Saturday, December 13, 2008

Ahhhhhh

Ok, this week is finished and there is a huge sigh of relief in that. I still have one paper to write (due by Tuesday) all of my research is complete for it, it simply is a matter of putting it together. Once that is complete I need to write the first 3 chapters of my pre-dissertation and a number of other school related tasks. I have developed lists for each week of break to accomplish all of the small annoying things that have been put aside while I work on course work.

The financial situation is taking it toll on both Dave and I. It will be better in January, but not great. I keep looking for a GSI position that provides insurance, tuition, and stipend, they are just really difficult to come by. I will be writing for a load of scholarships and hopefully get a few for Winter term.

The kidney donation thing is still up in the air, which does not help much.


Needless to say, I have a lot on my mind and I am simply taking it one thing at a time, checking them all off the list and having faith that all will turn out well. (It always does!)

Peace

Monday, December 08, 2008

Ok Peeps

My schedule is nuts and keeping a blog, my space and facebook is way too much. I also am starting a coalition which will require me to write articles for a blog there. At this point I am thinking that I will keep my facebook updated with daily status type stuff and once a month (or twice a month) do a full update here. It seems that would be the best option at this point. Certainly I could change my mind, but I did want to let you know. Check me out on Facebook under Catie Green!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

ONE MORE WEEK!!!!!!!

One more week and this term is over! The end of this term signifies that I am half way finished with my course work! Yeah me! Of course the end of the term doesn't equal into much of a break for me as I have MANY things to do during the break, but at least I won't have to go to class and work on 3 different projects each week! I am going to organize the break though and be sure to get a day or two of Catie time in there!

Having the kids here was great fun. Next Saturday I will go see them again as it is Christmas with my father. Christmas isn't much fun when you have no money, but we are doing the best we can. Dave's new job is only 20 hours a week. I was seriously considering getting a seasonal job at Macy's, however the uncertainty of when surgery for organ donation would occur hindered that thought. My research position should pick up a bit over the break, which will bring in some funds. Dave has made such a good impression at his job that it is very likely he will go full time after the first of the year and possibly even "move up", of course I will receive additional funding in January, so I think the financial situation will be greatly eased after December.

One week peeps......ONE MORE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

Today is not the day that Dave and i are celebrating Thanksgiving. My children arrive tomorrow for the big turkey day. Today is actually me trying to wrap up the presentation that I have to give on Monday for my "final". I am way behind schedule on it, considering that I must email it to 3 professors tomorrow as well as another student in the class. Only 2 weeks left....I am ready for a break!

The tooth is gone, although they could not get it all the way numb, I was so fed up that I said, just pull it.....which of course they did not hesitate to do, after they closed the door so that no one could hear me! The area is healing up well, however my jaw is a mess. I think that I goofed up my TMJ only chewing on one side for weeks. Today it is actually a bit better. I can't open my mouth very wide, so I can only take small bites. It takes me a LONG time to eat!

Other than that, all is well. I simply wanted to take a minute to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Still have that damn tooth!

Indeed, the tooth that has been causing me so much pain, remains in my mouth. The dental students couldn't get me numb, I did try to put up a brave front and suggest that they just go for it and take it out anyway, after all, it wouldn't KILL me......they did try.......I screamed.....they stopped. So, my second round of antibiotics, which also means a second round of monistat (trust me, you don't want to know more than that) and I have to go AGAIN on Thursday and let them try again. Can't they just put me to sleep?? Seriously, I want it out and I don't want to KNOW that how it came out. *SIGH*

The end of the term is very stressful, 3 more weeks.........then.........a bit of a break. Although I have grants to write, scholarships to try for AND my pre-dissertation to work on, as well as research that I am in charge of ......to do over Christmas break, I at least don't have to attend class or do any additional writing or reading for classes.

I am in the middle of testing to see if I can donate a kidney to my father, the first set of tests show me as a much, with a slight problem with an antibody that he has that could fight with my Antigen #24, thus we must do the crossmatch antigen test again to be sure that he remains in a negative antibody state to my antigen. Once that is complete, we will continue with the process, the timing might be slightly off. I wanted to do it over the Christmas break, but that is looking very slim. I don't want to do it during the semester, nevertheless, I of course would for my father.

That pretty much brings you up to date........I have stuff to read......stuff to write........

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Oral Surgery

Yes indeed, the tooth that has been causing me so much trouble the last 3 weeks will finally be extricated from my mouth today. I am looking forward to having it gone, however I am not looking forward to the process of it being removed. I have xanax ready! I am behind the 8 ball on homework (why does everything have to come to a head at the end of the term?) Tomorrow I find out if I am a match to give my father a kidney, and if I am, hopefully we can schedule it for over Christmas break. Aside from a viral infection that Dave has (and I am getting) everything is still the same!

Now I need to run to meet with a prof about my research.....laterssssssss

Friday, November 07, 2008

Bored.

I am really bored. The sad thing is that I have so much to do, I need to NOT be bored! I am such a loner. I think it is sad really that I don't take very good care of my friends. If it wasn't for Dave I would probably be more lonely than I could ever imagine! Thankfully I do have him. He has a few good friends and it is fun to hang out with them, but I feel like I have let all of my friends down by not keeping in touch with them.

Anyway, I need to write a few papers this weekend (yes, a FEW) this pretty much explains WHY I am not a good friend. *sigh*

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Oh my aching tooth!

