, if so, what I want to take. There's a music class that all elementary ed students are required to take that sounds like it's not going to be very fun, and I kinda want to go ahead and get that out of the way, but it's from 9-12 on Mondays and Wednesday (and Fridays are optional), and that happens to be roughly the same time of all of the other classes that I'm considering taking...except, of course, the night class that's on Tuesdays and Thursdays (yuck!...night classes over the summer!).

So, I've still got some time left before I make my decision, and there's definately a longer list on the "pro side" of the question, but the more I think about it, the more I'm becoming fonder of the idea of having the summer off.

Spring '08

Well, I've had my first 2 classes of the quarter and I'm not really sure what I think about them. The first class, English 271, we spent the majority of the time trying to come up with a devfinition for grammar...that doesn't sound very promising to me. The second class, Basic Media Skills, doesn't seem like it's going to be a bad class, but I'm going to need to stay on top of the projects and get good grades on them because that's basically all our grade is...5 projects.

I still have 3 more classes to take this week before I'll have had them all. I can't believe that I've got 2 night classes for Spring quarter...I'm so gonna hate being stuck inside all day when the weather starts getting nicer!

Anywho...I'll update again when I've had all of my classes. Hopefully I'll at least enjoy 1 of the 5. If not, this is going to be a very..long..quarter!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you all are enjoying the gorgeous day! This is what Easter should feel like...this is what Spring break should feel like! I only hope that this beautiful weather lasts and that we don't get any more snow!

Anyways. Good luck to everyone with going back to school and all of that fun stuff. It's going to be so difficult to concentrate this quarter, not only because of the awesome weather, but because I have 5 classes and I don't want to be taking any of them!

Good news

Well, my Dad gets to come home today. Mom had to take him into the ER on Saturday because he couldn't stop throwing up and he was becoming dehydrated and the doc told her to go ahead and take him to the hospital. While he was there, they also discovered that his hemoglobin (sp?) was low, and they've been dealing with getting that back up to the normal level, too.

Unfortunately, since he's been in the hospital for about 5 days, he's most likely not going to feel up to going to any Easter dinners/lunches/whatever, and so Easter's gonna kinda be lame this year...but hopefully Easter Sunday will not be totally lost.

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I wish that it wasn't so squishy outside. It's sunny outside right now and it could be warm-ish and I just want to go outside and enjoy the Spring-like weather, but I doubt that one day of 40 degree weather's gonna warm up and dry out the ground. I just wish that Spring break would actually feel like Spring every once in a while.

The weather matches my mood...

We just finished burrying my cat, Missy. My Mom and I took her to the vet because she was having a stroke, and the vet basically said that if we kept her alive, all she would do is hurt herself trying to get up and walk (which she couldn't do because she had lost almost total control of her hind legs). Mom had already decided that if her "quality of life" was going to be compromised, that she would go ahead and have Missy put down, which is what happened.

The vet seemed a little callused for my taste, hurrying us out the door because a line was building up behind us. I swore that I still felt her heart beating when we were in the car...Mom didn't think so, but I swear that it was still there. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, tho? When we left the vet's office, it had begun to sleet...it was gloomy, cold and icy, which is sort-of how my heart felt at that moment. The feeling has since lightened up, and so has the actual weather, but it felt like God was there with me and that he was sharing in my misery, which (even tho it's kinda a depressing feeling to share with someone) is kinda cool when you think about it.

Either way, she's burried in our back yard under the apple tree, with her head facing East so that, as Don (Mom's friend and the one who dug the hole) put it, "she is greeted by God every morning." We have a little grave marker for her, which is just a piece of broken cement from our back yard, but I plan on decorating it this spring when it warms up and dries up so that it is fitting for my little Missy's grave. God, I'm gonna miss her so much!!!

Spending money...

So, I've done most of my Easter shopping in the last 2 days, and I've already almost burnt thru my paycheck...that's pretty bad (not that my checks are huge or anything). Thankfully I got my tax return so I have reserves to use for gas money and stuff like that. I guess I'll just have to wait until my next paycheck to go Spring clothes shopping. I'm really looking forward to the warmer weather, but I also know that it'll make it harder to concentrate on school, which is probably the worst possible thing that could happen next quarter when I've got 5 classes.

Speaking of Spring...I thought that it was absolutely beautiful on Thursday! It was so nice to have warm (at least semi) weather and not have to wear or carry around a coat. I can't wait until I can bust out my flip-flops and start wearing those again because I pretty much hate wearing shoes, and, at least in my book, flip-flops don't really count as shoes because they're tolerable. ;p I just can't wait for the warmth and the sun! I wish the ground would dry up and not be so soggy so that the outside would actually be enjoyable instead of squishy.

YES!!!!

I'm finally finished! I was so stressed out about my 2nd final today because I didn't feel that I knew very much for it, but I think I surprised myself a little. And, I wasn't as worried about it when I got my second essay back and found out that I got an A on it! I improved by like 18 points over the 1st essay, so I felt like that was an awesome accomplishment and that it wasn't necessary to worry too much about the grade on my final.

