Blood Vessel Burst

On Saturday August 20, 2011 I had a blood vessel burst in my eye!!!! I've never had that happen to me EVER!!! I was scared out of my mind when I noticed the blood spot while I was at work Saturday. My boss tried to calm me down by telling me that I was fine and that the blood spot would go away. I actually took this picture just a few minutes ago and the redness is actually getting MUCH better. I was getting really worried there for a few days when the spot spread into a whole section. I think all the redness should be gone by the end of the week though. If you really want to get grossed out, google "blood vessel burst in eye" and you'll see some pretty nasty stuff. Luckily my eye never got as bad as some of the eyes I googled.....NASTY!! (shivers running down my spine)

Dallas

So I think I'm kinda a dork......my mom bought the Third Season of Dallas from Half Price Books about a month ago!!! I thought she was a dork for buying the stupid show. She told me that the store didn't have the first two seasons but she decided to buy it anyway. I went ahead and let her watch the first episode while we started a game of Phase 10 together. I was shocked when I actually got involved with the show and the characters. I've become addicted to this Soap Opera from the 70's. My parent's went out of town last Saturday and I've continued to watch the series without them because it's become so addictive. I was extremely depressed when I put in the last disk last night only to discover that it was the last episode of the season as well. I happened to get a phone call from my mom while I was watching the season finale and my mom told me that the episode I was watching was the most epic episode of the entire series. It sure was a big one with a lot of things happening.....mmmm!! I just had to buy seasons one and two today from Amazon. I can't wait until they arrive, but I'm actually more anxious to watch season four so I can find out who shot J.R. Ewing!!! Oops...I spoiled the show for you!!!! Nah, most of you probably won't get around to watching the show anyway. It was kinda funny because I was watching an episode of Friends on my lunch break today and Chandler was watching the season finale of Dallas. All you could hear were gun shots and then Chandler exclaims, "Who shot J.R? Who shot J.R?" I laughed my booty off because I was saying the same thing in my head last night. I wouldn't have had a clue what Chandler was talking about if I hadn't watched the show!! Anyways....I've become a Dallas fan and I can't wait to see the first two seansons when they come. Yeah!!!!! ;)

Poison Study

EXCELLENT Recommendation, Kami!!! Thank You!!!

I LOVED this book so much I never wanted to put it down. I didn't want the chronicle to end so I went and got Magic Study today and I'm going to start reading it tonight....

Yeah!!!

Thumbs Up

Yeah!!! So I've finished reading both Dreadnought and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas!!

I finished Dreadnought sometime last week and I really enjoyed it. It took several chapters for it to pick up, but once it did, I didn't want to put it down. I personally think that I enjoyed Boneshaker more, but I think Dreadnought was still a good read.

I finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas last night and I was sad when it was over. To my surprise, the book was actually very short and it seemed to have been written for the teenage population. Regardless, I still thought the book was phenomenal and I didn't want the book to end. Kinda sucks that I'd watched the movie before I read the book because I knew how the story ended.

I had thought that reading both books would take up the majority of my summer, but since The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was an extremely easy and quick read, I might be able to fit one more book in before school starts. Since I'm finding Clementine hard to locate, I'll probably end up reading the Silmarillion next.

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged much this summer but I think I've kinda been in a blogging rut. I really haven't had many good ideas for blogs and my life is so uneventful that I have nothing to share. I'll try and be better before I start school next month.

Summer Reads

Since I decided to take a break from school this summer, I've decided that I want to read a few books. I'm realizing that summer is close to being halfway gone so I probably won't be able to read them all, but I'll try to read as many of them as I can.

I'm currently reading Dreadnought and so far I'm enjoying it. I have a friend who is a huge Steampunk fan and so I decided to give his books a try. I read Boneshaker last year (same author as Dreadnought and Clementine) and I really enjoyed it, so I think I'll enjoy these two books as well. I just barely started reading this week and with my busy work schedule, I read about a chapter a day before I fall asleep. After I finish Dreadnought I'll probably read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas next. I wathced the movie they made and I really enjoyed it so I think I'll give the book a try. Like I said earlier, I probably won't read all the books this summer (especially when I read a chapter a day ;-p) but I'll do the best I can!