Yes folks I started having that feeling that soon I would have to visit the dentist. Last Friday it started to become of a more urgent feeling, as I waited out the weekend (the pain has been like no other) I could barely wait for Monday morning. Once I got to the School of Dentistry I was told that I need a root canal or a tooth extraction. Having no money or insurance I have to opt for the extraction. HOWEVER, I can not get in for an appointment for that until November 13th!!!! Why they don't build emergency visits into their schedule is beyond me. They put me on Pen VK to get rid of the infection. That finally started to help a little with the pain yesterday, but I am in for 2 weeks of pain that really is kicking my ass. I of course don't have time for this! Yesterday I had minor surgery on my face to have a cyst removed, thankfully that pain is nothing compared to the tooth.

Otherwise, all is well. I am going home to see the kids and my parents this weekend, although I have tons of homework to do while I am there. I am looking forward to seeing them.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

This is for "real"

This is how graduate school should be......no time for me to post on my blog! I am amazed at how much time flies by me between getting a moment to post on here! I have read more "stuff" this term than I have almost in my lifetime (ok, that is an exaggeration, but you get the point) along with reading has come MUCH "thinking". Aside from "school" I also have 2 jobs (technically) one as a research assistant which means I am the Project Coordinator (read, I do everything) and then of course I am the TA for a masters level class (although it is not a huge load of work). All in all, things are going very well. I am seriously considering a post doc fellowship in Washington DC for a year. That is a few years away, so I won't give too many details on that, but it could be a great experience for me!

The weather here in Michigan has been so lovely and I am trying to enjoy as much sunshine as possible before it disappears into the grey overcast winter. Michigan football of course is not a huge bright spot in the year, however I am a true blue fan and will hang in there with the "new regime" and hope that they can rebuild.

So peeps, life is good! :o)

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Whew!

Catie is a busy girl! School is keeping me hopping! I am loving it actually! It feels good to feel as if I "belong" here. Last year was very torturous and made me question what the hell I got myself into. This year is far more smooth and I am finally showing "them" what I am made of and impressing them to a degree that I never thought I could. However, it does keep me so busy I often forget to eat! If it were not for Dave, I might not ever eat! He is very good about making meals and taking very good care of me.

Chrystal and Jeff are coming tomorrow to go to the game on Saturday. Her birthday is this month, so this is her birthday gift. I got them SWEET seats in the 8th row, on the home side at around the 30 yard line. They are so excited. I have 4 presentations to give on Monday for classes and I am working feverishly to get them done before they arrive tomorrow. One of the four I will have to finish up on Sunday. It is my mid term presentation of my research model and needs to not be rushed. It is fully in progress, it simply needs more thought and time put into it.

Other than that, things are moving along fairly well. We had an unexpected "hiccup" in the financial department so we are scrambling to make it work this term. Throw into that mix that Dave is a groomsman for one of his friends wedding in Chicago on November 1st and we need to get the tux ($150!!!!) drive to Chicago, stay in a hotel 2 nights AND buy a wedding gift, not expenses that we were counting on. We are likely to share a hotel room with 2 of his buddies (as well as the drive) so this is NOT going to be a romantic get away! PLUS, I have NOTHING to wear to a fancy wedding....ugh!

I think that brings you up to date as best I can tonight, Tabitha's Salon take over is on Bravo at 10:00, So I need to wrap up some school work and be ready to watch....hee hee. I am not a fan of reality tv, but I got hooked on this show and Dave tolerates it!

Peace!

Monday, September 29, 2008

....in a good way.....

Busy that is! I at least feel on top of things (sort of). I am by far busier this term than any other term, however I am much more on top of things. This of course is a good thing. I apologize for not updating much here, I simply am not on the computer much! Most of my work at the moment is reading and thinking (Loads of it).


The apartment is finally nearly normal. The kitchen cupboards need a bit of reorganization, otherwise, things are just how they should be, and clean to boot! I must say that feels good!

Things with Dave remain very good. Actually better than very good. I really enjoy having him in my life, it is as if he should have always been there.


That is all the time I have to update you folks, aside from the fact that Michigan won BIG on Saturday. It was a heartbreaker the entire first half, and then something sparked and those boys came alive to give us fans a win that we will never forget! GO BLUE!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Holy Crap!

How can a week have gone by since I posted on here? The good news is that the yard sale is OVER! We made some cash and what didn't sell, we left at the curb or took to the local thrift shop. I do have a bunch of OLD magazines left over that are in my car and I need to drop them off at the library. I spent the day finishing up some homework for tomorrow and organizing some things around here. Trying to pull it all together. It is going to take some time before it is perfect, but at least what I can see, is back in order. (Drawers and closets need to be re-organized and a thorough deep clean is needed) But at least there are not boxes and crap stacked up in every single room, preventing drawers and closets from opening. It was insanity, and now, it is OVER! The best thing is that the spare bedroom was going to be "the boys room" a space for Dave to go and get away (from me I suppose...lol) and as soon as he set it up, he said, this is going to be the study, a place for YOU (me) to be able to study. I thought that was sweet and didn't think much more about it, until during this hideous time that the apartment was crammed with the yard sale stuff and all of my books and journals (etc) were all over the living room, did I realize that I NEED a study room. So today I organized all of my stuff and set it up in the "study" and I am sooooo excited about it! I think that my study habits will improve with this space.

(Did you notice that LONG run on sentence in the above paragraph? I am leaving it, just for the hell of it!)

I am very excited about making plans with Big and Little to have dinner together soon!

Just so you know, my days are becoming filled to the brim, my work load is beyond reasonable. It is good in some ways, and not so good. I know that I need to set aside ONE day that I don't schedule meetings or appointments and am able to spend the entire day working on homework. It is more difficult for me to break up my day with "stuff" and then get back in the swing afterwards. This too shall pass!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Excitement.....

I really am excited about this term. There are some good things happening, more things are coming together, although I am busy, I am busy in a good way.....a way that is making progress. My entire first year I felt as if I was spinning my wheels, I finally feel like a doctoral student and that is a good thing.

