Christmas is coming...

I can't wait for Christmas to be here! Actually, I can't wait for my sisters and Jeremy to be here. Christmas comes and goes very quickly but having family around for a few days makes it even more special. The Christmases I've spent without extended family, which are few, have been quite depressing. I'm glad that we'll have a few family members here for the next week. Golda and Jeremy are driving and then picking Allie up at the airport tomorrow. I'm soooo excited!

We have finished much of the basement just in time for our guests. The carpet went in earlier this week and we started setting up the beds last night. I have lots to do before they get here but I'm just relieved that the carpet is in. That makes the basement soooo much more comfortable and it will be great for everyone to have their own rooms. It will also feel a little weird because we've always been so cramped when we've had family visit. I've loved that we are all together, but it will be nice to have room to breathe this year! I've told them that they'll get their own rooms on one condition... they have to keep them picked up! This is a big challenge for them. lol You should see my room right now! I did much of the laundry yesterday as I was home with Logan, who has had pink eye this week. Now all the clean laundry is in baskets in my room, waiting to be folded and put away. That's probably pretty low on my to do list.

Today I finish off my Christmas shopping after work; we get off at noon today. Just one or two more quick stops then I go grocery shopping. Golda- I hope you know how hard it is to shop for a vegertarian! I have no clue what kinds of food you like to eat. I know we'll have fish at least once- Christmas Eve if you are here. I also don't know when Golda and Jeremy will be here as they will also be spending time in the Kansas City area with Jeremy's family and friends. I'm sure we'll have lots of fun with them when they are here and I'm looking forward to learning some new recipes from Golda! Hopefully we'll have time to make vinerbrods for Christmas breakfast too!

Merry Christmas to all!

The other son

I decided that it wasn't fair to only have posts about one son and not the other. So, here are a few things about Shane.



First, a picture of Shane before a haircut earlier this month. He would prefer to have his hair at least this long. Dad doesn't agree. This picture was taken right before Shane left for the haircut. When he arrived home he was greeted by 16 friends who were there for a surprise birthday party!

Next: Halloween. We see here a veterinary surgeon, a fireman, and batdog (vet's side kick I guess).




Last, Shane after winning first place (three boys raced) at the November cub scout pack meeting's raingutter regatta. The boat standing upright is the trophy!

Shaved pics

This is a good view of Logan's new bald spot. I think we may have tried to cover it with the surrounding hair by this point. It was early morning so he was tired and being bashful about what he had done.

Trying not to smile... too much.

The new look--hats to hide the bald spot. He insists his "hunting hat" is the only one that fits.

Shaved

A couple mornings ago, Logan, my youngest son was getting ready for preschool. Shaun, my husband, tried to brush Logan's hair and realized that something was missing when it wouldn't brush right. Logan had somehow "shaved" an area of hair about an inch or two wide and two to three inches back, right in the middle of his hairline. My first question to Shaun, when he got me out of the shower just for this, was "How did you not noticed it until you were brushing his hair?" It was very obvious.

The funniest thing about it (at least to me) is that Shaun asked ME how Logan did it. He hadn't even asked Logan yet! So, I asked Logan and, after being very bashful about it for a couple minutes, he said that he had found his scissors and cut it because it was bothering him. These were the same Fiskar's scissors that I had searched for the previous morning and not found. Logan didn't even know where they were at that time. When I asked him were he found them he said they were on his bed. Later that day, I also found a comb on his bed. He had used the comb and scissors (just like the barber) to cut his hair so short that Shaun thought he had gotten a hold of a clipper set, which he couldn't have gotten to without letting the dogs into the house.

So, that morning I took a picture, which I had meant to upload onto my blog for all to see. I don't have it with me today so I'll have to upload it later. We're tempted to shave Logan's head and give him a buzz cut, because this is the only way to really hide/possibly fix what he's done. It's so short that it might need to be totally shaved. I really don't want to do this, especially since it's soooo cold here now. I'm hoping that we can at least put it off for two-three weeks to let some hair grow there before we give him a new haircut. He'd just had a haircut three weeks prior to this incident so he really didn't need another one until around Christmas, if then. For now, Logan is wearing baseball caps and ski caps. For Christmas he might want a couple new hats, as he keeps saying that his baseball caps are all too small, except of course for his "hunting hat." Good thing the kid likes camo!

Pics

I took this picture while on our weekend getaway to Omaha, NE this summer. I had browsed through some of my recent pics and saw this one. Don't think I'd noticed it before. To read more about the weekend go to my personal KSU site.

I have this picture posted at work. I really like it. Shows the boys' personalities a little.

Sinuses

My word of the day is "sinuses." This morning when I woke up my sinuses were clogged. Over lunch I'm playing Literati online and the word "sinuses" got me 50 points! Yay for sinuses. lol

Cary Mistake

See this New York Post aricle about John Kerry and what happened next...

What to take

I've discovered how hard it is to choose courses. I have such a limited selection, due to needing to take evening or distance courses, that it should be easy. But no.... Do I take Comp II, Geology (with or without lab), Core Conflict Resolution (was the plan but doesn't exactly work into my schedule), or one of a mulittude of other courses. I have to decide by Monday if I want employee tuition assistance. Why is this so hard? Oh- and then I have to decide if I'm taking more than one course, and if the course(s) I take will be full semester (16-week) courses or eight-week courses. Argh!

