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Friday, December 29, 2017

Almost 2018....

And not much done here. still haven't finished either of the research classes I was supposed to finish before Christmas despite my best efforts.  Over halfway through one of them though, but only started the other. Sigh.  And they told me it would only take 3 weeks?
No go on the car too, had one I was seriously looking at and it got sold.  So back to looking again.  But I'm getting the impression to not rush(which is what my dad always tells me to do when looking for cars, so both my father's are telling me the same thing)so despite student teaching starting next week I don't feel any urgency to find one.
Work got the usual insanity(though my boss said we were barely over half what we were expected to do on the 23rd) but right after went back to more typical busy.  So enough for 3-4 cashiers and 2-3 sandwich(plus manager or two)to stay busy for lunch, but not enough for the 5-6 we needed saturday.  One of my coworkers is sick, another is getting sick(and poor thing managed to slam their finger really badly in the fridge door yesterday-probably because they were sick-at the start of their shift.) and the rest of us are recovering from the week(s) leading up to the holidays.
Had a great Christmas(hope everyone did)as all my siblings and spouses and kids made it over for almost the whole day.  We got to play games together, talk, and just hang out between meals.  Makes for a great day.
Didn't get to do our usual after Christmas movie on the 26th, mainly because we wanted to see Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and it was booked all day.  So we shifted to this monday(January 1st) and plan to buy the tickets beforehand(like today or tomorrow).
On to the New Year!

Monday, December 11, 2017

Fog, Smog, and Haze

Somehow we got all three today, which made getting to a substitute teaching job very interesting.  In part of the area I passed, we got freezing fog(which is kind of a cloudless snow that I've mentioned before, I just didn't know it had a name) so there was a layer of snow on the ground.  So I got to said job 15 minutes after I was supposed to  but still early for the first class.  They're doing a full scale remodel so half the school is inaccessible and the rest tends to be cold outside of classrooms.  But it was a good experience this time.
Got the final confirmation for student teaching in january, so that for sure is all set and I'm waiting on the 'final call' with my placement specialist to ensure I know what I'm getting into.  Gives me a chance to ask about the whole 'can't have a job for 12-15 weeks' thing.  Pity I'm working all the rest of this week during their availability so I had to set it for next week.
Had the chance to test drive a 2007 ford Mustang GT last week, which was fun though quite the change from my truck.  Still looking for a car though.  Getting the feeling that I should look but wait to buy for right now.  Frustrating to get to work and such, but I can't really ignore it without risking future problems.  Don't ask for advice if you're going to ignore it.
Still haven't got any Christmas shopping done, but I haven't gotten paid yet.  And I have no idea what to get.
Tried to print some of the instructions for my sub job and the printer wouldn't cooperate.  Very glad I didn't actually need them, as the teacher left a copy on their desk for me to use.  Plus plenty of blank pages to write notes on about the students.
Work's busy and getting busier, which is nice on the idea of getting more hours, but with the car issue makes things tricky too.
Sigh.....

Monday, November 27, 2017

Good and Bad....

Well, finally got the PCE stuff passed so I can start student teaching in January as planned.  Took several conversations with mentors and two visits back to the high school.  But its done so I'm good there.  Just have to work on two research classes for the next three weeks.
Bad is that during the lovely problems with my truck(clutch master cylinder was going out and kept sucking air into the line so it couldn't shift) either a Crankshaft or a rod bearing in my engine snapped, which one means the engine can't run right or well(barely at all in fact), and two that there's a loose piece rattling around making things worse every time I drive it.  So currently I'm dependent on others to get to work.
However, all this has given me a list of things to be thankful for for Thanksgiving(I know it's late, but last week was kind of crazy) So here it is:
1. My heavenly father, his son and my savior Jesus Christ, and the love (not to mention the giant guardian angel-or multiple ones who protect me) they give me.
2.My parents who are incredibly helpful and understanding when I fall short on my rent work and chores due to school and other stuff, and help me with getting to work because my car is falling apart.
3. My mentor for my master's degree, who helped me so much with all that PCE stuff and getting a hold of the course mentor(yeah, there's a difference) so I could get it passed off in time.  And the first one was good as well....
4. The course mentor who put up with having to help me on very short notice with the stuff. Not to mention a few past ones who had to help me with failed final assignments.
5. My cute and funny coworkers who catch on when I'm having a rough day and try to give me a reason to laugh or at least smile once I get to work so I can do my job without dwelling on what's going on too much.
6. My managers who are willing to work with my schedule and difficulties when they can despite having their own problems and other employees to cover.
7. My siblings, who usually try to help with the laughter part, when they're not trying to help with the transportation issues I keep having(and school when it comes up).
8. My ward members, who are always there with a smile and talk to me when I may not want them too but I do need them too.
9. Having a job that never gets more stressful than the holiday craziness(which my manager gave me a compliment about the pre-Thanksgiving pie and roll pick up, where they told me the only reason for a long shift that day was that I was the only night shift cashier who'd gone through a holiday before so I could help them get a feel for it)and the only changes I have to watch for are new pastries and new faces.
10. Having a brain that works the way I need it to for my goals.  Which ties into having a body that works well too.
11.  A roof over my head, good food to eat, and clothes that fit me well.
Might be more than that, but that's the big stuff for now.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Aaaarrrrrgggghhhh....

Sigh, missed the 15th deadline that I thought was a bad thing but so far it seems like it might not be but still a dangerous thing.  And my PCE stuff got sent back with two 'minimally competent' things to fix. Really?  You're going to make me go through all that AGAIN for two things I'm so close on? Sheesh. And I can't get a hold of the class mentor until monday.  Do I really need to talk to them about those two things anyway?  Trying to contact my placement specialist about it to make sure I don't get dropped but no luck so far.
My truck went out on me again, which suggests my clutch master cylinder is going bad.  Made for a very scary driving day wednesday as it went out on my way to a sub job that morning and stayed out for going from there to work and home.  At least I made it in one piece and wasn't late to work.  But now I'm back to borrowing other vehicles until I can get it fixed, also on monday. Sigh.
Otherwise not a bad week, tuesday was slow, and so was wednesday.  Yesterday was steady with a rush after 9:30 meaning instead of getting ahead like I was trying to I was behind and barely got done before 11.
Haven't been sleeping well, though this morning I did with some rather weird dreams.  Getting plenty of rain, which we need though I'm worried its too much too fast.  Guess I'm also worried about how it affects my transportation.
Cold....

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Hoping...

Well, this week didn't start off the greatest.  I haven't gotten much writing done for Nano, which means I'm way behind when I should be almost half way.  Instead I'm barely over 14,000 words. Sigh.  I did have some rather fun sub jobs thursday, friday, and yesterday that made things a bit better.  Plus my mom and I got to hang out a bit for lunch yesterday-seems the only time we can is when I've got a job at one of her schools or close to her work-so that was nice.
Trying to get my PCE stuff in in time to get it graded by tomorrow night-I hope I have until midnight otherwise I'm in trouble-but it seems plenty of people are trying to do the same thing so I've got quite a wait for mine. Sigh.  Sent it in last wednesday and got it back yesterday morning for revision again.  Had another chat with the mentor over it, got their approval, then resubmitted it-after triple checking myself to ensure I'd included everything, I nearly forgot to add a few things that didn't need revision but did need to be part of the resubmission-but I'm still worried it won't be done on time.  So a little miracle would be nice there, but we'll see.  I'm so close right now...
Work's gotten the full crazy holiday start as of saturday.  First we had free breakfast french toast for veterans and active military, and even then we made way more than usual for a saturday morning.  then half off pastry night just built on it.  So nobody got off before 9:30, and it took two of us to get the store cleaned before 11(barely).  Sunday was a break as usual.
So yeah, nothing new here. Sigh.....

Monday, October 30, 2017

Yes!

Third times the charm! This time at least.  Finally passed that last final for English Pedagogy!  Now all I have to worry about is the last pre DT call(basically an overview of what to expect from DT with a few pointers) and finishing my 60 hour observation(done Wednesday) so I can get that checked off by November 15.
Talked to my boss about DT(where they expect trainee teachers to work for at least three months without pay or another job that does pay) and adjusting my hours so I still have an income for january through march.  Their primary comment was that whoever decided that was crazy, and  when I find out where I'm going for it I should talk to them again so they could work out how to give me enough hours without getting in the way of DT.
Leaves are really on fire right now, and that means there's plenty of raking to do.  And now I have more time to get stuff like that done.  Plus my dad got a hold of fertilizer(fresh from the farm)for the garden that we need to spread out with leaves over the garden.  And deal with the advancing blackberry bushes that are really getting large.
Kind of have a day off today, with nothing to do aside from those around the house things and help my mom find a birthday present for my youngest niece.  Lazy day otherwise....