I have been so wrapped up in everything that I have moved away from my "meditation" . Dave was rearranging some books (I am a total book whore and he hasn't even seen the half of it, before he moved in I sold a ton of books on amazon AND I packed a ton books up for the yard sale, and I STILL have 4 bookshelves full of books!) Anyway, he was rearranging some books and he asked about all of my buddhist books and inquired what I got out of them. My reply was swift, they helped me to be centered and be more conscious of being "present" with my life. As I said that, I realized how much I have moved away from it. That actually being present with each moment has been pushed aside in order to "get through" this degree. In actuality that will help me to "get through" this degree! So I am training my brain to be more present each moment and enjoy what my life is at this stage. It will be over soon enough and I will move on to something even more exciting!

Now, I need to prepare a presentation on the Presidency of the United States (sounds as if I am getting a poly sci degree!) I have a class that is about health policy and it is hugely political. It is actually very interesting. My goal is to be able to affect change at a policy level for those who are dying, thus the policy class!

BTW...less than a week before the "yard sale" and I can not WAIT to have that behind us!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Go BLUE.......*sigh*


Well, Michigan Lost to Notre Lame today :o( The reason we lost is because we turned the ball over 6 times (READ SIX FREAKING TIMES!!!!) We do look better with each game that we play, it is going to be a painful season though! Here is a photo of our cat, laying on a Michigan Pom Pom after the game, I think it shows just how Michigan Fans feel today!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I miss this.....

I miss putting down my thoughts here. School of course is overly demanding (in some good ways). I have had a bit of the flu bug today, but there was no time to lay in bed (which is exactly what I wanted to do) I had meetings to attend that could not be missed, so as a true trooper, I just made sure I kept close to the bathroom and marched on!

Tonight I should be doing homework, however I think that I will lay in bed and simply read some of the mounds of articles and chapters in books that I need to read and relax a bit.

I have been successfully been narrowing my research down from Spirituality at the end of life to, what is the "meaning" at the end of life. Which more closely resembles what my goal is. My goal is to affect change in acute care settings for those who are dying. Spirituality seemed to be key, however that leaves so much room for interpretation to Religion and that is not what I am talking about, I am talking about helping dying people find the meaning in their life as they move on to the next life.

I am having some issues with my advisor, namely SHE IS DRIVING ME INSANE! The more I talk to other professors, I realize that some how we are not connecting. I am her first PhD student to mentor and I hate to be a black mark on her record, however I also can't take the risk that I don't get my PhD because she is not the right match for me. I have a class this term that matches you with a mentor for the class. I met with my mentor today and it really hit me as after we talked for 40 minutes I had more direction to my dissertation than I had received all year with my advisor. After a few meetings with this mentor, I will broach the subject with her and see what she has to say about the situation.

That about sums it up folks! Dave remains the love of my life :o) Peace Out!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Focus!

I am working to get everything organized. This semester is going to be VERY full! In many ways this will be good for me. I do better under pressure. ( typically).

The good news is that Michigan won yesterday. This team is very young and the offense looks like a high school team. My hope was to win at least 6 games and get a bowl berth, so that we don't lose our bowl streak (something like 33 years in a bowl game) after watching the first 2 games, I am very concerned that we might not make a bowl berth this year. The chances that we will be ready to be on top of the game next year are slim as well. It will likely take 3 years total before Michigan is back to a power house team. :o(

Ok, back to the work that must be accomplished today! Peace out!

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Oh My!

I am buried in this apartment. If we survive this, it will be a miracle. It is causing lots of tension as we walk through the maze of CRAP! We finally got smart and decided that the large furniture items that we want to sell can go to the consignment shop (and the pick up!) So Saturday while I am at the game (hoping to see the Wolverines WIN) Dave will be here getting this big stuff out of here. I would take a photo for you to see, but it is too depressing. (seriously). I am what you might call a minimalist and enjoy SPACE that is pristine clean (ok, so I am OCD as well) this is the farthest thing from what my comfort zone likes and there is little hope that it is going to be any different until after the yard sale, which is 2.5 weeks away. We are getting there and we will make it!

Now, on to all things PhD. I have been asked to serve on a nursing committee for the school of nursing (very nice honor), I am continuing my research position and just today was asked to be the GSI (graduate student intern) for a class I took last fall. I love the professor and the class is on nursing theory, which is really interesting to me so I am excited about this. Of course I still have 3 classes of my own as well as my Pre Dissertation which needs to be completed by December AND the NRSA Grant that is due in December. Oh, I am also the liaison to the incoming class of PhD students. All of this to say......I am going to be busy beyond belief. Of course I have this new relationship (he is also very busy) and getting the apartment settled. Life is full my friends, very full. I don't expect it to be any different, and I am hoping that this year goes much better than the first year. All signs point to the fact that I am looked upon favorably by the School of Nursing with the appointments and that gives me a boost, now it is up to me to show that they were not wrong in appointing me to these positions. I can do it! (right????? :P)

Peace out!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

GO BLUE!!!!!!

Today is the first Michigan Football game. I am SOOOOO excited! I want to be down there early, I want to watch the band march the team into the locker room! My Michigan flag is hanging in the window, my pom poms are ready to go! Dave is a huge Michigan fan as well, he doesn't like to watch them from the stands, he prefers to watch on TV. No one has any idea what to expect from this new Michigan Era, I have a good feeling about it, although Utah is a worthy oppenent! Vegas has Michigan winning by 3.5 points and Vegas is pretty good at predicting.

