Well I am officially a senior in college. Never thought it would happen. My parents (read Dad) pushed me so hard to to to college when I was a kid. My goal was to be a Mommy. I never wanted any other career. My Mom had a college education (Phi Beta Kappa @ Duke) but had not been in the workforce since just before I was born. I knew college had enriched her life but I also knew I could read and could learn about whatever interested me without the hassle of passing a class. Dad had to work nights and go to school during the day to get his degree which he finished when I was 3. He was probably trying to help me avoid his mistakes but he never learned one important fact about how I tick. The harder someone pushes me, the harder I push back even if it is not "in my best interest". Now look at me. I just got my grade for my 3rd class and am absolutely thrilled with how things are going so far. The only gray cloud on this horizon is that the school keeps raising tuition but the company reimbursement stays the same.

So why do I have time right now? Baby is at ju-jitsu class doing final preparations for her belt test tomorrow and the Friday-night dojo is near a Staples with free wi-fi. My stated goal is to be working on my educational biography so I can get out of taking a couple of required classes. But since I have wi-fi I thought I'd do this first. Besides the 1 1/2 hours for tonight's class, I will also have 2-3 hours tomorrow during her test to work on my portfolios. I am rewarding myself for my good job in the class I just finished. Some of it was ok and I was somewhat familiar with the material but some of this class was a witch with a capital B. The name of the class was Introduction to Computer and Information Science and it actually filled some theoretical gaps in my OJT education.

So, does anyone here play Wii Animal Crossing? We got Baby a Wii for Christmas but I was playing with it so much that Hubby got me my own Wii for my b-day. I didn't ask for it but Hubby, in his wisdom, foresaw that 2 Wii's would keep the house more peaceful. I like the M&M Racers and Wii Play but I mostly play Animal Crossing:City Folk. Send me a PM if you play and want to us to visit each others towns.

Did I post about going camping a few months ago. It was great. One of my sisters (I have 3) has a pop-up camper that sleeps 6. So all of us (my sisters and I) plus my Mom cleared our schedules and went to Sarasota to camp for a weekend. We had a blast and wondered why it had taken us so long to take a trip like that. We had tent camped as a family when we were kids since it was the only way a family of 8 could afford to go on vacation.
Roasting Weenies Cost: 2 packs of hotdogs w/ buns, condiments and beans.

Toasting Chicks Cost: 6 packs of marshmallow peeps, graham crackers and hershey's chocolate bars

Weekend with the Girls PRICELESS

For My Baby

May get a chance to go to Sam's Club tomorrow. If I do, I will get the replacement copy of Eclipse that Baby lost so she can return it to the person she borrowed it from. I will also get the mass paperback version of Twilight (the dorky vampire book) because Baby wants me to read it.

Until next time...

Oh No... Beees!

Current Music: Snippets of classical music from Baby's Goodnight CD
The holiday madness is ending - thank goodness... Even though I get very busy and don't get much time to lurk here, etc., I am glad that life will be getting back to normal this week. Christmas and I absolutely have a Love/Hate relationship and I'm glad I have another 350+ days before we meet again. That reminds me - I need to refill my Shuffle with non-Christmas music for this week. (OK - got that started)

When I wasn't hassling Baby to finish her homework ( she has had over 2 weeks), I spent some time reading, some time checking up on friends and family online and playing with the Wii Baby got for Christmas. Based on a recommendation, one of the games we got was Animal Crossing:City Folk. This is a game even I can play. I can't stand violent or shoot-em-up games and can't get into surreal fantasy role-playing games or pro-sport games. I am not coordinated enough to play games that require quick eye-to-hand coordination and I really can't stomach something like a Fashion Barbie game. That makes for pretty slim pickings in the e-game world. Even though AC is pretty much a no-brainer, it is fun and relaxing to play. Once we get our main TV fixed, we will try to set it up online out in the living room and "visit" others we know that also play the game. That should make it a bit more interesting. Hint: Once you have been stung by bees, you cannot be hurt any worse, so shake as many trees as you want. You will always be better by the next day so save your 400 Bells (store was closed today anyway). Sometimes you get "pity presents".

I start my new class tomorrow. This one is a 16-week course rather than the 8-week courses I have taken so far. Since it is the same 3 semester hours, I am thinking the workload will be a little more spread out thought the subject matter is a bit harder this time around. By May I will only have 7 classes left. I am going to try and finish my 2 challenge portfolios before this summer as well.

It is also time to begin new projects at work. This is the year I HAVE to convert the scanning operation over to the company standard software (w/ or w/o the assistance of the company). I also have to begin Tech Refresh since most of the hardware in the field is over 5 years old and no longer covered by any service plan. I am also hoping to take the Advanced course for certification purposes in the software we use. I'd like to wait a few months on that one since it involves travelling to Cleveland. Once again, I am in the position of having to hire a new scan operator. It was too bad the last one I hired couldn't stay. She fit in so well with the people I already had. HR/ Admin stuff is the least favorite part of my work day. Life won't be dull by any means.