Monday, October 23, 2017

And Again....

Redid that final and submitted it with help from the course mentor as requested, and still got it back saying 'needs revision'.  Getting a little tired of that phrase.  Set a time to talk to said mentor(teacher told me to this time as well, and this was only the second try!)and never heard from them.  So I tried my best to make the recommended changes to the plan and explanation and then emailed it to the mentor for their input.
On the plus side, I'm over halfway through my PCE hours, only 25 more to go if my math's right.  And had two teachers planning to let me do the 'more than observe' hours thursday and friday this week.  Good thing is I only need those two days with the 2.5 I got last week with a different teacher.  But with no school monday(end of term break) that makes it tricky to get all 60.  Even if I go in before work one day this week(work one morning and the rest evening as usual) for 1.5 hours. Sigh....

We got two batches of apples done over friday and saturday, total of seven 1 quart jars full of juice.  Need to do some sause too, but today is about clearing the garden so we can mulch it.   Have to get the very dead(save the cauliflower, it got another head while I was busy)plants out of there, plus the watering pipes.  Then get the very annoying blackberry vines up on my dad's trellis thing so they're out of the way too.
Leaves are finally turning! Looks awesome, but means raking starts soon.  Not that that's hard, mind.  Just another thing to find time for.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Yuck...

Had a cough for the last two weeks that's gotten worse over the weekend and is finally feeling better today.  Didn't help that I think my allergies kicked in at the same time I think I got a cold.  So I tried the nasal rinse thing and felt stuffed the rest of the day sunday and runny/stuffy nose with coughs so bad it hurt my chest and was starting to hurt my head.  Today though I can breathe through my nose  and the cough's less than it has been.  Still lingering though. Sigh.
Last week was not fun, as both thursday and friday I was on little sleep.  Thursday was an early morning(after a bit of a late night) for PCE stuff, followed by my usual 3 pm to close shift at work.  And I had to shower after so I didn't get to bed until after midnight.  And had to be up just as early friday for the same reason, with the same shift at work to follow(and I didn't sleep well).  So by the end of friday I was sooo tired it wasn't funny.
Then saturday I tried but didn't really get to sleep in.  Sunday we now have 9 am church so no sleeping in there.  Couldn't nap after though.  Had fun at the linger longer(soup, how appropriate) before we went home.  That's when I tried the nasal rinse, which seemed to help the way it usually does for about an hour, then it felt like stuff came back and got stuck for the rest of the day.  Monday woke up to the logjam somewhat clearing but I had more PCE and had to try not to sound horrible while doing that.  Took a long hot shower last night and so woke up better today.  Other than what my coworker's and I like to call 'choking on air' where you just breathe in and suddenly you're coughing.  Partly due to the leftover cold allergy stuff, but also just because.  Work was fine other than fighting off that little issue so I have hope that tomorrow I'll feel even better.  Maybe not normal, but getting there.
School's the PCE thing, though I got in touch with my mentor one last time about that final I've been working on and jsut have one more fix before they say I should be able to submit it without it returning for revision.  Just did not feel like doing that yesterday.
So that's my crazy week.....

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Watch Me

Reminds me of a quote from a movie but that's not what I'm going for.  My siblings and I were commenting sunday that we'd had all four seasons in one day due to the weather: sunny, rainy, sleeting, and snowing.  My brother made the comment that there shouldn't be all four in one day to which it seemed came the response: Watch Me.
Started my PCE stuff, which it turns out I have to spend 15 hours doing more than observing as part of it, but exactly what is up to the teacher.  Could be teaching, aiding in teaching, or just helping students during an activity.  But it looks like it will take more than the two weeks I'd planned on given the way things are working out.  Today is late start, next week they have fall break so no school for two days(and I have work one of the other three days) so I have to extend the time in order to get all the hours.
Certainly got frost, so I started picking apples.  Saturday I made a batch of apple juice with my second youngest brother.  Only got two quarts bottled, the rest we drank.  But there's enough apples to do a lot more and sauce too.  Finally got the salsa done on Friday that my mom and I started monday.
Leaves are getting brighter so the morning light is too.  Still waiting for other stuff though.  Passed part two of my last final, but still need part one.
Canadian Thanksgiving!  We celebrated that yesterday, so I get turkey sandwiches for lunch today.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Waiting...

For my praxis scores, my last class final exam scores(these are part of the 'competent' area, so it's not really a grade, just a pass/fail type deal) for the weather to warm up now that it's killed everything in the garden that was kind of already dead or dying with frost, for work to calm down a little, for just a little time to breathe.
Kind of have that last one today, until I have to go to work this afternoon.  Got my new phone mostly set up, still need the screen protector and the case, but I'm waiting on the case until my mom has time to paint the back(my case is clear so this way she can paint on there without it rubbing off or wearing away).  Wanted her to try painting a teddy bear but she's nervous about trying that.
School stuff should be today, but we'll see.  Praxis may not be until next week, have to wait for an email from them.  Just hope I passed because at this rate I won't have time for a retake.
Garden was down to tomatoes that the deer were slowly munching on despite my efforts to keep them away, cauliflower plants that only one of which actually produced something, lettuce that's gone to seed but I need a shovel to get them out, and the onions that almost seem to be thriving in the cold. Figures.
Work's been nuts, given conference weekend, rain, and cold. Just trying to do my best with the new dishes(did I mention that corporate gave us actual plates, bowls, and silverware now?) and the same cleaning schedule.  At least customers are giving tips when they leave a mess for us to clear up.  My manager mentioned that if they were going to leave a mess they may as well leave a tip, so it seems a few people are understanding that we don't have time or people to clear up messes without difficulty.
Had a rather fun sub job yesterday, junior high english teacher who had a weekly article for their students which meant I was more of a supervisor than a teacher.  And they had the smart idea of telling the students that the best class got cookies when they returned from whatever they had to do.  The only downside was they asked me to judge which class behaved the best and all of them were better than any other I'd been in before(subs get all the attitude when the teacher's not there) so I  just narrowed it down to 3 out of 6.  Not that the teacher was surprised, that was the goal.


Monday, September 25, 2017

Monday...

Well, managed to figure out that my truck's problem is the gas pump. Sigh.  Might as well change the filter(turns out the one on there was the wrong size, amazing it hasn't caused problems before now) and needed one new relay(kind of like a fuse, though different.  I'm not sure what the difference is, though I imagine its like the difference between a fuse and a breaker)as one was no longer working. Spent the morning making sure said filter would work in the same spot(it fit just fine) and getting the torque bolts(they have a star in the center instead of the outside hex or whatever shape to get them off)loose in the bad of my truck so when I get a helping hand I can lift it out of the way so I can access the gas tank without having to drop it.
Work was crazy Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Thursday was mainly rain, meaning we ran out of all the soups we had when I got to work by six so the manager had to find time during the never ending rush to get more made and we still ran through those.  Friday was more cold but we still ran out of soups by nine.  Lot more sandwiches so it wasn't as big a deal.  Plus quite a few more hot drinks(which I got to train a coworker on how to make those)to mix things up.  Saturday was Women's Conference(sad to think I haven't gone to one since I started this job, and that's over 3 years) mixed with half off pastry night and cold.  Bit of rain too.  So that one had all the cashiers stay until ten(good news is I wasn't on drive for once as another experienced cashier was there to take it) and took two of us to finish closing.
School's about the same.  Having to buy the truck parts put a bit of a dent in saving for next semester but I've still got through November to get all of it.  Just worried about the 13 week(according to the placement person I talked to about making sure I was on track and ready for it)bit where they don't expect you to have a job at all or any sort of life at all.  I can understand that a job during the week would interfere with school stuff that the student teacher needs to do, but three months without an income isn't an exciting prospect.  I'm hoping I can get away with just weekends at my job so I can keep up with bills and saving.  Really wish I could work in Institute but my work schedule isn't allowing that. Downside of full time.  Don't seem to have time for anything that has a set meeting time save sunday.
Ah well.  At least it's cold so I'm not dying of heatstroke trying to work on my truck.  Might kill what's left in the garden though.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

ARGH!