On another note, the yard sale is only 3 weeks away, I can not tell you just how much I can not wait for this to happen. The piles of shit that are laying around this apartment are about to drive me insane! It makes Dave a bit nuts too and it creates a bit of tension for both of us. We are doing fine with it, but both of us are counting down the days until this will ALL be gone!!!!

School is ramping up in a very quick way, my schedule is getting very full very quickly. It is going to be a VERY busy term. I have a committee appointment as well as being a liaison to the incoming PhD class. My goal of course is to stay ahead of everything. It has to be better than my first year!

Ok, I need to go get ready for the game! Peace out and GO BLUE!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Having a life......

Now that I have Dave here, my time on the computer seems to be dwindling. I swear when I lived here alone, my computer was always on and I was checking it, surfing the web, etc. OFTEN! It isn't that he "keeps" me from it, in the sense that he is "controlling" me, it is just that we have so much fun together I don't even think about the computer. We sat on the deck for hours tonight, talking and just enjoying each others company, not once did I think about the computer! Now I am unable to fall asleep so rather than keep him awake, I got up and am surfing around a bit and I realized that it was Monday that I last posted here! So, having a life means that I don't have as much time to talk about my life...... :o)

Not that anyone is missing that , after all, I don't lead a terribly exciting life. I can tell you that this apartment is beyond a disaster zone. Aside from the garage sale things, we also have items that we are incorporating into the apartment, but are unable to due to the space being taken up by the garage sale items, so these items are stacked up in the living room (and the study, AND the ebay stuff is stacked up in the bedroom!) On top of all of that, there was some leak in the kitchen plumbing, which maintenance had to come and cut a hole in the wall to fix, now the hole is being fixed (and won't be finished until Monday) so the microwave is displaced as well as the microwave stand......and all of the items that I keep under the sink are sitting around in the kitchen..........a very uncomfortable situation which won't be resolved until after Sept 20th (the day of the garage sale) Oh, AND we still have things at Dave's old apartment that need to be brought over.........*sigh*

One more month, than this place will be much more comfortable. Until then, my OCD is having to take a back seat and relax a bit, there is no fretting over it, it is what it is, and it will get better eventually.

Dave is having a party (here!@!!@) for his employees on Tuesday........I will be going to TR for a few days......I have no desire to hang out with the boys from work and I have NO desire to have company when things look like they do.....so I am busting out of here and going home for a few days. (I think Dave is glad for that as well...lol) I would be a big party pooper, I am pretty sure of that. It will also give him a day or two to clean up before I get home......Not a bad plan!

I suppose that is enough blabbing for one night! I think I am beginning to get tired now! (I bore myself!!!! hee hee)

I hope your weekend is great......Peace out!

Monday, August 18, 2008

2 weeks!

Holy cow, I only have 2 weeks left before the fall term begins! I do know that my schedule is going to be crappy on Mondays. My classes meet on Mondays only. I will be in class from 1pm until 9pm every single Monday. (oh that is going to hurt!) One of my classes only meets twice and I am not sure what those days are yet, but I can tell you that I will be singing the Monday blues all term! Dave has already agreed to pick me up from class each Monday night so I don't have to pay for 8 hours + of parking each week. I will take the bus in each Monday then he will pick me up (which will be very nice). He is going to take a class this fall as well to finish up something that he is working on.

I am editing my Yale paper for publication this week, as well as working on writing a grant. I also have my research and research project that remains on my plate. I didn't really get a "summer break", although I haven't had it too rough the last month. I also am the mentor for the incoming PhD students who are going bachelor degree to PhD. That was my big complaint about the program after my first year and I feel that there needs to be student mentoring for this group of students because it is extremely challenging. That will take up some of my time, however I am thrilled to be able to help the incoming class.


I have nothing of real interest to share beyond that (and yes, I realize that is not interesting...lol) I hope that you are all doing well. Peace out!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Whew!


I finally crashed today. I have done a few things, but not half as much as I was planning to do. Dave's friend Steve is coming over for dinner and THIS is what he will get to see in the dining room (I hope he doesn't mind eating on the deck, sharing a seat with the kitties!







Needless to say, the garage sale can't happen soon enough!

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

My oh my!

I have hardly been on the computer this last week. I have been busting it to get things settled around here, every day going over to Dave's old apartment and bringing more stuff here and trying to incorporate it. We have one more load to bring, then cleaning his apartment and then a garage sale to hold. I will get a photo for you all to see just how horrible it looks around here! Mostly it looks good, just the dining room that is over flowing with garage sale items. This weekend we are going to organize it and price it all so it will be ready to go.

Today however, I am heading over to Triple Ripple to help my mother move. Oye, my body is so tired, the last thing I want to do is to help her move since that is what I have been doing the last week, but she needs my help, so I am going! I will be back late tonight, maybe I can try to update you better tomorrow!

Peace!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Shout Out!

Giving you all a shout out! I can not believe that it is Thursday already! I have a feeling that this month is going to fly by! I am knee deep in writing my research proposal. I have a few irons in the fire this month, aside from getting Dave moved in. His work revolves a bit around Eastern Michigan University's school schedule and that is going to ramp up here in the next few weeks and he is going to be busting busy. He also just told me that "move in day" for the freshman is August 30th (which happens to be the first Michigan football game) I say all of that in order to say that this weekend is going to be the last weekend for us to get a lot done at his old apartment. The things that we have to sell at a garage sale is multiplying exponentially! Once we have the garage sale, things will be much easier to get settled. (We are not having the garage sale until September, mainly because that is when my apartment complex is having it).

Everything is going very well here with him here. We are really enjoying each other's company. It truly amazes me, but I am not complaining a bit!