Making Things Grow

I've never had a green thumb, and any plant I've ever had has died because of my inability to keep them alive.

For the past couple of months my mother has been working hard on her curb appeal. She's painted the porch and landscaped the yards. My mother asked me if I would water all her plants while she was in Pennsylvania visiting her family. I reluctantly agreed to water her plants since she was going to be away for almost a month. So...for the past two weeks I've been diligently watering the lawn by following the instructions from my mother.

I'm honestly very proud of myself for my hard work on the lawn. It's amazing how just a little water and some sunshine will help some of those plants grow. I'm especially proud of the elephant ears because they have grown the most in the past two weeks. When my mother left, there was only one elephant ear. Now, there are about 8 new ones that have popped out of the ground and started growing. I'm excited to see my elephant ears every morning when I water them.

Straight "A's"

My last day of school for Spring Semester 2011 was last Tuesday! I was thrilled when this semester finally came to an end. I enjoyed my classes this spring and I made some friends but DANG.....this was the toughest semester of college I've encountered thus far. This semester nearly killed me with all the reading, studying, researching, and writing that was involved. My psychology professor was the hardest professor you could get in the department and I literally worked my butt off.

My grades were posted today and I'm proud to announce that I got:

Technical Drawing: A

General Psychology: A

Public Speaking: A

It was an absolutely amazing feeling to get straight A's for my third semester in a row.

Psychology

My highest grade in this class was a 95 which was from my research paper on Narcissistic Personality Disorder. My lowest grade was a 90, and I have no idea what I received on my final exam....but it really doesn't matter at this point because I got my HARD EARNED A!!!

Public Speaking

I gave a total of 5 speeches in this class and I can honestly say that I improved GREATLY with each speech that I gave. My first speech received a 98 (I lost two points for holding my visual aids and note cards with two hands...lame). My second speech received a 97 (I lost two points for pacing around too much, and I lost 1 point for writing my outline in the incorrect format...lame). I decided to learn from my previous mistakes and I'm happy to say that I got a 100 on each of my last three speeches!!! Woo Hoo!! My professor asked me on the last day of class if I would join the debate team in the fall....I unfortunately declined, but at least I know I'm a good speaker now!!!

Drafting

I was scared to tears when I left this class on my first day back in February. My original class had been dropped and I had no other options than to take this class with the hard professor. I had heard horror stories about the professor and several of my classmates dropped her class after the first day. I decided that I could do anything if I put my mind and heart to it....AND I SUCCEEDED!!! I had to work really hard but by the end of the semester I absolutely loved my professor and I wish I could have her teach me the rest of the Interior Design classes in the program. My teacher loved me and she praised my work constantly. She told the class that my work was exceptional!!

My secret for getting straight A's: There are no secrets....I'm PERFECT!! LOL

(just do the best you can and take the time for perfection)

Yeah for school being over but boo that my jobs are scheduling me like crazy again!! I do need the money though :)

Hello World

There is absolutely too much that has happened since I last posted so I'm not even go to start to try and catch up. However....life is good but school is keeping me busier than I would like to admit. At least the semester is almost over and I just have to keep taking everything one day at a time.

Psychology

This class is killing me....and not very softly. I was really enjoying the class at the beginning of the semester but I'm sure as heck ready to be done with it. I took my 4th and final test for this class today. I've gotten two "A's" and one high "B" on my first three tests. I'm not sure how well I did on the test today but I hope I got another "A" so I can drop the "B." I spent the majoritiy of my spring break (6 days) writing extremely difficult essays for this class. Luckily I got an "A"....I was really starting to freak out when I noticed the guy that sits in front of me got a 41 on his! YIKES!!! I've been putting all my energy into this class and I've finally hit my exhaustion phase in the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). All that is left to do this semester for this class is to finish writing my research paper on Narcissistic Personality Disorder and the Final Exam. I can do it!