Sheesh.  Now my truck's gone and decided to stop working, meaning it won't start.  So far my dad's helped me rule out the fuel filter and we think the fuel pump relay, so we're down to checking the fuel pump screen(basically a filter attached to the end of the pump in the tank) which I guess involves a air pump, and the fuel pump itself.  Both require jacking up the bed of my truck to access the tank(better than having to drop the tank, and doesn't require moving it from where it is)but neither is easy to get a hold of. Sigh.
Doesn't help that I have work all the rest of this week and our spare vehicle while working doesn't have plates or insurance.  Thinking of getting a permit for it, but I don't know where the title is.  And need a car to get to the DMV(don't like to think of how much THAT will cost)to get said permit.
And I thought things were looking up for school and stuff, now this puts a bit of a dent in saving for school and makes it tricky for work. And I have to get my truck inspected next month.  Sigh......
Still no word on my last praxis test scores too.  At least the weather's cooled off enough that I have to wear a jacket to weed the garden instead of sweating through my shirt.

Monday, September 18, 2017

YES!

Finally passed the practical exam for that last class! Good thing too, as I just got all the paperwork stuff for my preclinical experience and demonstration teaching out of the way so they can set me up with a teacher for the demo part.  I had to set up the preclinical, but that wasn't too hard.  The annoying thing was that even though I'm aiming for junior high I have to do the preclinical at a high school just because it's secondary stuff. Whatever...
No word on my content exam, but I have to send that to the state when I get them.  We'll see how that takes.  At least I know where and who to send it to now...
A day off! yeah!  Meaning that I wanted to sleep in but didn't really.  Did lots of weeding, homework(class up to 57% now) ran to the store, now I'm killing some time before going to work on the spigot in the garden that won't shut off all the way.  It's just a trickle, but that still can cause problems and get the water company mad at us.  And it bugs me too, as I have to keep moving the hose to avoid a sink hole or quicksand spot developing. Sigh....

Thursday, September 14, 2017

9/11

Kind of missed it as I had work, but I watched World Trade Center tuesday to make up for it.  Nobody at my work seemed to think anything of it. Sigh.
Had another praxis test(the content exam) tuesday, so it was a bit of a rough day.  Hope I did well, but this one didn't even give me the 'unofficial' scores after the test.  And no word yet(usually takes a week just for the multiple choice stuff)on how I did. But I did my best and can't hope for more than that.  Little behind on class stuff, only two modules done(there's only fourteen, but two chapters, several videos and a practice lesson plan for each one so it can take me two days to get one done) so far.
Work was a bit hairy yesterday, as I woke up with a headache that left me queasy and unsteady.  Meant that concentrating on work was not fun and there were times were I don't think I was thinking at all.  Not really a bad thing, but not a good one when I'm earning a living.  At least my boss says I still did my usual good job.
Stupid cat will not leave me alone when I'm weeding! At least this time they didn't jump on my back, but I made sure to avoid giving them the opportunity.  Hard enough trying to work with them twirling around my legs and feet without being able to stand up straight.
Had rain and lightning last night, so that helped with pulling the weeds out, got more of the roots than I usually do.  The main hose valve seems to have broken or jammed as it won't shut all the way off.  Barely a trickle coming out, but it makes me nervous.
Then I got off work early yesterday, first time in a long time so even the assistant manger who told me to go home commented on it.  Then of course my truck wouldn't start so I was stuck there for another hour and a half anyway.  Had dreams last night of my boss and another part time manager telling me to just come work.  My dad got it started(using carb cleaner sprayed into the air line, a trick we've used on other cars before)so I finally got it home in time to make dinner.  Tried it later when the car was 'cold' as my dad put it and it started up fine again.  He still wants me to carry the carb cleaner tonight just in case.  So now I need to check into why it was having issues...
Figures.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Smoke

It seems a canyon not too far north of where I live is or was on fire most of the day, meaning there is smoke everywhere.  Being on drive for just 3 hours today has left me feeling like I'm having an asthma attack and I don't have those otherwise.  Doesn't help my allergies, that's for sure. Sigh.
Was weeding this morning and my brother's(or my dad's, I'm not sure which) cat would not leave me alone, to the point of climbing on my back and staying there despite my having to stand up and move around.  Just glad they didn't make me bleed with the  way they kept digging in their claws. Annoying cat....
Trying to finish up my last class' final and get started on the next one and the teacher keeps sending it back(lesson plan plus essay explanation) saying I need to fix stuff.  First it was citation stuff, which I fixed and now they say that's good but now there's a problem with the 'assessment' I included in the plan.  And I have to talk to the course mentor before I can resubmit it anyway. Sigh.  So I got started on the new class as the course mentor was gone by the time I got the teacher's email. And tomorrow's a long day where I won't get to it until late.
September 11 is coming up, and I wonder just how many people will remember what it is and try to celebrate it somehow.  Too bad I'm working....

Monday, August 28, 2017

Results....

Sigh, been over a week and the only scores I got were the same 'unofficial' ones they gave me on the day of.  They included a page with what was supposed to be the pass fail stuff, but it just gave me the scores again, no actual pass fail stuff.  Though my mentor and I both think the scores are a pass, they just won't come out and say so.  No word on the writing still. Sigh....
Work was crazy with a few new employees making things interesting.  Meant that the back to school week was crazier than usual. At least I hope it's over now.
Trying to take my third final today but our breaker box was being changed out which meant no power and certainly no internet so no such luck.  Sigh.  Also wanted to do some cleaning but the person changing the breaker box was in the area I wanted to clean.
Still hearing a lot of people talking about the eclipse.  Not sure how many pictures got taken, but I wouldn't be surprised to find quite a few.
Clock is ticking to the 1st of September, which is the deadline for when I need to have stuff set up for the student teaching in January.  At least I got this latest class up to 90%....

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Test Day...

Well, had to take the Praxis test today, and while waiting this list occurred to me(though part occurred during the test).
Things you don't want on test day:
1. Tired.  Woke up feeling like my eyelids were glued together.  I guess fatigue would work better, but I'm not that tired. Still makes it tricky to concentrate.
2. Sore.  Try writing in cursive(part of the pre test stuff that I can't quite figure out) when your arm is shaky and you have to use a pen attached to the clipboard you're also trying to hold steady(a fellow tester suggested it was to test handwriting for aspiring teachers). There were quite a few others there taking a version of the Praxis test and I heard at least two others mention the same problems even though they probably weren't as sore.  But we had chairs without tables so it wasn't fun.
3. Hungry. Had a breakfast shake this morning and it ran out right before the test started.  So my stomach kept getting more insistent(at least it didn't growl or gurgle during the test, just made me aware of it) for the whole test.
4. Anxious.  Having not taken a test like this before I was rather nervous as I wasn't sure what to expect and the practice tests were around $20 each.  So I was trying not to crumple up the 'admission ticket' paper they tell you to print out and then tell you you don't actually need but you should bring on the test day anyway and feeling my hand get sweaty while waiting.  Why they have you get there 30 minutes early for check in when you'll spend at least 20 waiting is beyond me.
I will admit that the sore and hungry actually helped, as I tend to be far too easily distracted when I'm tired and taking a test, but my attention was so caught up in the test and the other two that I was more focused than I thought I'd be. Go figure.
5. Unprepared.  Which isn't really my fault as they don't charge for the GRE practice ones but they do for the Praxis.  But it didn't help the nerves.  Talking with my fellow testers did though.
6. Needing the bathroom. Try starting the test and 10 minutes in having to need the bathroom sooooo bad.  And this test you don't get breaks(they mention the possibility but I never saw an option) and you certainly can't leave the room.  So I spent over two hours trying to ignore that as well(it also helped the attention thing, but I can't say I enjoy having that to keep me focused) and do my best on the test.  Didn't help that the room was cool, which only increased the urge.
There's probably a lot more, but these were the ones that came to mind.  Made for an interesting test experience.  I just hope I passed.  Rather not have to retake any part of that.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Sigh...