Little called the other night and BAM........I have tickets to see Wicked!!!!!!!!! I am very excited about that! I am assuming it is in Detroit, in December. Cool huh? It is going to ROCK!


Ok......back to work......peace out!

Monday, August 04, 2008

Movin on.....in.....

Well, Dave is officially moved in. (For all intensive purposes) He still has things at his place and we have the rest of this month to get everything moved over and settled. It has made our lives more settled (and slightly unsettled as my apartment is in transition). It is really nice to have him here. August is our month to get settled and by the time September rolls around his work schedule is going to go bonkers and my school schedule will follow suit, so this is nice to have this time to adjust and get settled. I have plenty to keep me busy with research, paper writing and grant writing, along side the "nesting". I really wondered how I would do sharing my space with someone (given my 2 disasters with roommates) however, I think when you love someone it is much different and this (so far) has been a wonderfully pleasant experience (with the exception of his cat jumping off the balcony into a tree (small tree) without our knowledge, until about 4am when we heard him screaming, then of course a HUGE drama ensued in getting the damn cat down from the tree!)

I am certified as OCD according to Dave. I am a "neat freak" and he is basically as well, I just am a bit more OCD about it than he is. He is (and has been) very good about picking up after himself and cleaning. He cooks more than I do (and he prefers to). Sharing the "chores" hasn't been an issue. It is interesting to me as it has been 20 years since I "took care" of a man and this just feels completely natural. I opened up the closet and saw all of his shirts hanging and I said "omg, there is a boy living here!" :o)

I had the flu at the end of last week (I think I mentioned I wasn't feeling well) my guess is some sort of flu bug. I feel much better now!

We are planning to have a dinner party sometime in September, sort of a "house warming" type thing for our friends to meet the other. I will provide details as it becomes more solid. (expect late September as the garage sale will need to be finished by then (oye the things we have to sell!!)

Friday, August 01, 2008

Michigan Football

Well, the count down has begun! Only 28 days left to the first game of the season! The Coaches poll has Michigan ranked at #24, which is better than other polls. I am really hoping that we have a great season. With the new "regime" there is a chance that we could really suck, but I am leaning towards us blowing everyone's mind! At the very least I am hoping that we keep our bowl game streak, it would be totally awesome though to see this new "regime" take us into the top 10 by the end of the season!

I have not been feeling great the last few days, today was the worst. I am feeling a bit better and looking forward to a relaxing evening with Dave. We are going to head to the grocery store and get some yummy fruit (and probably some bread and cheese) and just hang out at home and watch a movie or something relaxing. Sounds perfect to me. We have a lot to accomplish tomorrow and I have data to finish putting into the data base and a research proposal to work on. I think we are going to move some of his things over to my apartment tomorrow. The goal is to have him moved in by the end of the month. It will be nice to have "one" place and not split our time, energy and resources between 2 apartments.

I hope that you all have a great weekend!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Holy Cow!

I have been trying to update you all! Every time I type out a post, I get "called" away and don't get it posted! I can not believe that it is Thursday already! Chrystal and Jeff came to visit for a few days so that Chrystal could take her nursing license exam. They left late last night. Today is "domestic" day which means I get to clean the apartment, do laundry and get myself organized. I had a not so pleasant run in with Comcast yesterday. (If there was anyway for me to get rid of Comcast I would do it in a heart beat!). This is going to be quick and short as I really need to get some things done, but I did want you to know that everything is going along fine here, I am looking forward to getting MUCH accomplished in August and hopefully I can get some fun stuff posted here for you all. Peace out.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Ahhhhh!

Summer classes are OVER! Yay me! Today Dave and I are going home to see the kids and go to my family reunion (I know, that is super cruel to do to him, but, well....) We will be home in the early evening tomorrow. I am trying to get ready, but I seem to have no motivation! I think that I would love to lay around and watch TV all day! Not happening, so I better get to it. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Nearly there!

Ok, so I spent the entire day yesterday (until 1am) finishing my research proposal and my presentation for today. I am up again to touch up the presentation and practice it a bit. I have class at 1pm and then THAT will be finished! Basically the research proposal that I wrote for this class is my research proposal for my dissertation. This of course means that it is only a "rough draft" . Since I am writing an individual fellowship grant to the NIH (National Institute of Health) to fund the final 3 years of my program, I need to clean that up in August. I also have another research proposal to write for my thesis which is something that doctoral candidates must also complete. (I am already working on that research!) So although I have no "class" in August, I still have MUCH to accomplish before the fall term begins. I VOW to keep up on this work and NOT wait until the last minute to complete it! :o)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Why oh why!?

I swear I am the worst procrastinator ever in the world. It has a tendency to make me miserable so I have no idea WHY I do it. My last class meeting for the summer is Friday. I have a research proposal that is due for this class on Thursday night and a presentation on said proposal on Friday afternoon. I have been dragging my feet on this. I have a A+ in this class at this point, turning in a good product would go a long way in keeping that A+. So here I am, reading all of my favorite blogs and updating my own. :o)


Don't get me wrong, it is not as if I have done NOTHING about this, I have my lit review basically complete, I know exactly what I am doing as far as Null Hypothesis, purpose, etc. It is simply a matter of putting it all together. I have a few meetings tomorrow which will take up some of my time. I also have been selling shit on Ebay to make rent for August and have 5 huge boxes to ship. I also need to follow up on financial aid stuff that might bring me in a bit of cash to help with August bills.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Beautiful Love

