School is school...isn't it?

I am attending University of Phoenix and up until recently, I was feeling pretty good about my decision to attend this college. I was proud that even though I was/am going through some tough times, I was/am still willing to try and better myself and hopefully the future of my children. 

I completely understand that
the University of Phoenix is no Harvard,
but I always thought a higher education
is a higher education. It doesn't matter

where it comes from, or does it?
  I have been doing a bit of research on the stigma online colleges have gotten and I kind of understand it, to a degree. I mean, so what if the people that attend such schools don't exactly look the part of a fancy college student?! Shouldn't we be more proud and feel better about "those kinds of people" because they are trying to better themselves and in return bettering our community? At least the kinds of people others imagine those who attend online colleges, are not out there taking advantage of the system. Even if they are on some kind of government assistance, wouldn't their attempt to go to college show some effort of being off of assistance once they are done? That's what it means to me!
  Look, I know that some of my "classmates" have some incredible life stories, but they are trying to turn their lives around, trying to make it so they can possibly qualify for a chance at a better life. 
  My online schooling is equivalent to a "brick and mortar" school. The only differences, really, are the way the school is scheduled. I don't have a wild and crazy Spring break (I'm too busy in school). I don't have an awesome Summer vacation planned (I'm too busy in school). My courses are the same, they're just broken up a bit differently. And if I wanted to go crazy in Florida or have an awesome time in Disneyland, I can, because school can come with me anywhere I want it to!

*gush* versus BIG HEAD

I am at my 6th week in my second set of classes at school. I have a math class and an English class. Math is fine, but English is killing me (when I say killing me, I mean instead of having an A+ in the class I have a B+). I have been working hard to get my grade up to that glorious A and by doing so it has made my teacher notice my class activity more. I get more comments on my posts than anyone else in my English class and I have been getting a lot of positive feedback from my teacher. This is the reason for my gushing versus BIG HEAD issue. 
When the teacher says nice things about the topics I write about, it makes me gush. When I am further encouraged it gives me a BIG HEAD along with the gushing. It makes me feel smart (especially when the other students chime in with the teacher).
What's even more fun is that this is beginning to happen in my math class as well! Every time I see that the teacher has made a comment on my post I squeal like a little girl (on the inside...sometimes) and I feel all special and smart. 
Now, am I cool or just a dork...or both? You decide! :)

Bruised Baby and the Nightstand

You may not be able to see in this photo, but the entire left side of my beautiful boy's face is black and blue. The other day, while jumping and cuddling (sometimes this is the same thing) on my bed, Christopher decided to go for broke and take a flying leap believing whole-heartily that I would catch him (even though I was facing a different direction entirely). Unfortunately I did not and he and his wonderfully cute little face met the corner of my big and bulky nightstand...and then the floor. This resulted in about an hour of fitful cries, lots of snuggles and comforting songs, ice packs, kisses and tissues.
After all of that, Christopher's face began to swell and he had cut his cheek. In the ensuing days, his face became darker in the affected areas and now look as if I beat my child. THEN came today where he thought it would be a good idea too see if he could "fake fall" off his step stool in the bathroom. He could not and landed on his head, which now has a huge lump on the front of it. Christopher has finally gotten used to having an icepack on his face and so laid calmly while having one on his head this morning.

 These are pictures of my new/old nightstand. We've had this in the garage for a while waiting for the right time to make it pretty and put in the house. After Christopher's fall, I wanted to downsize the clunky nightstand that is currently residing by my bedside, to something smaller and more manageable. We painted them a sort of "robin's egg blue" because that alongside a chocolate brown would be very nice. Those are the colors we eventually will be turning into our lovely retreat room (aka master bedroom).

The nightstand was originally peeling-paint white and was a junk-pile find. Now it is a lovely shade of a blue sort of color. Later we hope to find a complimentary piece for Ben's side of the bed. My other hope is maybe this one won't do as much damage to my precious little guy's face when next he decides to collide with it.

Hey Mr Postman...

I don't know why it is when I put a letter in the mail and it's been picked up by the postal worker (mine is 7 months pregnant) I have the urge to run inside and call the people I sent letters to and ask if they have received my letter. I know the lady just came and hasn't even made it to her mail truck! I blame the Internet. I am a full-blown instant-gratification follower and need to know or have everything right away. I just wrote a couple of letters and sent them out yesterday and the only one that might make it the person today is the one that went local. Other than that, my letters are going nearly out of the state and then in the middle of the next state. Oh well, I know I need to learn patience (always had a problem with that).
On a different note, if you're looking for a good chuckle, check out Ben's new blog.
We have a bit of fun hopping around the town's thrift stores looking for things that seem a bit outrageous.

Alright, I guess that's all for now. I hope you enjoy yourselves today! It's beautiful outside, go out and play!

A Small Accomplishment...

This picture is not me, but it represents a small accomplishment for me. See, last night I started noticing something that I thought was slight, but now I see as something bigger. This morning I acknowledged to myself that I had lost not only weight, but inches. I noticed in a different way: my pajamas fit big now. The PJ's that I have been wearing without needing to be cinched up were starting to fall off my fluffy self and I thought, "This can't be right. Maybe they got stretched out." But upon further reflection and investigation, I found that I had lost enough fat around my waist to make a significant difference in the way I wear my clothes. I also happily discovered that I had lost a bit on my thighs as well. Sadly, my bum is still overtly large, but I give it time.
See, my weight loss program isn't a diet or a new way of living, it is simply taking notice of what and when I eat and being conscious of it. I am doing this whole thing at a slow pace so I can't get upset if I don't see immediate results (I started doing this around November). I'm not going to be one of the lucky few who can boast about losing a large amount of weight in just a few months, but I will be able to maintain better I believe.
My goal range is about the same as my schooling: about 5 years to my optimum weight. I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh or how much I want to lose. It's not that I am completely ashamed of myself, I'm sort of indifferent and I realize shame and guilt don't motivate me. I am just going to focus on my accomplishments, no matter how small, because that does motivate me and that's what really matters. 

I Never Could Get the Hang of...Tuesdays?

I don't know what it is, but for me, every Tuesday seems like a Saturday. Even today, when we had a family thing planned and had a very lovely Monday, did it not occur to me that today was Tuesday and not Saturday. I don't think that I long for Saturdays; for me, every day is the same with little variance. I think that every week will be different, that something has made me off by a few days but, nope, it's still the same. Usually, when I think Tuesday is Saturday, it means that my week is going to be a very long one. Oh, well. I guess I will continue to tick off the days in hopes of keeping track.

YES! YES! YES!

My picture here is not to promote Jim Carry's movie (although I thought it was kind of funny) but it was the only picture I could find that expresses exactly how I feel....

 After much tribulation (okay, not really) I received straight A's in both my classes! I have started my next round of boring set of classes that is already making me pull my hair out, but if I keep it all up I will again succeed at high grades. So, here we go with it all. Wish me luck! Your wishes did me so well this last time...