Well, last week was hard despite the fact hat nothing really changed from my job to school and home stuff. It was just hard emotionally for some reason.  So I asked my dad for a blessing sunday and so far this week is much better. Once again nothing has changed, just I feel a bit more support it seems.  And I can go to the temple with my parents this afternoon, first time in several weeks.
I now have my second class up to 50% and am trying to find a time to take the basic skills test before September.  All the times in August are noon, in September they get more variations (like 10 am and 4 pm) so it's not easy when I work almost every day.  My cousin told me it was around $300-$400 for it, but when I looked it up they only charged $150.  Much more manageable.
My manager suggested I try eye drops for the watery eyes after a long shift on drive so I got some yesterday.  Haven't made the grainy feeling go away, but it's much better and they don't feel nearly as tired.  Aiming the drops while holding my eye open has been entertaining though.  My mom had to help me the first time and gave me a tip so at least I kind of got the next set(put more in this morning and they felt gritty when I woke up)in my eye instead of on my face.
Good news is we got some rain yesterday which cooled the morning off. But when I got to work the sun had come out and we hit over 80 degrees before the sun went down.  Plus work was rather busy for a tuesday, but compared to the very boring shift monday I prefer it.  Even though I barely got off before 11 trying to clean up after we closed.
Sunny today, but I don't have work. So not really a lazy day(dishes, rent work, homework, then dinner) but certainly a slower one.

Monday, July 31, 2017

Two Down

And several more to go.  But so far I'm keeping to my goal of getting my master's done in a year.  But I passed the final for my second class saturday so I started the new class today.  Instructional strategies and planning for English, meaning it's not more(I hope)repeated reading.  So far it's not, but I'm only just starting.  Certainly more to this class than the last one. More 'modules' than the first one too, but they are briefer than the last two classes. Maybe that's why it's still a 2 credit class instead of four.
Being full time means getting put on drive through at work a lot and that's hurting my eyes.  Given the suns starts overhead(meaning I'm getting reflections off the cars)or it's slanting down and into the window until it sinks below the building next to us.  But it means I'm back to feeling tired because my hurting eyes take a lot of my energy. Figures.  Granted I managed to avoid being on drive most of Friday and it was slow during the daylight part saturday so today's not so bad.
Big thing coming up is that I need to get a background check(unless I find out that I can use the one the district did last year for my substitute teaching)a basic skills test(keeps bringing to mind Lean on Me as that's the test the students need to pass) a district approval thing, and other stuff I haven't had time to look into yet.  Didn't hear from my mentor friday like usual, so I wonder if they decided I don't need a weekly check in anymore given I'm on track for my goals.
Ah well, I have to get all the pre student teaching stuff done before the end of August along with this next class. Then I have classroom observation(sixty hours) that I'll have to do around work before November(I think) while saving to pay for the next semester.
And still fighting to reclaim the garden from the weeds, only one full row clear and working on two others. Sigh....

Friday, July 28, 2017

Pros and Cons...

Well, around six years ago my parents got a dog that was meant to be my dad's and ended up being my mom's.  She was about seven at the time, a kind a tree hound I think.  She'd had puppies and then been fixed.  We got her for free as her owners got a new dog and they didn't get along. Strange that the old dog got kicked out and not the new one.  So she was rather nervous when they got her home. But she was very sweet and well behaved.  At the time we only had my sister's dog so it wasn't a big deal.  As time went on we suspected there may have been some abuse given that raised voices made her cringe and she tended to flinch when someone nudged her bed to wake her up.  So we tried to be gentle with her.
But time passes and she wasn't a young dog so she started having problems.  We think she had cataracts in both eyes and was losing hearing. Plus several tumors and spinal degeneration.  We were told in a visit to the vet back in February or March that she was down to six months at best.  So when my parents got back from their vacation and she only seemed to get worse(she spent the week I was there barking a lot while wheezing and not really eating or drinking.  Thought it was loneliness as the smaller dogs went with my sister to join my parents, but she still  didn't do much when they got back)it was time to put her out of her misery.  My mom told me that she usually didn't get emotional over animals, but we've never had to put one to sleep before.  And Marley was her dog.
So my parents took her to the vet yesterday and the nurse who's helped us calm Marley down on the previous visits came out to hear her trying to breathe and take in the fact that her ribs stood out every time, she just mentioned that it really was time for her to go.
Reminded me of a photography classmate's project a year or so ago.  They went to the pound or animal shelter, I'm not sure which, to take pictures of the animals there waiting for a home.  The first day they were there a dog maybe a year old was brought in to be put down.  Why? because it was no longer a cute puppy and they wanted a new dog.  Same day a family came in with a much older(not as old as Marley, but several years at least)dog who sadly had been hit by a car and either died or had to be put down as a result.  Compare those two and which do you think was better?
My brother and I had a conversation about whether we had the right to put Marley to sleep when it's not right to do the same for people.  But in Marley's case there really wasn't anything else we could do for her.  We couldn't even give her pain relievers or something.  They didn't give her the sedative they usually give before the I.V. because they felt it wouldn't do any good.  But there is also the fact that it would be considered animal abuse not to put her to sleep.
Ah well, see you when it's my turn Marley.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Sweetheart?

Had a someone  call me that yesterday and while I'm betting they were trying to give me a compliment, for some reason it bugged me to have them keep saying it every time I spoke to them. Sigh.  Probably because they are most likely ten years younger than me and don't know it(I don't call this 'teenage looking college student' for nothing after all).  Pity that they might flirt with me but they aren't interested beyond that.
Got my class up to 60% yesterday and took the first pretest(didn't pass, but I wasn't expecting to)to see what I'm solid on and what I need to focus on. Hope I can get this one done early rather than late like the first one.  The annoying thing is that so far it's kind of a repeat(I may have mentioned this before)with the only difference being the videos they want me to watch.  But it makes it rather boring and I have to force myself to do the 'assignments' otherwise I'd just skim through it and most likely miss something that will help me pass the final test the first time as I did with the other class.
My work put me on full time now, which means I'll be keeping the 32+ hours a week.  While it cuts into my free time it still gives me plenty of time for school and other stuff.  Might make it tricky to get sub jobs, but as I'm approaching my observation and student teaching stuff I won't really have time for it anyway.
Got weeds in the garden but no further sign of deer.  I have discovered another invader that I'm not sure how to deal with: mushrooms.  I didn't think we watered the garden enough to support them but they're in there, especially around the tomatoes.  Corn's getting big and I need to thin it as I didn't get to it earlier.
So on to studying....

Monday, July 10, 2017

One Thing

Some things that bother me about common phrases:
1. Still "stupidly" in love.  Why is love stupid?  If you can maintain a healthy partnership with your spouse for over 30 years(my parents just hit 31) and still be attracted to each other, why is that stupid?  I personally think its awesome.
2. Pick one thing about whatever. How do you pick just one thing out of a criteria?  There is so much to see and do that settling for one thing seems silly and boring.  Unless you hate everything to do with that criteria.:)
3. Name your favorite-bank-. Similar to pick one thing, who has just one favorite thing?  Everyone I've known and met has multiple hobbies and interests, and asking them to pick their all time favorite just doesn't work.  They shouldn't have just one.
4. What is your perfect 'blank'? How are you going to know? You can dream about it but until it happens you'll never know what would be the prefect 'blank' for you.  It's what makes it so perfect. Its unpredictable and spontaneous.
I might find more of these but so far these are the ones that have been bothering me lately.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Tests and Trials...

Well, I guess I can't say my work scheduling me for full time hours(say 35-36 hours per week) is a trial or a test, but the timing isn't the best.  Mainly because of the roof thing.  Means I'm tired and sore and I still haven't gotten started on my next class.  I did manage to look at the introduction page but the progress is still at zero.
We're having fun figuring out what not do do on the roof(still) while I'm trying to keep an eye on the garden-sprinkler system is giving my dad an extra headache, sigh-as the weeds do not take breaks.  My mom used a good part of the lettuce-which so far the deer have stopped eating-for a large salad for everyone. Sadly my earwigs traps are not perfect, as there was still earwigs in the lettuce but not nearly as many as there could have been.  Can't say if the marigolds are keeping the grasshoppers down as they do't get watered as much as the garden so I need to check them too.
Had to renew my food handlers yesterday-thankfully got called in later so I had time-as it expires tomorrow.  Driver's licence next week, as I don't get paid until then.  At least that doesn't require a test, just a long wait.  Of course both cost money.
Had a wind storm yesterday that so far shows the shingles we've already laid out and nailed down are holding.  My dad says getting rain wouldn't be a bad thing as it would show us where the water flows so we know what to watch for.