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. Traveling is never fun, however anything that could go wrong, went wrong, and then some. Both of my flights were delayed for over an hour, the second one delayed prior to boarding and THEN AGAIN once we boarded. I put my bags under the seat, only to discover after I pulled them out and carried them, I had someone's chewed gum all over my bag AND my pants. It was horribly hot. I could go on, but you get the idea. Dave (formerly known as "the boy") was a bit frustrated with my poor attitude. By the time I arrived in Detroit I was a mess. It took the airline an entire hour to get our luggage on the turn-style (wtf?) Although we had decided that Dave wouldn't pick me up due to his crazy schedule, he knew I was in a bad state and called me to say he was on his way to get me. We arrived at my apartment and he said that I should go up and get settled while he ran to the store to get me a pack of smokes and some sangria. I was fully unsuspecting........I arrived at my door to find a red heart taped to the door. My first thought that it was my neighbor who I had given some art supplies to their children and it was a little thank you note. I removed the heart and opened the door......only to find red hearts taped to the walls throughout my entire apartment and red hearts hanging from the ceiling by white ribbons throughout the entire apartment. What an incredible feeling to know that someone loves me enough to take the time to do something so incredibly special. What a beautiful end to what was a horrible day! Someone loves me :o)



Saturday, July 19, 2008

All is well

My presentations went well, my paper was well received. Now I just have this evening the the day tomorrow to wait to board the plane. I wish I was going home tonight! I will use this time to work on my research proposal. I miss "the boy" extra lots and do not like this being apart 2 weekends in a row........:o(


I shouldn't goof around on here, I seriously need to work, so I am going to cut this short and say.....see you in a few!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Yale, Here I am!

Ok, so I am in New Haven CT at the famous Yale University. I am presenting a paper that I wrote this weekend at a conference. I was surprised by the city. It seems a little dirty. I was expecting it to be slightly different. Although the campus itself seems very reverent (similar to the UofM campus). The hotel that I am at is very nice, however for a 7 story hotel, ONE soda machine (that is out of order) hardly seems enough. I am dying for a soda, so I suppose I should go out and see if I can find a party store. *sigh*

I miss "the boy" (of course) and he seems sad without me there. :o(


Ok, I better go find a party store before it becomes too dangerous for me to be out on the streets!

More later!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

A Survey

One of my favorite blogs Legal Goddesshad this survey up and since I love to avoid all things that I should be doing with things that I shouldn’t be doing…….


1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing?
No, I prefer Fat free Raspberry vinaigrette
2. Have you ever smoked heroin?
Nope, nor have I smoked weed! (true story!)
3. Do you own a gun?
No and it is highly unlikely that I ever will.
4. Your favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty?
Expresso Royale – Chai latte with soy (yummy!)
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
No.
6. What do you think of hot dogs?
Very yummy, particularly with raw onions, cucumbers and celery salt!
7. Favorite Christmas song?
Silent Night
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Diet Pepsi (sorry!)
9. Can you do push ups?
If I can be on my knees
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?
Anything with my glass art!
11. Favorite hobby?
Glass art! (Haven’t melted glass in well over a year though!)
12. Do you have A.D.D.?
Apparently I do, I should have taken a ritalin, maybe then I would be writing a research proposal rather than typing this survey!
13. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself?
Wow, that is tough, I have grown to love what I used to hate. If I had to say something……I suppose my ability to see both sides of a situation can be annoying, sometimes I just want to be angry and have my way, but I easily can see the others point of view and tend to compromise far too easily!
14. Middle name?
Something very typical for my given name.
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
1) I really should not be wasting time right now!
2) I wonder if I will get everything done on my list to do tomorrow!
3) I wish I had some ice cream in the freezer!

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
Diet Pepsi, water, margaritas!
17. Current worry right now?
Can I actually get both of these proposals written?
18. Current hate right now?
Summer Graduate Student Funding!
19. Favorite place to be?
Anywhere with “the boy”
20. How did you bring in the New Year?
Ummm, I don’t remember, I am fairly sure that I was asleep!
21. Like to travel?
Yes.
22. Name three people who will complete this?
Not asking anyone to.
23. Do you own slippers?
Noooo….barefoot baby!
24. What color shirt are you wearing?
White
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
Yes :o)
26. Can you whistle?
Yes
27. Favorite color?
Green
28. Would you be a pirate?
Not a chance
29. What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don’t sing in the shower, I do sing in the car though!
30. Favorite girl’s name?
Samantha
31. Favorite boy’s name?
Benjamin
32. What’s in your pocket right now?
No pockets
33. Last thing that made you laugh?
“the boy”
34. Best bed sheets as a child?
Wow, hmm, I was lucky to have bed sheets!
35. Worst injury you’ve ever had?
Broken collar bone when I was 3
36. Do you love where you live?
Yes :o)
37. How many TVs do you have in your house?
Just 1, but when “the boy” moves in it is likely to increase exponentially to something like 4?
38. Who is your loudest friend?
No loud friends!
40. Does someone have a crush on you?
I hope so!
41. What is your favorite book?
Anything that isn’t a textbook!
42 What is your favorite candy?
Whoppers
43. Favorite Sports Team?
Michigan football! GO BLUE!
44. What were you doing 12 AM last night?
Sleeping.
45. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?
I would give anything to curl back up with “the Boy” and sleep some more

I am certain that is more about me than you cared to know.......:P

Oye!

I am a bit backlogged on stuff. I have been listing stuff on Ebay to make a bit of cash. I leave Thursday to present my paper at Yale and will return late Sunday evening. I hope to have internet access, but I won't know until I get there. I of course will take homework with me and hope to have extra time to work on it. Since I am so poor right now, I don't have money to go do things while I am there, so I won't be getting out too much. I have a bizzilion things to do before I leave. July was suppose to be better (and it was) but not as good as I was hoping for. I DO hope that August is much more tame.

