Fall 2011

It's that time of year again. All of my college buddies are off to nursing school, and I am about to start my last semester at TVCC. I bought my textbooks, paid tuition, and printed out my schedule. I am taking 5 classes including Biology I, Government II, Ethics, Substance Abuse, and Bowling. At first, I knew that it would be impossible to make 5 A's this semester. Then I started to have a little faith in my academic abilities when I made an A in a class that no one makes an A in. With David helping out and Gage being in school, I think 5 A's is very possible. If I can at least get close, I can graduate with honors in December.

Once I graduate, I will be throwing a Grad party, with David's help. And for once, it will be 21 and up. Every year I normally throw a Christmas party, and I spend the entire time running around, keeping the mass amount of kids from tearing up my house. That will NOT happen at my grad party. It's my party and I will do what I want, lol. I can't wait. :)

After all of that, I will be taking a break from school until David graduates with his Bachelor's, which shouldn't take that long. I might go back to work once Max starts Kindergarten, but that is still undecided. It will be nice in January, to have the time to devote to my boys, catch up on my German, and practice my violin. It will be a well deserved break.

Hermit Crab

Lately I have been compared to a hermit crab, hehe. I have spent the majority of my summer either reading, taking care of my boys, cleaning, or classes. Not that I'm complaining.... but even an introvert needs to get out a little. Luckily, Monday offers a full day of festivities for the holiday. David and I are taking our two munchkins to Greenville for food, games, fun, and fireworks. I know they are going to love it.

I am looking forward to all sorts of things like my boys starting school in the Fall, graduation, and Christmas with my mom. This year is really turning out to be a good year. :)

The Suspense is Immense

I am on-the-edge-of-my-seat excited! One semester left and I get my first two degrees. I guess it's just starting to hit me. I recently started looking for volunteer positions, but ultimately decided to just apply to Terrell State Hospital after graduation. David would rather me not work unless I absolutely want to, and I do. Both of my angels will be in school, which will make things easier on me. I hope that I won't be overqualified for the Psychiatric Nursing Assistant position, since they only require a high school diploma. I will be exempt from their application test because I have well over 12 credit hours in college. All I have to do is get through the Fall semester, and I will then start a new chapter in my life.

As with any new beginning, I am nervous, but the idea of being a quarter of the way through my college career is appeasing. The experience I receive from working at a State hospital will not only look great on a future resume`, but it might help me decide on a specialty. I have yet to make up my mind about which field of pscyhology I want to pursue. Being a therapist is a strong possibility, but forensic psychology interests me too. Either way, it is going to take a Doctorate to get the results I want, and I am up for the challenge. One step at a time, because I am willing to be patient and work hard in order to achieve my goals in life. I refuse to wake up middle-aged and wonder where things went wrong. Hard work now will pay off big time in the future.

Moving along nicely

The semester is finally over. I have a couple weeks before summer classes start, so I better get to relaxing. David and John are starting the process of getting our vehicles fixed and legal. This summer we are registering Gage for Kindergarten, even though I believe that he could skip and go to 1st grade. He is well above his age level, and I hope he doesn't get bored. This fall I will be going full time to college for my last semester, and David will take one class while carting Gage to and from school, and taking care of Max. I graduate with an Associates of Psychology in December, and next May I graduate with an Associates of Sociology. All before Max goes to school. Then I will take a break, and once Max starts kindergarten Fall 2012, I will go back to work. My main goal from then on, will be to put David through the engineering program at UTA for 2 years, so he can make a 6 figure salary and put me through grad school eventually. Things just seem to be moving along very smoothly, and I am so grateful for that. I will have to keep myself busy during this mini-break. I am so used to being too busy, lol. I am so excited for graduation and the grad party, but I am even more excited for next May when I receive my SECOND degree. :D It took me awhile, but it's worth it. It's a good start. David and I are doing better than ever, and our angels are learning so much, and are very well-behaved. I love my life!

Graduation!!!!