Friday, June 30, 2017

Bleh...

It's amazing how fast a person can get heat exhaustion or heat stroke without realizing it.  Got heat exhaustion  while planting the squash and tomatoes before the YSA activity and that made going to work fun.  Today my dad's trying to replace the shingles on our roof(they got damaged during the last few big wind storms and are very worn so we're putting new ones on) as quickly as possible.  I'm trying to take my test  for my online class(got up to 91% yesterday) and the mentor's site is wigging out.  Mine works jsut fine but they can't approve me taking the test due to IT issues.  So I was helping for a good 45-50 minutes and drinking bits of water as I'm told drinking too much causes just as many problems.  Not drinking enough it seems as I found myself dumping my breakfast into the bushes off the side of the roof.
I did get a bit on the roof where we haven't shingled yet but not very much.  So now I'm banished from the roof for a bit and waiting to see on my test.  Aggravating thing is my dad and sister have been up there much longer but I guess they're tougher or drinking more water than me.  Plus my parent's new Home Teacher was here to help with math and such and is now taking my spot on the roof laying singles for my sister to nail down.  So yeah, I gave myself heat stroke I bet. Sigh.  None of the other symptoms, just throwing up.  Spent five minutes with that part as every time I moved more came up.  Didn't think I ate that much for breakfast....
Oh well, hopefully I can get them to come down soon because staying up there much longer will probably land them in a worse state than me no matter how much water they drink.  Plus its lunch time anyway when my mom and I get something figured out.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Too Much Iron in Your Blood

If you remember that line from X-Men 2 where Magneto escapes from prison.  In my case though I have the opposite problem.  I mentioned that my doctor wanted to check my iron levels but never got back to me on it.  Went to see them thursday and found out the paperwork got misplaced and my iron's really low.  So now I'm on an iron supplement and strict orders to not donate blood or anything until they say otherwise.  Thing is, I have to take it on an empty stomach like the thyroid stuff unless is makes me nauseous.  And if it does they recommend drinking orange juice as it helps my body absorb it.  Anything else actually hinders that it seems.  So yet another pill to take...
Stupid deer killed off the celery and may have killed the honey dew-they ate all the leaves off it-along with two tomatoes and one of the zucchini.  Then a power outage over the weekend messed up the sprinkler system so they didn't get watered all weekend save when I did it by hand saturday afternoon. So I watered them manually yesterday so they'd be okay until my dad got the control box reprogrammed.
Down to four days to finish my current class, and I have 40% left to do along with the second pretest(took the first yesterday, and I'm not too bad, but still have 4% to work on to pass) before the final.  And I'm working everyday this week. Sigh.  We lost another night shift manager, which is part of the reason why.
Spent four days out of town with my YSA group so you'd think I'd be feeling better.  Thing is we were camping and I just don't sleep well outside of my bed.  Camping is worse too, so I spent four days with late nights and early mornings.  Then I get home and have to get up just as early for the GRE test friday.  Didn't sleep too bad, though it was not easy getting out of bed.  And saturday was early to work so no sleeping in then.  Tried to sleep in sunday but my youngest brother was home(he's still trying to fix his car)and he was up at 9 messing with lego's or something similar so that didn't work. Sigh.....

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Little Voices

Is it strange that I feel I'm on the right track when I get these pathetic(though they didn't used to be)voices in my head telling me its too scary to try and do what I'm heading to.  For instance in my teacher training classes I learned about writing my own tests, which hadn't occurred to me that I'd have to do and I kept getting this wimpy voice saying I don't know how to do that and its too scary.  Strange that those voices used to be a lot stronger and had an easier time getting me to give up on something.  I guess that's the effect of pushing through on what I was trying to do.  Now they just seem to be these tiny whispers that I try not to laugh at because they are so useless on convincing me.  Not that I'm not scared, but it's just not stopping me anymore.
Wish I could say the same for dating, though that is more trying to get men to at least talk to me, much less be interested. Sigh.
Got to harvest some stuff from my garden this morning, mostly snow peas and kale.  I did get a handful of spinach leaves a week or so ago but the plants are either very small, going to seed, or dying. Sigh.  And the grasshoppers are after the kale and spinach again.  Got my sunflower oil put out and it already has earwigs in it where the old stuff never got more than ants and boxelder bugs.  Plus it got water in it which ruins the effects.
May need to pick some of the onions as the old ones from last year are showing above the ground and looking rather large.  The seedling ones are as well, so this should be interesting.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

Not Expecting that...

I got an email from my online university that I was getting a 'student success package' in the mail this week.  No payment or bill type deal, just a bit of information saying I'd be getting it soon.  Heard nothing about it prior to the email and so figured it was just a little 'welcome to the university' cheap thing that might have some good pens or other small office supplies.  It did come with a cheap plastic 'liquid motivation' mug, a magnetic white 'board'(it's more paper) and marker, a decal with the school logo on it, a 'do not disturb I'm studying' doorknob cover, and the big surprise: a web cam.
Like I said, not expecting that.  My dad went to this same school(graduated before they got so far into the online stuff you needed a web cam) and hadn't needed one that I knew of.  But since they've now made it possible to take tests and do other stuff online rather than having to go to another school site they figured I'd need one so I could do it from home.  The funny part was the rather detailed instructions about how to hook up the web cam to my computer(granted, this is a teachers college so I guess they don't expect too many of them to know too much about a computer.  Given my dad's in IT I think I know more than most.  But it was still funny to think they'd have to tell a teacher where the USB port is on a computer.
I seem to recall having classes in junior high and high school that covered basic computer skills but they still make you take either a competency exam or a 'refresher' class in college. Granted the college class on WORD, POWERPOINT, and EXCEL were far more comprehensive and I learned a few tricks about each that I didn't know other wise.  The fourth part of the 'refresher' was not as much fun as it was more research and library stuff.  The only real new thing was how many different ways to cite sources there are now.  And we only used three of them in my other classes.
Back to the web cam, I haven't hooked it up partly due to that one Scorpion episode where they use a man's webcam to watch him and turn off the light so that he doesn't know they're watching.  Makes me nervous to think someone might do that with mine, though they'd probably be bored watching me study or do research.  And I haven't had a lot of time anyway, only got the thing yesterday.
Getting hot around here so makes people crave salads and ice cream.  My mom told me its chocolate ice cream day.  Too bad we don't have any....

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Mentors....

My school has assigned mentors for individual students and then one for each class to help get through the experience.  I finally got assigned one today, even though I've been registered to start for over a week.  The real annoyance about it is that the mentor person has to approve the classes I've set up for my degree and allow me to start them when the semester starts.  Plus they'll be able to give me some insight into how I can arrange them and what shortcuts I can take.  And what classes have to be taken first, yada yada yada. You get the idea.  Been waiting for it all week so I can be ready for thursday(when classes start) and all set to go.
Winter is being slow to let go here, so I replanted the rest of the snow peas to see if it was cold enough for them to grow.  Set out the earwig traps but I used olive oil.  I think the sunflower weed oil worked better so I may have to get some as we're out of it.  Olive oil got a pile of ants and some box-elder bugs though.  Birds aren't as interested either.
So back to waiting for things to happen....

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Okay...Okay...