At this point in time "the boy" is planning to move in September 1st. It is a big decision for both of us, but in all honesty we are basically living together now, so why keep 2 apartments? His lease is up in August, so that is why we are looking towards September. I think it will be much easier to have more of a routine if we do this. At the moment everyday seems to get goofed up trying to mesh our 2 spaces, responsibilities etc. Certainly combining expenses will also be a big bonus. Every day that goes by, we become closer and love each other more. It feels right and good, so we are going with it!

Ok.....research proposal.....MUST. GET. DONE.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Home!

Wow, I really enjoyed seeing the kids, it was the best time that we have had in a long time. The house is now spotless (for how long, who knows!) I really missed "the boy" and the best part was coming home. He is at work and I drove straight there and the got the best hug ever! Now I am home and need to do some intensive homework before "the boy" gets off work, at which time we are going out to dinner and sit and talk for the rest of the evening! (I can't wait!)

I am hoping that you all are having a wonderful end to your weekend!


Peace.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The good news and the bad news

The good news, I am back in Triple Creek to see the kiddies and it is totally awesome to see them. Really and Truly. I miss them tons.

The bad news, I miss "the boy" like, extra lots. He couldn't come with me and, well....damn I miss him!

Fortunately for me I have the kids and I can enjoy them for the next few days, and see my parents, etc. However, when I go home on Sunday, I think that I am going to be one happy girl to see "the boy"!

I promised the kids that I would clean the house for them, so that should be fun (not). I am planning to "work" tomorrow to make a bit of cash and Benjamin turns 21 on Sunday, so long about Midnight on Saturday night, I will be purchasing my baby boy's first legal drink. It should be a fun weekend, even though part of my heart is back in Ann Arbor with "the boy".

I do hope that you are all having an enjoyable weekend!

(Oh, PS, "the boy" and I are planning an 80's Prom party.......so RSVP if you would like to come!)

Should be......

Should be.....Could be.......I seriously need to get into a better routine. Things are beginning to fall through the cracks. It is funny, when I am in the midst of so much to do, planning how it is all going to get done can be helpful, however my plans are unrealistic, then I have this hope that I will have it all accomplished and have this free time, and when I don't follow "the plan" I then lose the free time that I was hoping for.......

Anyway, "the boy" told me yesterday that I am missing the Art Fair (it is the weekend that I will be at Yale) That was disappointing to find out. I had just moved to Ann Arbor (it will be one year exactly this coming Sunday) and the very next week was the art fair and Scott Squared came over and took me to the art fair (remember??) I was lost beyond belief anytime I went anywhere in this town for the first month I was here. Thankfully I know my way around now! I do love Ann Arbor though!

I am up early in hopes of accomplishing a few things before a 10am meeting. After that, I need to be VERY focused and accomplish a few more things. I am debating heavily with myself about when to drive home (home meaning the kids in TR). I really should go tonight, which gives me the entire day tomorrow, however, I am not sure that I can or should. I haven't seen "the boy" much in the last week (I basically see him everyday, but we have not had much time together) So I hesitate to leave tonight, knowing that if I waited to leave until the morning tomorrow, I would probably have this evening to spend with "the boy". Meh. We will see.

Alrighty.......time to do something to accomplish something........:o) Peace out!

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Where does it go?

The time.....where does it go? Suddenly it is nearly the middle of July! That really amazes me!

I have data to enter into data bases for the research that I am working on, but first I need to race through the apartment and clean! I have not cleaned this place for weeks! (that sounds bad, but I am not that dirty, I can just see the dust and just knowing that I haven't actually "cleaned" makes me a little nuts) so....thus, I quick run through. I need to go home and work on Friday (easy stuff, competencies and such) and then I promised my ex hubby that I would clean the house for the kiddies. It is my baby boy's 21st birthday on Sunday, so I imagine at midnight on Saturday night I will be buying him his first legal drink. That pretty much ensures that I won't be coming home until Sunday morning. I really don't have the time to do this, but it needs to be done. I am officially suspended from my job there until I complete the competencies, so that is a must! Anyway.....I am blabbing on....sorry.


Next weekend I go to do my presentation at Yale. This gives "the boy" 2 weekends without me. I wonder how he will fair......my guess, he will have a bunch of "boy" things going on and fully enjoy his time! That is not a bad thing!!

Ok, enough blabbing........off to dust.......etc......

Monday, July 07, 2008

Research

This summer is full of research for me (among other things). I am working on two proposals, one is a pilot study that is in progress at the moment. That one is to test a survey tool being used in a larger study for clarity, reliability and validity as well as investigating how anxiety contributes to the use of emergent care in home care patients. This is not my particular field of interest, however I am an "expert" in home care patients and OASIS (which is a data set of outcomes that home care agencies are required to report to Medicare) so I am being "used" for this study, however it is helping me as well.

The other research proposal is my area of interest and it is the first step towards my dissertation. I will be presenting the proposal to the palliative care team at the Detroit VA later this month. I am hoping to conduct the study there. It is an investigation in regards to seriously ill or dying inpatients and their family and visitors and what type of spiritual/religious activities they seek out to help them cope with the present illness. Basically I am wanting to show that patients and their families do seek out spiritual/religious activities when they are ill and the health care system does not do all that they could to assist them with this coping measure. There are many definitions of "spiritual care" and "religious care" and it can sometimes be an uncomfortable subject for nurses to address with their patients. Holistic care addresses the entire person and when spiritual care is not addressed we are not providing good holistic care to our patients.

Research is difficult in that you have to take small baby steps to reach the final outcome. This means that you build on research, which is why this research project is a stepping stone to my dissertation, I need it as a base to show that this is important to patients, then I can begin looking at the outcomes of those patients who do receive spiritual care.....etc.