Graduation is either December 9th or 16th in Athens. I will find out this summer which one. It will be in Athens, and then my party will be at my house. I was in the counselor's office the other day applying for graduation, and I made the joke that it took me 6 years to get a 2 year degree. I laughed hysterically, and she made the rebuttal that most who attend that school don't make it all the way through and that it's better late than never. Both cliche`s got me thinking. It truly is better late than never. In the past 7 years, I have managed to fall in love, get married, buy a house, have kids, and soon to graduate college. I'd say that's pretty impressive. Some say that I did everything backwards and that my life would have been easier if I made different choices. I have to disagree. My life was on a path of disaster before I met David. It took a leap of courage to make a big change in my life when I was 17. I haven't had regrets since.

After graduation, I am planning on applying to A&M Commerce and hopefully will take a class or two online. When Max starts Kindergarten next year, I will apply to Terrell State Mental Hospital to work full time and pay for school. My ultimate goal is my Masters in Psychology, and possibly my PhD, but who knows. My 25th birthday is coming up this year, and when I think about it, I am proud of what I have accomplished so far in my life. Granted, I could have had my PhD by now, but that's besides the point. I wake up every morning thinking about how great my life is and I can honestly say that I wouldn't have it any other way.

Frustrated

I have a lot of choices laid out in front of me for the next two years. I could go to A&M in the Fall, or finish at TVCC and graduate in December. Or I can apply to one of the 5 positions open at Terrell State Hospital and work full time. My husband is pushing for the latter. I just don't get it. No matter what I do, I can't please everyone. I did not come this far to take a break now. I am just so frustrated. I understand that most decisions in life are difficult to make, but this is ridiculous. I have made a lot of bad choices in the past, and am terrified to make wrong ones today. I just don't know.

Busy!

It has been such a busy few months. I thought that after Christmas things would settle down a bit, but boy was I wrong. We started a remodeling project for the whole house. So far, we have got the living room, kitchen, kids room, and half of the bathroom done. I am optimistic that we will finish by the end of this coming week. It looks amazing so far, a real turn around. We have lived here for almost 5 years, so it was definitely due.

School is going great. It adds to our load, but once this project is done, we can focus on school and our boys. Speaking of our boys, they are doing so great, (besides the newly developed attitudes). Gage is reading, and Max is starting to learn his letters and numbers. Their minds are like sponges. David and I are better than ever. He is my best friend and soul mate. It took a long time of maturing on both of our parts to get here, but I am so lucky and grateful. May 1st we will have been together 7 years. That thought just brightens my day. :)

So, all in all, everything is going great. I am ready to get this remodeling done and having a great time in school. My father and step-mother were supposed to come over for a visit today and to pick up the cupcakes I made them. I haven't received a phone call or anything. I hope they didn't stand up my boys. Oh well, worse has happened, lol. Time to get working on my English II paper.

2011

It's a brand new year, full of possibilities. There is so much that David and I are looking forward to this year. The first is a new semester. This holiday vacation has been great, but at times can be monotonous. I am looking forward to taking four classes and keeping busy, all the while learning something new everyday.
On that topic, David and I are planning on graduating this year. We don't have an exact date set, mostly due to the fact that we can't rush ourselves. With two boys, work, and two full time school schedules, our time needs to be carefully managed. There are a couple classes we need to take online, but that should be a cinch since we will do it together. I am absolutely thrilled to finally be graduating after so many years of trying to figure out what I want to do with my future. A year and a half ago I discovered my passion: Psychology. I immediately took it and ran; haven't looked back yet. We will start making plans for where we want to get our bachelors, after we graduate. I am hoping to get a good turn out of family, and I want it to make a big impression on our boys. Gage starts Kindergarten next year, and we will eventually be moving so he won't have to endure TISD for very long. I will be looking for a job right after graduation, and Missouri will be the first place I look. If David and I can both get decent jobs in our field, then we will make arrangements to move.
Christmas was overall a success. It was very tiring for me, even though I couldn't sleep all that night. My house was trashed, but when I finally got it cleaned it was such a relief. I am still thoroughly enjoying the books my mom sent. They are outstanding. My boys have been rotting their brains with video games, as much as I will let them. David and I are doing fantastic, better than ever. Our boys are sprouting up like crazy. Everything is just great.
I think that this year will be full of changes and adventures. I am anxious to leap forward and grab the bull by its horns. :)