I passed - On the college road again.

Yay! I've just found out that I passed College Algebra. I know, it's just college algebra but i'm really, really excited about it. This is the first course I've taken at K-State and the first one that I've taken toward my bachelor degree.

This was an eight-week course (instead of a 16-wk semester course), which made it much tougher. I probably spent about 15 hours on homework a week and two days before my final I had two quizzes. I've been very stressed out about this class. I had to get a "C" or higher to be eligible for further employee tuition assistance from K-State (one class per semester paid, minus fees). Since my previous 60 or so hours do not count toward my K-State GPA, a C wasn't what I had hoped for, in fact since I had the top grade (A+ or A) in my class a few years ago in intermediate algebra at a nearby community college I wasn't too worried about this course. Boy was I wrong! It was probably the hardest academic course I've taken, and to do it all in a short eight-week course made it seem impossible to pass. Don't laugh at me! It really was a challenge. Oh- and I found out today that I got a C in the class, 75% to be exact. If I had done better on my final I had a good chance at getting a low B. Oh well. I got the C I needed and that will be good enough for now.

I'm currently enrolled as a Business Management major but something tells me that I might be switching early on. As much as I respect those who can get through econ, stat, and other similar courses, I'm just not sure that it's for me. At this point in my career, and with a busy family life, I question whether I can have the intellectual capacity to be a business major. I definately plan to continue my education and eventually get at least a bachelor degree and preferably continue after that, while all along working and being a good mom. Not that other majors would be any easier, but I would like to enjoy the classes that I take, and not just take them because they are needed for my degree requirements. Currently, I'm considering a degree in one of the following fields (amoung others): psychology- specifically occupational psychology which K-State offers a graduate certifate in I think; human ecology- something that includes the conflict resolution classes that I plan to take; political science- a stretch for me but some of the courses that I plan to take fall into this department; art- specifically photography, just because I really enjoy it. I'm so undecisive! For now I'm staying in management, at least until I figure out some direction.

Blogging...

So, this blogging thing doesn't seem to be going too well for me. Obviously, I have a few posts on here but I thought my posting would be more often. My problem seems to be that the ideas for posts come at weird times of the day (say, midnight when I'm trying to fall asleep, or at work) and then by the time I'm at a computer again I forget my great idea. I've really got to work on that!

My biggest joy of the day is that I got to chat with my dad this morning. I haven't really had a good chat with him for quite a while now. He's very far away and the time zones don't match up that well for phone calls so I usually get about one a year. We also don't get to see him very often. If I'm lucky now I'll see him once a year. Last week, when he was in the US for a few days, I got to talk to him for a minute but he was busy and we didn't get a chance to connect again. I did however, get a wonderful message from him on my voicemail. I loved just hearing his voice. That was all I needed and it made my day and my week. Sometimes that's all the reassurance I need that someone out there is safe, and still thinks of me often.

So, if you want to call me, just to talk, please do! I love to actually hear people's voices. Modern-day technology is wonderful with emails, chats, and blogs, but nothing is better than just talking to a beloved family member or friend.

Strange Man Lurking by School...

Just had to share this... (you'll see why)


ShadyLady-ShadyLady

K-State and Baylor; more than just sports competition

I like the idea behind the current art exchange between K-State and Baylor. See this article: http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/Web/News/NewsReleases/artexchange92106.html

I especially like that we can have a relationship that's not competitive. I hope it catches on. Sports are fun to watch, but relationships between universities are so much more...

I give up!

I'm now trying to hop on the bandwagon by blogging. It will be a slow process as I'm not sure that I will have enough to say! :) Stay tuned...

I posted this on Facebook last Thursday...

Ok, I've told my husband and my boss, so I may as well tell everyone else. As you can see, or as I've told you, I'm currently enrolled at K-State and am starting back to school again. I really need to get a bachelor degree to be able to move up the career ladder at all now. I've got a great job and am not planning to leave it so now seems like a great time to work on school. Having already earned my associate degree, I'm now taking college algebra. Next semester I plan to take a core conflict resolution class, as well as one other conflict resolution class (maybe the violence part). I'm planning to get a certificate in Conflict Resolution from K-State (undergrad for now) in the next year or so and also pass the state mediator exam or whatever they require. I'll then be able to be on the courts' list of approved mediators.

This will not complete my schooling so I plan to continue with either a Business Manangement/ Human Resource Management major or get one in Human Ecology/ Family Studies and Human Services. I can go whatever direction I choose using the conflict resolution courses as electives. I also plan to take photography courses, as I'm already getting paid occasionally to do what I love!

And then today as she was leaving the office, my boss says that I should go to law school. Hmmmmm. Don't think I'll go that far. I still have to work. Sometimes I wish I had already done so, but I really don't think I want to be an attorney. Being a paralegal was fun and I much prefer to be on that end of the action. I think being a mediator would be a thrill for me and I wouldn't be the one fighting in court, in fact, I'd be helping to prevent that.That's all on my life today...