Public Speaking

I'm ready for this class to be over too. My teacher is the most unprofessional and unorganized professor I have ever had. He is literally a minimum of 20 minutes late to every class and he never has time to finish his lectures and I feel like my hard earned money that is paying for his class is going to waste. I paid to take a 1 hour 20 minute class....not a 50 minute class. On the day we took our midterm....my professor had the gall to answer a personal phone call on his cell during our exam. Then he decides to take his phone call to the hallway and he leaves us TAKING AN EXAM unattended. He got so mad at the class when he discovered that a group of individuals cheated on the exam (he only discovered when he graded the exams). What do you expect when you leave a class room unattended during a test. He told the select individuals that if they cheated on the Final Exam they would receive zeros. My advice...don't leave the class during an exam....IDIOT!!! Other than that the class is going fine. We've done two speechs (I got a 98 and 97 on them) and our midterm (I got a 98). We still have 3 more speeches to go and then our final! Everything is happening all at once and I'm ready to poke my eyes out. Between researching for my PSYC paper and researching for my next 3 speeches....I'm surprised I'm not bald yet.

Drafting

I bet you could guess....YEP....I'm ready for this class to be over as well. I'm actually doing way better than I thought I'd be doing when I started this class and discovered I had the hard teacher. I actually have a high "A" so far. We just have one more test, our final (and killer) drafting project, and the final exam. Our final drafting project is going to be REALLY hard but I'm going to do the best I can. So far I think I'm going to be fine but it'll be a lot to work on for the next few weeks. It's just really unfortunate that I draft so slow....precision can be a curse.

Overall, school has kept me extra busy and I'm exhausted. Only 5 more weeks to go till

SUMMER VACATION....oh yea!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

Sooooo.......

I passed my Psychology test!

It wasn't an "A" but it was an 88 which is pretty impressive for this class. I was one question away from receiving an "A"....shucks!! (meaning: I missed 6 out of 50 questions and I would have gotten an "A" if I'd only missed 5.)

I was really getting worried that I'd get a "C" on this one.

Yeah....I didn't!!!

Just wanted to share my excitement!

School News

Since school appears to be the only part of my life, currently, I'd like to update how my classes are going.

Psychology

I took my second test today and it was a really challenging test for me. Our teacher doesn't exactly make the class easy. Most of her test questions require you to think critically, which can be difficult for me. I'll know a definition of a term and understand it but when put in a different context I can get confused. I got an "A" on the first test and so I was determined to get another "A" on the test taken today. I made sure that I studied even harder than the first time. I've been studying for today's test since last week. I've pretty much been sleeping and eating Psychology. Today's test really stressed me out. I had really wanted to relax the rest of today after taking the test and all I could do when I left school was think about some of those stupid questions on the test. I feel confident that I passed but I'm worried that I didn't pull off the "A" that I studied and worked hard for. I guess I'll find out on Monday what I got on the exam. I hope not to be too disappointed with the grade.

Public Speaking

Our teacher finally brought back our graded Icebreaker Speeches. I got a 98....not bad. He took off 2 points because I didn't hold my notes or objects in one hand. Lame!!! Overall I'm very happy with the grade. I give my next speech in two weeks. The speeches start on Monday but I pulled a good card out of the deck, 8 of Spades, and so I get to speak on the last day of speeches. Lucky me!!! Unfortunately we all have to turn in our speech outlines on Monday so I was forced to write it tonight. I think it turned out pretty awesome. Maybe I'll post it for your enjoyment.

Drafting

We had our first drafting test on Tuesday!!! I got a 98 on the test which I'm also very proud of. I lost 2 points on the floor plan section of the test. Apparently I'm not very good at drawing doors and I made the stupid door too narrow....oops. I lost my other point for making my interior walls 6" thick instead of 4"....another oops!!! I must have been daydreaming the day she told us interior walls were generally 4" and exterior walls were 6". I also got my first 100 on a Lettering Assignment!!! Whoop whoop!!! If I get a 100 on the next one I don't have to do anymore lettering exercises....which would be a great stress reliever. With my 100 and 98 my "low overall A" in the class has been brought up to a "mid/high A!!"