At the end of the 1st final of the day, I got my grades back from my 8-page paper and my presentation. I got a 71/75 on the paper (which is fantastic considering I BS-ed my way thru the last 4 pages of it) and a 40/40 on the presentation, which I was extremely pleased with! So, I wasn't as stressed about that final, even tho I probably still should be because I have a feeling that I did pretty horribly on that one...*shrugs*

But, I can't help but be happy because Winter Quarter '08 is officially over for me and it couldn't have come a moment sooner (actually, it probably could have, and I kinda wish it would, but whatever). So, good luck to you all who still have finals left and I hope you enjoy your break!!

What's wrong with me?

Here it is, about 2 hours from my first final of the week and I'm sitting here, goofing around on the computer. I should be studying, especially since I didn't do so well on the summaries (not sure why...they were supposed to be 2-2.5 pages long and only worth 5 points each and there were people turning in 7-page summaries to get those 5 measly points, so I guess I should have strived for that...?), but I cannot seem to muster up the energy to do it.

I'm also worried about my 2 finals tomorrow...I've only done a miniscule amount of studying for those and that's not gonna get me the good grade that I'm striving for. I'm not as worried about my History class because I'll have a few hours between the 2 to study for that one, but my Legal Issues final is at 10:00 tomorrow morning and I don't think I'll be able to drag my ass out of bed early enough to give myself some study time before the test. So...I guess I'll have to force myself to do -something- tonight that will help me study for it...the only problem is that I'm not really sure what that "something" is.

In other news: I was informed the other day that I'm going to be a bridesmaid in yet another wedding, but thankfully I have about 2 years to prepare for it, which is good because that gives me time to work on losing some weight so I don't look horrible in the dress. Yay! Now, if only I can work on attaining and maintaining the will power to do it!

*Yawn*

I really need to start going to bed earlier...I'm so tired right now. I just had to stay up until 11:30 to watch the end of the CSI: Miami episode and now I'm paying for it because it's getting to be really difficult to keep my eyes open right now. It probably doesn't help that I only got about 6 hours of sleep the night before.

I really need to work on this...especially when I have to take tests and pass them and everything.

I'm a little afraid...

Last night, I was IMing with my cousin, Kenny, and he was trying to talk me into getting a tattoo the next time he comes to Ohio for a visit. I was telling him that I think tattoos are really cool and that I wished I wasn't such a chicken because I would so get one. That's when he tried to make the deal with me. He said he would even draw me a pic of a star so that my tat would be unique, which I thought was very nice. I told him that I couldn't agree to do it until I knew when he would be coming for a visit...that I would be more inclined to do it over the summer than during the school year.

I really want to do it, but I'm too afraid...I'm not a big fan of pain and I don't intend to inflict any on myself unnecessarily. It would just be so cool, tho! I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and do it. I just can't think about it too much...I know if I do then I'll chicken out. But, that's easier said than done...

30 Things to do Before I'm 30:

I saw something on MSN about things people should do before they're 30, and that made me think about making a list of things I want to do before I reach the big 3-0, so...here's my list.

Places to visit:

• New York (Central Park)
• Chicago
• Hawaii
• At least 1 place in Europe
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• A castle
• At least 1 more zoo (so that I can actually remember a visit ;p)
• Sea World
• At least one city on the West coast
• Niagra Falls

Personal accomplishments:

• Get married
• Have at least 2 children
• Lose 40 pounds
• Take a road trip
• See a movie in an IMAX theatre
• Read 1/2 of the books on my list (at least)
• Adopt 1 cat and 1 dog
• Become a godmother
• Do some volunteer work (with animals, people, the environment, etc.)
• Get a tattoo

Outdoor activities

• Go horseback riding
• Go canoeing again
• Try paddle boating
• Take a cruise

Crafts:

• Finish all of my friends' blankets (hopefully by 25!)
• Make a scrapbook
• Learn how to knit well/crochet different patterns
• Attempt cross-stitching

Education:

• Graduate from college (duh!)
• Have a good/great-paying job that I don't hate
• Take archery lesson(s)

Awesome news!

I was informed on Monday that my cousin wants me to be his daughter's (Sophie) godmother. I'm so excited about it! I'm not really 100% on what my "duties" will be under this title, but I think I have a pretty good idea.

Hopefully nothing ever happens to her parents, but me being her godmother would give me an excuse (or even more of one) to buy her stuff and steal her for shopping trips when she gets older. I'll be like her "cool Aunt Maggie."

I'm so excited!

On a side note, I had something really unexpected but really cool happen to me yesterday. I had a friend request on Myspace, and I added the person, figuring that I would explore their profile to see if I knew them and delete them if I didn't. Before I checked the profile out, I checked the messages in my inbox, and my only new one happened to be from the person requesting to become my friend. When I opened it up, I realized that it was from someone I had lost touch with when we left Florida. I was so surprised and very glad to hear that she was doing well.

It was just something cool but unexpected and it made my weekend!