So I can start on time but I have to pay for the first semester out of pocket as they can't get the financial aid set up in time.  But once it kicks in I'll get reimbursed for whatever I'd get from it.  So now I'm trying to set up the payment stuff but it takes a bit for that to kick in as well. Sigh...At least the intake interview thing is done so only the payment and the orientation thing left before class starts June 1(in other words next week).
Feels like such a long week and it's only wednesday. Sigh.  Monday was work and gardening before going with my mom to a school district 5k run. My dad came too but it was a bit more for kids than adults.  Fun to watch them though.  Yesterday was subbing for a sixth grade teacher who had a handful of good students, the rest made it clear that it was way too close for summer.  I hope the teacher didn't have a hard time as I was only there until lunch.  Then work after that, which was downright boring by comparison.  Today was an early day for work but ended an hour early given both yesterday's slowness and today's.  Though today wasn't as slow but slow enough it seems.  Gave me time to grab lunch, run to the store, pick up my youngest brother from school, then come home and have dinner ready by 6:30(aiming for earlier but that didn't happen as my sister came over with her three kids in the middle of it-not that I mind, but it made things tricky as I tried to keep them out of harms way).
Passing through the tail end of a micro-burst at the moment.  Rain's gone but plenty of wind and a bit of lightning to make up for it.  Snow last week killed all but four of my pepper plants! Good thing all the others were cold weather anyway, they're fine.  Corn's popping up this week and the romaine's going a bit crazy.  Almost the entire row came up.  Got some spinach as well, but so far the only kale is the sprout my mom got with the other seeds.  It's something though.  Have to get out there soon and get the earwig traps up before they infest the romaine and corn.  And need to plant the anti bug flowers to prevent the grasshoppers.  Not going to happen today though. Also have to reset my deer scarers before they go after the greens.  Haven't seen them yet either, but no sense waiting until they do.  Like to get more than one batch of the lettuce this year.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Things I love About Old Cars

1. Stable, Dependable, Durable.  And yes I mean all three.  Take a new car verses and old and most time the old will drive away with little to no damage while the new car gets totaled(example, my sister's new car clipped the bumper of the car in  front of her last year and wound up totaled with her car towed away from the scene, I was rear ended a few years back and spend a little over a thousand-insurance called it totaled because the car was old, not because it was too damaged-fixing it and I drove away from the accident.  I was very late for work though.
2. 9 out of ten times the old parts last for years while new parts are designed to only last so long rather than to see how long they can last.  Example: the new parking brake cable had a clamp part that when the brake was fully engaged had the small problem of popping off and therefore allowing the truck to roll.  The old clamp was still fine and in fact is now back on without any signs of popping off.
3. I can reach almost everything in my engine through the hood, and what I can't reach I just have to get under the car for-that's what jacks and garage pits are for.  New cars have this stupid cover that takes fifteen to 30 minutes to get off and then you can fix stuff.
4. Computer components. Old cars have sensors and lights, with radio and that's about it on electronics.  Locks are manual as are windows so if you forget-or lock them in-your keys its not too complicated to get the door open again.  New cars have power locks, alarms should someone try to touch them, and auto windows.  And hackers aren't a concern here...?
5. Transmission.  I've always wondered if anyone would bother trying to steal my boring standard truck.  It's old, worn and not very impressive looking.  Probably not worth much either.  But with the manual locks there's no alarms.  There is the small factor of wondering if a person stealing it can get it out of the driveway or parking lot without stalling.  New cars you just override the alarm system and locks and drive off in the automatic transmission.  Have to say I'm not a fan of automatics.  Would be fun to see someone trying to steal my truck.  Saw a article a few years ago about someone trying to steal a manual transmission car and not making it out of the parking lot.  I'd just be sitting there laughing while waiting for the cops to show up.
6. Quirks.  Yes old cars tend to have these, but in my mind that means you've had the car long enough to know what works and how.  My truck has a few that are very easy to cope with.  The electronic wiring has a few bugs but to deal with those I just have to whack the dashboard.  New car quirks aren't nearly as fun. Generally they interfere with the car's ability to drive.
So in most cases old cars can take a hit and keep running while new cars crumple and get totaled.  Forget the quirks, it seems the car manufacturers are so focused on avoiding passenger injuries they forgot the making the car crumble and the smallest impact can have worse implications than if the car could take it.  So I'll keep my boring old standard as long as I can.  I know it works and mostly how it works.  Can they say that about the new cars? I wonder.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Mothers Day!

Which I hope was fun for my mom, sadly I was tired enough that I can't say for sure.  Had a late night saturday due to getting my truck back together(stupid clamp wouldn't hold when the parking brake was engaged, kept popping out of place) then got up before 7:30 to make breakfast for her before she had church.  Managed to get some of the poached(she wanted eggs benedict)eggs to have liquid yolks but not all of them.  So that was a plus.  Sadly her present didn't get here in time so I'll have to give it to her when it comes-if it didn't get sent to my brother and sister in law's house somehow.
Saturday was a crazy day at work-big surprise, free french toast for mom's during breakfast and then half off pastry night?  I'm not too surprised at the crush of people.  Though it meant that instead of getting off at 7 as planned I had to run out the door after 8 even though there was a line out the door.  My manager had to ensure I didn't get stuck working for another hour(if that's when the rush ended, it was still going strong at 8:30) as I'd been there since 11 a.m.  But it was good for sales and such.  and made me very glad today was much better.
Hit a snag on starting to enroll for school: the FAFSA I'd sent in had the wrong year or was missing part of it. So I had to go back in and finish it.  So I can't enroll just yet. Great...
Then the cable we'd been wrestling with saturday(the clamp connector I mentioned earlier actually) popped loose when I was parking in the driveway at home.  Small mercy there that it was at home and not at work, though work I could deal with.  Home doesn't have a curb to stop the car.  My brother had to come out with a brick so I could stop stomping on the regular brake and get out.  Thinking of getting out the old part that's still good and using that. Sigh.......

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Running Out of Time...

I received an email about the transcripts I sent to the online school saying they had them but still no word from my enrollment counselor about what else I needed to do to get going on June 1st.  So getting a little annoyed I sent them an email asking about it.  Usually that gets my counselor to call me within 20-30 minutes to answer the question rather than waiting for them to email me back.  I don't think it was even ten minutes before they called me about it.  Now I have an entrance type interview scheduled for monday after work.  That didn't quite answer all my questions but it got the ball rolling.
Of course I also have my truck in the garage at the moment, meaning that yesterday was and today is a bit tricky in getting to work.  I think I mentioned the parking brake cable was rusty and fraying back in February, and needed replacement. I got the parts just had to clear off the pit so I could work on it.  I should know by now that my truck is never as quick an easy as the videos and stuff online say it should be.   The cable is in two parts: the front line that runs from the pedal to the back of the truck where there's a splitter.  That connect to two other cables, each running to one of the back drum brakes.  I have the front main cable out and the new one in, and the driver's side rear one ready(just have to get the old one out)but somehow when I got the other two cables I didn't get the passenger side one.  And that's the worst of the two.  So while I could go without changing the drivers side rear, I need the passenger side which I have to get through Ford, not through a parts place(though my sister can get them at her work but not until tomorrow).
Got corn and cilantro planted.  Trying to empty out the second load of mulch so we can get the trailer off the lawn.
Caught a nasty stomach bug on sunday that I really wish I could have thrown up but never did-I think that's why the nausea lingered until yesterday-and was not really doing much.  Also think I gave it to my dad.....Oooppps....
Just a few things this weekend...

Monday, May 1, 2017

Yes!

Aced the final just like I aced the midterm so I got a C+ if my math is right.  Either way I passed, now I just have to wait for the official transcript to come out so I can send it to the school I'm working on getting into for my masters.  They always do the unofficial transcripts first(that's why their 'unofficial')and then you wait a while to get the ones colleges or universities accept for transfers.
Supposed to have a conference call with the enrollment counselor assigned to me before work tomorrow.  Might make it interesting getting to work as it's right before.
Got more rain over the weekend which is fine.  Still coughing from cleaning out the garage-or I caught something from my dad that just makes me cough-and I haven't finished it yet either.  Have more time this week though so I should get to working on my truck especially since I no longer have to worry about my online class.  Will be starting that stuff up again in June though, as long as all goes well...
Trying to figure out what to get my mom for mother's day as I can afford to do more than buy the bread she likes for french toast from my work for once.  But I'm drawing a blank as to what. Sigh.  Got part of a gift for fathers day at least.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

And Done...

Just got the final exam in for my prerequisite so I'm down to waiting for the final grade and then I can get stuff going for my master's.  Final assignment was done on tuesday and it was more rushed than I wanted to be.  Got called in to work early half way through so I had to rush to get done-one time shot once you start you have to finish type deal-before I left.
Getting plenty of rain which is nice for the garden though a bit irritating as it makes it hard to weed.  Good thing is that I'm cleaning out my dad's garage this week anyway(trying to, taking a lot longer than I expected, 3.5 hour in and still plenty to do and loads of dust-spent the last two days coughing trying to get it back out of my lungs before going back to finish from the first 3 hours-in there)so I'm not too worried about the rain.  Makes it cool in there so I don't over heat and I think it's keeping the bugs-mainly spiders-down.
Work's been getting a bit crazy, had a lot more hours lately.  Means I can save more for school and have a little extra breathing room for other concerns with my budget.  Have to remind myself not to go on a spending spree with the extra's.  Today was the closest I get to a day off this week, as I don't work until later.  Tomorrow's another all day type thing-tuesday was too, 9.5 hours straight-with a morning sub job and work in the evening.  And saturday's a 10 hour workday.
Started my thyroid medication, which so far means that I'm less tired but get really weird dreams almost every night.  One was of my brother being mad about an article I wrote as a newspaper journalist(I wish).  Well, he was mad about me being a journalist anyway.  Never found out in the dream why he was mad and he was rather confused when  I mentioned it to him.  The only person who said they would be upset was my dad with the way the media's been behaving lately.  But it took most of a week to get them to send it to the right place so I could pick it up.
No word on my iron test, which I hope is a good thing as I like to donate blood and if I'm on an iron supplement I can't donate.  Low blood means very bad if you take more out on top of it.  Oh well.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Mulch...