I hope I can keep up the good work because I'm already starting to get exhausted from this stupid semester. I never get a break in life...if it isn't work, it's school. I finish one assignment and I have to start another. I finish studying for one test and I have to start studying for another. I finish one research paper and I have to research for another!!! The cycle just keeps going and going and I'm ready for it to stop. I sure wish I had done this whole school thing when I was younger, had more energy, and had less financial obligations. This hard work better pay off in the end....because it's probably gonna kill me!!!

Catch Up Time

YES, I'm still alive!!! I've just been VERY busy with school and other stuff. Maybe I'll post a little more during Spring Break (sometime in March) when I might have a little more time on my hands.

School
Since the last time I posted, I started my other two classes: Public Speaking and Drafting! I have a story to tell about my Drafting class but I'm not telling it during this post. With 3 classes to focus on...I'm a stressed out mess most of the time. I have taken my first Psychology test and I'm proud to announce that I got the only "A" in the whole class. The teacher told me, in private, that most of the class failed. Yeah for me!!
I've also given my first speech, Icebreaker Speech, which was given on the second day of class! Our teacher is very forgetful and he still hasn't brought back our graded speeches....so needless to say...I don't know how I did, grade wise, but I feel like I did a really good job.
I got an 80 on my first drafting assignment :-( but because I have a 100 on a classwork assignment, my overall grade is still an "A" (just a low "A").
I was hoping that I wouldn't have to spend too much money this semester on supplies but I was wrong. I had to buy a drafting board so I could do my drafting homework and it cost me almost $100. YIKES!! I used it tonight and it seems to have been a good investment.
Overall, school is stressing me out but I seem to be doing well in all 3 classes so far and I'm enjoying all of them!!
OHHH...and I have a stalker from my speech class but I'll talk about him some other time...CREEPY DUDE!!!

Work
To be honest....I don't really have anything to say about work other than I'm still working two jobs. Palais Royal has cut my hours a bit which I'm super grateful for. Now I can dedicate more time to my studies. Gymboree is having to learn that I'm really not that available for them. I feel bad that I only work one day a week for them but hey...I'm not complaining and I'm sure they would let me know if it was a problem for them.

My Weekend
My older sister (her husband and 4 kids) and my little brother, who both live in Utah, came to visit last Thursday. My older brother, who lives in Dallas, also came down so we could all spend some time together as a family. It was really nice having all 4 of us kids back together again with mom and dad. I took off some extra time with my jobs so that I could spend the majority of their time here with them. They were here 6 days and I had off 5 of those days. It was really nice and we had a lot of good laughs together. As fun as it was, it was extremely loud and stressful. Lucky me got to share a room with my sister's 3 oldest children. I love my niece and nephews but they kept me up most of the nights. Needless to say...I didn't get much sleep while they were here AND I didn't get much homework done either. They left yesterday and it was sad to say goodbye but now I can spend some time on my studies.

Speaking of studies....I should get back to them now (before I get too tired).

How's General Psychology?

For the past two weeks I've been going to my General Psychology class and so far I absolutely LOVE it!!!

My professor is a sole lecturer and she doesn't ever assign homework! She thinks of us as adults and just expects us to do whatever we need to do as adults to do well in her class.

Are you thinking that I love this class because I never get homework?

WRONG!!!

I give myself plenty of homework on my own because I read the modules and do all the study guide questions afterward.

I'm just really enjoying my teacher's lectures and I truly feel as though I'm learning!

Remember Phineas Gage?

He's the guy that had a iron rod explode up through his left cheek and come out the top of his head!!! Gross!!! Anyway, I learned that the accident severed ties between his frontal lobe and limbic system. With his frontal lobe being damaged, Gage was no longer able to control his moods and emotions.

Last Wednesday I came home from work to discover that my mom was watching a documentary thingy on King Henry VIII. I sat down and watched while I ate some dinner. The documentary mentioned that King Henry was in a jousting accident in 1538 where he was thrown from his horse and the horse fell on top of him. He was without speech for 2 hours and when he came back around his mood and personality was different.

So....I'm listening and blurted out, "The accident probably damaged his frontal lobe!!"

Then.....the doctor on the documentary says, "Most likely the accident damaged his frontal lobe."

(or something along those lines) My mom looked at me with this shocked face and wondered how I knew that. I told her I was SMART!!! Hehe...I would have never known that if I hadn't learned about Phineas Gage in my Psychology class.

Our first test is this Friday and I'm a little nervous because I don't know what to expect but I'm hoping that I'll do well!!! Wish me luck!

The Story of Phineas Gage

I learned about Phineas Gage this week in my Psychology class and was completely amazed by his story. The video is a little long but I hope you'll take the time to watch it. I can't believe that he survived an accident to this degree. Watch and enjoy and maybe you'll learn something!

My Birthday

I celebrated my 27th Birthday yesterday!

I started the day at the Gynecologist!!! Yes....very exciting!!! Not like I really wanted to make my appointment for my birthday but I knew I'd be available and I wanted to get this appointment out of the way before I started school. On a good note though, there was no horribly bad news!!! After the doctors I went to the mall with my mom and we did some shopping. I didn't end up buying anything but I let my mom use my coupon to buy herself a jacket at Palais Royal!!! I'm so nice...it was my birthday and nothing was bought for me!! Lol! After the mall we went to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Pappasitos, and we shared a platter of quesadillas!!!! The meal was delicious as usal and we ate till we were stuffed. My mom decided to humiliate me and she of course told our waiter that it was my birthday. They forced me to wear a HUGE sombrero while they sang me a song. At least the dessert was to die for. My mom and I just chilled for the rest of the afternoon until I went to FHE with the Singles Branch. They had made me ice cream cake and everyone sang me happy birthday. After our lesson we played some games and I thought that was pretty fun. I'm still not sure if this branch is right for me. They're all really nice people but I think I need to see what else is available before I settle.

Ohhhh!!!!

Remember the cute guy? He's married!!! Turns out he's the 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency. Oh well!!!!

Overall, it was a nice birthday and I received a lot of birthday wishes on facebook. I just can't believe that in 3 more years I'll be 30!!! EEK!!! Gotta get a move on!! ;-p

I Went To Church

I've been feeling the need to go back to church for almost a whole year, not quite a full year, but almost! I've been a stubborn person and felt like I could find happiness without the gospel in my life. I've always felt that there are good people in this world that aren't Mormon and I wanted to be one of those people. I also felt that I could find a good guy that wasn't Mormon to settle down with. In truth, there are such people in this world. However, in my almost two years of being divorced, I have yet to meet a guy that fits that description!! I haven't dated many guys since my divorce but the few that I have dated fell to the category of "LOSER" as far as I'm concerned. My last experience with Alex was a rather rude awakening but yet very humbling. I finally came to realize that I'm not going to be blessed with a "nice" guy unless I'm living righteously. So I finally allowed myself to do some research and I found a Singles Branch to attend. I forced myself to attend today and it was "interesting." I went with these two sisters from my home ward and I was grateful to be there with people I kinda knew. It was still a little awkward especially since I haven't been to a Singles Ward since 2004.

The one sister, 30 years of age, talked with me a little about the branch before we got there. She told me that she really liked branch since it had a wide range of age groups. She told me that there are a few young, a few in the mid 20's, and a few more in the older age group of late 20's and early 30's. I found this information to be excellent. I was nervous about attending a singles ward and everyone being younger than 23 and extremely immature. I turn 27 tomorrow and I'm not interested in involving myself with "children!!" She also informed me that this branch doesn't necessarily get caught up in the whole "I want to get married" crap that most singles wards have.