Finally got a trailer full of it to cover the garden and diminish the weeds.  Downside is it takes almost an hour to cover a row-small one about a foot wide-with an inch or so of it as that's the most effective.  Plus doing it by hand with shovels and rakes when said trailer has a shell on it so getting the mulch out means lifting the shovel up to shoulder height to get through the window.  And two hours of that is very draining.
Saw a doctor today about being tired all the time.  They agreed to check my thyroid-my mom and sister's thought though I don't have any other symptoms-but also wanted to check my blood count.  Doesn't help my dad's joke yesterday about me being a vampire as I don't like my drinks cold...He thinks I'm anemic.  Guess we'll find out...
Down to the last two weeks of the online class and two assignments left to go.  Then the lovely two part final-just like the midterm of course-and I'm ready to start my master's program.  Should be doing one today but after trying to get the mulch on the garden I'm just not up for sitting in front of the computer trying to read the textbook and answer questions at the same time.  Probably do it thursday after the temple.  It's the only other day when I might have time.
Supposed to rain, and the watering system now has water running to it, but the valves need cleaning which I don't know how to do.   More waiting.....

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

April

Means for one thing General Conference!  I've noticed lately that it seems to pass by so fast that its over just as I'm getting the feeling down.  And it's very hard to keep track of the talks until I can get a copy of the ensign with the talks so I can study them.  But I got to listen to all four sessions for once. No such luck on the Women's conference as I had work.  Same for Men's though that would have most likely been just a girls night out-had a few customers come in saying they can only go out like they were while their husbands were at conference, not sure why they feel that way-for my mom and older sister.
Oh well, back to waiting until May for the printed copy so I can remember the talks better and catch the ones I didn't hear.  Trying to see if I can finish the Book of Mormon by that point.  Page 265 so far(I think) and just read Ammon's success with King Lamoni again.  Never fails to excite me, though it is dampened by the treatment Aaron and his other brethren receive thanks to the dissenters in the land of Jerusalem.  But then Ammon gets to have a strong impact on Lamoni's father to make up for it.
Planted two more rows of onions-one red and one sweet-yesterday where my brothers and I cleared weeds on monday.  Almost halfway done clearing and planting now.  Most of it is cold weather stuff, and given that we had frost last night its a good thing.  But it may have affected the already growing onions in the first row I planted.  There were only three for sure, though I found what might be a fourth yesterday while setting up the watering pipes for the next two onion rows.
Past the halfway point on my class, and I need to ask the adviser person at the school I want to get my degree from if I can finish getting registered before I complete the class so I can start in May rather than having to wait for June.....We'll see what they say.
Send that batch of photos I took on an outing with my grandma to her monday as she wanted copies.  Guess what she sent back? Nice, now can I get a CD of them? (not her exact words but close) My dad's joking that we ought to give her a set on a encrypted flash drive just to mess with her.  I doubt she'd be amused. I was though, as I know my dad can do that sort of thing.

Friday, March 31, 2017

Midterm!!!

Had to get that done this week, and I was a little stressed about it.  But I got 76% on the multiple choice(wasn't as familiar with the vocabulary as I thought I was) and 90% on the written(yeah, two part thing).  Funny part was we had to watch a video for the written part and it was one I'd seen in a previous history class so I didn't have to watch all of it, just enough to refresh my memory.  Which was fun as it was a cool video about a third grade teacher giving their students a object lesson-which lasted three days total-about discrimination and how hurtful it is.  Then they went back years later and talked about how they hated the teacher at the time for doing it, but after they were very grateful the teacher had gone to the trouble.
Rain keeps digging up the snow peas! Agh! Have to keep an eye on them as the first time some had slugs eating them.  Good news is i can see them getting bigger and so I know they're still good.  But the other rows don't seem to have lost their seeds, but some are so small spotting them would be a miracle. Figures.  Seedling tray is sprouting, though keeping it watered is a bit tricky.  I can't pour water in one side or the plants don't get watered equally.  Most of them have grown more than one of the seeds so I need to do some thinning either today or tomorrow.
Keep seeing a lot of places hiring lately, which is weird but I currently have two jobs(applied for another one that's full time but no word yet aside from a assessment thing that most places want done now and is very annoying)I'm not terribly interested in them.  I have to say that two jobs can be stressful given I never have a day off anymore it seems.  But the substitute teaching one I can set up around my work schedule so no conflicting stuff.  Next week is spring break though, so I'll have plenty of spare time(ha ha ha, not. Got plenty to do around the house anyway and school stuff to work out)and to laze and such.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Rain

This is kind of a follow up to Gardens as it affects them.  While I love rain as it cleans everything up and makes the whole area smell awesome, it does do some things I want to mention regarding that.
Pros being that I don't have to worry about watering the garden I planted-save the in house seed tray I set up yesterday for when our crazy weather calms down so I can plant them outside-with the hose set up as the normal water I'd use won't be available until April 15(wow, taxes day, go figure)so we-my dad and I-had to hook up a set of hoses from the house to the pipes so we can still water them until then.  And hope the rain gives the grass enough while we're at it as it uses the same water the garden would.  Plus it keeps the birds from eating the seeds I just planted, though my sister helped with the cauliflower(teased her about trying to plant it on the onion row for some strange reason, but it shouldn't matter) and my brother helped with the second row of peas.  The other two and the onions were me while my dad spread pre-emergent weed killer(I think) on the grass to get rid of the thistles and dandelions that always grow.  Here's hoping anyway.  Another plus is that walking the dogs kind of washes them at the same time.
Cons being that whoever walks the dogs has to remember to dry them off or they could get sick(the smaller dogs at least, though our old larger dog's age might ruin her ease in drying herself off).  The rain could wash out the seeds if I didn't plant them deep enough(here's hoping) before they have roots to hold them where I put them.  Since most take 8-10 days just to start growing and most were planted within the last week, I doubt any have roots to speak of. And it makes the weeds go crazy since we can't go out there and pull them while its raining.  Plus gives them plenty of water to grow with.  There is good news in that it keeps their roots shallow as long as we get to them right after, but that means muddy shoes/boots and trying not to get stuck.  Though it can be fun(one year my dad got into a big of a mud wrestling match with a few of my siblings with how muddy it got-good thing we were clearing the garden for planting at the time, so the only things getting trampled were the weeds we wanted out anyway).  Then my dad got a few of the trellis pipes up but trying to do that(get the blackberry or raspberry bushes around them) in the rain is about the same as trying to pull or dig weeds.
Oh well, I can watch the indoor stuff, prep old socks(my dad gave me two of his, which I can get at least six strips from)to tie the bushes to the trellis with and clean.  Not like I haven't been doing that all week.  First test in my prerequisite class is coming up next week, just have one assignment left before I can get to it.  Decided that once I get going in my master's my goal is to be done by December 2018(I want 18 months but as I have student teaching to do and you can't rush that they way I can rush the online stuff) so I'll get the second degree 2 years after the first one.  We'll see how well I do.

Friday, March 17, 2017

Gardens.....

They have pros and cons.  Pro's being the free(ish) vegetables, the exercise you get from tilling, planting, and weeding, and the time outside instead of sitting at a computer or reading where you get needed sunshine.  Plus my brother's on a deal about how going barefoot or at least weeding with your bare hands 'grounds' you and helps your joints and stuff.
The cons being after all winter of limited exercise-partly my fault, we do have a workout room that I should have used-and being indoors means that trying to rush and get the ground ready for planting leaves the muscles rather stiff and sore.  Not to mention having to soak my hands to get the majority of the dirt off.  Washed them twice and still they have dirt.  And the constant fight with the weeds is a pain too...
But I think it makes a good St. Patrick's Day activity, finally getting something planted after trying all week.  And I remembered to wear green, if my shoes count-they are a rather bright green.  So we've got two rows of peas(sugar snap and snow) and a row of sweet onions.  Granted, the onions were only because some of the ones I planted last year regrew this year in the same spots so I figured I might as well get the whole row growing if they were doing that well.
Now if I can get to my truck before work tomorrow...