*PAUSE*

I have to admit that there are two reasons why I've decided to attend a singles ward/branch.

1. I want to involve myself with the church again and get on the right side.

2. My goal is to remarry before I'm 30 and a prune.

*PRESS PLAY*

I was a little shocked about how small the branch was....not too shocked mind you because we aren't in Utah. There were probably about 6 guys total in the branch...not of which many enticed me. There was one guy however who was EXTREMELY good looking. He introduced himself to me immediately BUT I recognized him the moment he approached me AS THE BROTHER OF ONE OF THE GUYS I DATED WHEN I WAS RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. Talk about crazy. It took him a minute to figure out who I was but it finally came to him. After he figured out who I was he said, "Wow!! You look, you look...." but he never finished. I'm hoping he was gonna say, "You look amazing" or "You look absolutely beautiful!" Any who, not sure if anything will happen between us because of my history with his brother. In all honesty, I always thought he was cuter than the brother I dated but HE wasn't available. ;-p

The rest of church was just alright. I think I'll have to go a few more times to see how I really feel about the branch. I'm just trying to take baby steps in the right direction. My attending the branch can't hurt me.

Spring Semester 2011

I can't believe it but Spring Semester classes start next week! It feels like only yesterday that I took my final exams for Fall Semester!! Time sure does fly by these days!!

I forced myself to go to the college bookstore today to buy my books for my classes. It sure was expensive...$351.27 for three books. Unfortunately 2 of the 3 were brand new and they weren't available for rent. Thanks to some great friends, I've been advised not to buy my books at the college bookstore anymore. I haven't been looking forward for school since I feel as though my break was short but after being on campus today, my excitement spiked up!!!

For Spring I will be taking the following classes:

General Psychology

This is my first class to start off the semester (January 19) and I'm really excited for it. I'm hoping it won't be too hard but regardless...I can't wait!! This class will meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

Public Speaking

I think this is the one class that I'm not looking forward to. However, it is required for most degrees so it'll be good to get out of the way. It's a late start class and won't start till January 31st which I'm hoping will be a good thing. This class will follow PSYCH on Monday and Wednesday!

Technical Drawing/Drafting for Interior Design

I was really worried about this class since I don't really enjoy drawing but luckily I was able to get my same teacher from Fundamentals of Interior Design that I took last semester. I really REALLY liked my teacher AND most of my old classmates are taking the same class so it'll be a nice reunion when class starts. This too is a late start class (February 1) but I'll be taking this one in the Evenings on Tuesday and Thursday!!! Can't wait!!

My goal is to get all "A's" this semester and maintain my 4.0 GPA! I'm hoping to be able to pull it off! Wish me luck!

Look-A-Likes

I've been watching a lot of Glenn Beck lately and I can't get over how much he reminds me of Ralphie from

A Christmas Story!

See a resemblance?

In fact....I think Glenn looks more like Ralphie than the actual actor, Peter Billingsley, who played his character.

See? No resemblance!!! Doesn't even look like the same person...except the eyes and maybe the smile....heck I still think Glenn looks more like an older Ralphie!!

What do you think?

Carpenters - I Need To Be In Love

I was just browsing and I fell in love with this song! I LOVE Karen Carpenter's voice!

New Year's Resolutions

Here are a few things I'd like to accomplish in 2011

• Complete 2 more semesters of college
• Keep both my jobs and maybe find a better paying job
• Apply for financial aid to help with my education
• Maintain a 4.0 GPA for Spring and Fall
• Start Attending a Singles Ward
• Continue making new friends and hopefully start dating again
• Keep trying to find happiness within myself
• Keep trying to grow my hair out
• Try to gain a few more pounds
• Be more responsible and safe

I'm sure the list could go on. I mostly want to keep on doing what I started in 2010 but add a few more things to work on.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everybody!!!

Let's wash away the bad of 2010 and continue on with the good!