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Pi Day!

Yes, I spelled it like that on purpose as that's why its a holiday(of a sort, it just give restaurants and such a 'deal' to offer that falls under that category)and it's a math term.  Which means at work we were offering slices of pie half off if you bought food first.  Not a lot of people interested, but I think we made a dent in the number of pies the pastry people made for today.  And there's still several hours to go.  Grabbed two lemon pies for my mom on my way out the door.
Got off on time today, which was a relief as yesterday I got off over an hour late.  Not too worried about it as I had no big plans-just getting the blackberries out of the way in the garden so we could plant.  My dad is trying to make trellis' for them to climb instead of spider webbing out over the garden area-and a little extra on my check is not a bad thing.
Still need to do the stuff on my truck like the parking brake, drain the radiator, change the oil, clean it so I can find where the power steering's leaking, you get the idea.  Nothing that will kill the car, though the brake problem might get me killed, or in a lot of trouble.
Class is a little boring as its a lot of reading and watching long wordy videos, but its short otherwise.  Three assignments done and turned in, but at least twelve more to go.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Day One

Of the last class I need before I can start my master's program.  And it's online. Sigh. Got through the intro stuff anyway.  Just the usual syllabus quiz and reading, though I'm still waiting for my textbook.  Figures.
Got to babysit my nieces and nephew from saturday to sunday.  Given he's too young to need much besides food and attention, it was more keeping an eye out for him while keeping his sisters occupied.  They are kind of at each other a lot right now.  Something about getting a new sibling I believe.
Finally got the garage door people to fix it so it opens now.  After we reorganized the stuff in there to accommodate a fridge freezer combo.  Good thing we did it last week as it snowed last night.  Made it really cold for the door fixer.  But it works now.
Having trouble getting sub jobs for this week as the only day off I have is friday.  But I found one for a junior high P.E. teacher-female this time, last time was male(oops)though it worked out fine-all day.  Kind of kills my day off, but since I only work mornings so far that leaves the afternoon for trying to see how fast I can finish this class-supposedly I can do it in 8 weeks instead of 12, meaning I'd get done in April instead of late May.
I guess we'll see.

Friday, March 3, 2017

Finally!

Sheesh, spent all of Febuary trying to get into the college (online, unfortunately, but maybe not as it means I can finish early and work when I'm not working otherwise)that has the last prerequisite I need for my masters of teaching program.  Very annoying as it seemed to take them way too long to double check stuff. Sigh...
But now I'm in and registered for the class that starts monday.  Not sure if I'll get the textbook on time-they have to ship it to me and that takes 4-7 days-but hopefully I won't need it right away.
Got a few near blizzards last week so we're back to watching the snow melt off the grass and garden. Sigh.
Saw A Dog's Purpose with my sister tuesday, which is a very cute movie-fair warning, you will want tissues-and better than I'd thought it might be.  Also saw Arrival last week, which is somewhat confusing until near the end.  Though  coworker spoiled the end for me some time before so it wasn't too big of a surprise.
Well, that's it for now.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Teachers

I honestly think they get the short end of the stick most of the time.  I hear stories of teachers who get blamed for students doing poorly when the student refuses to do the work at all.  Then I sub for the teachers who have students that it's a challenge to get them to stop disrupting the other students, forget keeping them in their seats for any decent length of time.
That's not even resource or special education classrooms either.  Those you'd expect it in.  No, these are the regular classes with students that act up.  Granted, in one case those kids were for certain ADHD so that made sense.  And the teacher did warn me about it.
But then there are all the meetings and stuff they are supposed to do that are during the times their supposed to be teaching so they need someone like me.  And having a sub in the class with a difficult student only seems to encourage that student.  I've had the school principal come in one classroom to get a student to act better, and other teachers.
So I think it's a thankless job for most of them.  And here I am working to be one.  Not that it's changed my mind at all.

Monday, February 6, 2017

More Things

14. Despite what they say in the movies, Boys don't seem to like girls who are smart enough to get college degrees, and can be intimidated by girls who know more about cars-especially how to fix them-than they do.  At least that seems like the main reason guys stop talking to me after I mention stuff like that. Hence I haven't had a date in years. Sigh...
15. I hate technical stuff and yet it irritates me to see when someone messes up with spelling or grammar and such.  Figures.  Have to catch myself or I correct everyone around me and I know they don't like it,  When I'm tired I think it gets worse.

Friday, February 3, 2017

First Snag

On starting my masters is the fact that they want a diversity or multicultural credit. Not something the university I attended offered that I can find. Figures.  Tried the local applied technology college to the same result, though I might call both just to be sure.
They gave me a list of two online colleges that offer what I need, though it won't be cheap-big surprise there-regardless of where I go to get the class.  Can't start until I finish it with a C or better.
Otherwise I'm ready to go according to the transcripts I sent them. Have everything I need except that one class.
Finally heard back from a big job I applied for, though they caught me during a very busy two week period so I asked them to wait until after next week when I'd have more time to do the training and stuff.  Still want the job of course, but had other commitments for these two weeks.  Been doing a lot of substitute teaching this month, which is fun and challenging.  Had a student who refused to follow the rules about cell phones during a quiz and then refused to give it to me.  Then they nearly ran out the door despite my having told them to stay behind.  So I got some insight into troublesome students. Fun.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Continued

11. Abstract seems to be another way of saying, vague, confusing, and often really doesn't make sense.  In a lot of cases it leaves the viewer/reader to make their own interpretation.  And is very favored among art teachers for some reason.
12. Airborne is very nice for colds and such as long as you start taking it as soon as you notice you're getting sick.  I know it might seem like another thing people want you to buy, but it is very handy for helping get rid of illness fast.  Not to mention the old standbys-rest, lots of fluids, and staying warm.
13. Cat litter and ice melt can help if the roads are icy and/or snowed in.  Especially if your car has old tires that don't grip when things get wet.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Things I Learned in the Past Six and a Half Years...

1. the world likes things to be complicated and difficult regardless of what the subject, object, or person is.
2. I don't know if Institute is supposed to be a lifesaver, a Lifeline, or a sanity preserver, but I'd rather take an institute class than a college class for a few reasons. A. no expectations. B. any homework is less than the most basic college class and can be done in less than a half hour for most of it. C. no big books and big words. D. if you don't make it due to whatever reason, they won't dock your grade and they let you make it up.
3. Some things in photography turn out the best when they are made the 'old fashioned' way as digital can't do it justice.  Plus hands on is way more fun than sitting at a computer trying to achieve the same effects.  And film is fun to develop yourself.
4. Writing is hard mainly because all the big ideas are used and in some cases over used and so new writers have to find a new way of saying the same stuff.  Doesn't help that the good authors keep raising the bar all the time too.
5. Having your own car may make your day a little easier, but riding the bus means you can read on the way to school.  Kind of makes me wish we had some form of a subway station here...
6. Once you get far enough along, you either can't wait for it to be over or you can't see yourself stopping. Sometimes both.  In my case what started as a simple Associate's degree-which I didn't actually get-turned into a Bachelor's that I now have and I'm working on going on to a Master's of teaching.
7. It is so weird to graduate and realize that you don't have to go to school the next semester.  And you get bored very easily.
8. Classmates might seem imposing or out to get you, but when you get settled into your program and see the same faces over and over, they turn from strangers fighting you for the same things to friends that can help better than some teachers can.  Plus it's more fun to talk to classmates about assignments than it is to talk to the teacher.
9. Take criticism as the individual's opinion and not as fact, even if it's a teacher giving it.  They are also not usually out to make you fail, they just want to push you to the best you can do.
10. It's not the teacher's fault if you don't do the work and so fail the class.  But if you talk to them about it they usually try to give you the best grade they can.  They won't bite or anything.
11.  Learning can be addictive, and this is one that I'd be happy to grow.
Bachelor's done, on to graduate school....