I am falling in love with research, even though it is tedious and time consuming. I love the organization of it and to see the results is really incredible. Good thing I love it, as that is basically what getting a PhD is about! At least I love SOMETHING about getting my PhD.......:o)

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Boring!

My blog is so fricken boring! My apologies to those who view this regularly. I realize that I have gotten very stale. It seems that all of my "creativity is being sucked dry working on my writing projects. I really miss my art and how that stirred my creativity. I see no hope for changing that at this point. There is no time for me to melt glass, even if I had a studio set up. I feel as if I have gotten into some crazy rut that I can not pull out of. Relationships take tons of energy and that certainly has helped to stagnate me in some ways. (Not a bad thing, just a transitional thing) The one thing about "the boy" is that he is actually fairly social and much of what we do is with other people. It isn't that we have sucked into each other and the rest of the world has gone away, I have not however incorporated "my friends" into this relationship. Not for any reason in particular, more because I am simply going "along for the ride" so to speak. In some ways I feel a lack of direction. Being of a buddhist mindset, each day is what matters most, I think that I am taking that in a literal sense, and not necessarily looking to the future as much as I should be.

Ok, now I am rambling! I just feel as if there is so much more to say beyond "I am busy". There is so much more to life, there is so much that could/should be discussed. There is no question that working on my PhD has been THE most challenging thing I have ever done in my life. I am not afraid that I won't be successful in accomplishing it, I do wonder sometimes what the price of this is going to be in the long run. My desire to do this is altruistic in the sense that I hope to be an agent for change in how people who are seriously ill and dying are cared for in our country, but it is also entirely selfish in that I want my life to have meant something.

I suppose that is where this post originates from, what am I writing that will have meaning, that might touch others in a positive way? Right now, not a hell of a lot! I promise to be more thoughtful about what I post here, so those of you who do come to read, will get more than "Damn that girl bitches a lot!" :o)

Peace my friends.

Friday, July 04, 2008

Happy 4th!

I have been way out of touch for days now, as I have had no power for days. I just arrived back home and thankfully there is power, now it is time to weed through the email and get to work. My advisor called me at MIDNIGHT last night to tell me that she is scrapping my proposal and that I need to start over. (wtf?) Nice thoughts to go to bed to huh? Meh, part of it bothers me, on many different levels, and part of it, is like....oh well.....lets try this again!

Now.....I need to get cracking.

Peace.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Michigan Marching Band

This is one of the reasons that I love going to the football games.......The Michigan Marching Band. This is from the 2007 season which means I actually saw this live ...... I am ready for football season to begin!




GO BLUE!!!

Credit for said video belongs Here

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Research Proposal

I am knee deep in writing a VERY lengthy research proposal that is long past due. I am making progress! Once I get that off to my advisor I will begin work on my second research proposal. The outline for that is due this weekend, I nearly have that outline developed so that part is a piece of cake, the proposal itself will be much more fun than this one, as the one that I am working on now isn't really my research interest and it is super complicated to write a research proposal for a pilot study of a research project that my advisor is the principal investigator for. My second research project is MY research interest and I am excited to be developing it. It will be the first step to my dissertation. How fun will that be to reference my OWN research article in MY dissertation!

My Father's health continues to decline. He had dialysis for the first time yesterday, after having his newly placed fistula not work, so they put in a central line to use until the fistula will work. He did get his letter from the UofM transplant team and he is officially on the donor list for a new kidney. "the boy" is calling today to find out if he can be tested as a match for my father. Pretty cool huh? My father's blood type is AB, so he is a universal recipient and will match any blood type. There are many other factors that need to be tested, so we are not getting our hopes up that he will be a match, but it is very cool that he would even be tested.

Things smoothed out with "the boy" and are going along even better than before. The little bump was a good thing, just to help us learn how to "be" with each other.

Now, I need to FOCUS and finish this proposal so that I may have this monster off my plate! :o)

Peace Out!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Eric Shiveley

Eric Shively is a "struggling artist" in Colorado. I read THISblog and saw his trailer for a movie that is making the film festival circuit. It looked like it would be something that I would love to see, so I asked and Eric himself emailed me. I was able to get a copy of his movie and his music. It is a great movie and his music is really awesome, so I want to share it with you all here. This is his trailer for the movie:





If you like what you see, you can find Eric Here

Better

Ok, the prof for the stats class emailed me and I got a "B", which of course is better than a "B-" AND NOW I am finished. I think that is why I was pissy, just having that weigh on my mind, needing to know that I put that class in the books and can continue to move forward.

Part of the trouble for me is that I am used to being an A+ student, so getting "B's" is something that I am not used to, and it bothers me, particularly since in graduate school that is considered to be the lowest grade acceptable. I think that there is this internal struggle with "am I really smart enough to do this?" Certainly I had to be smart enough on paper to even be considered as a doctoral candidate in one of the top nursing schools in the nation, so logically, one must conclude that indeed I am smart enough. I know of master level nursing students here at Michigan who have applied to the PhD program here and have been denied, so it is not that anyone that applies is accepted. (Do you see how my mind is working...... this is called the "Impostor syndrome" Which is this feeling that I don't belong, that they made some mistake and that is how I continue to succeed at things, someone made some mistake and I just got lucky at each turn. Something like that anyway.......so, yeah, I am smart enough, I just need to keep reminding myself. Things are going to be much smoother for the next two months. I have 2 research proposals to write, research to conduct, a paper to present at Yale, and some time to breath too. It is all good.

"The boy" update, I think that things are going fine, we hit a little bump, one of those, learning how to "be" with each other things. No doubt that both of us pissy at the same time is not a good combination! When I get super stressed (as I was this week) my minor insecurities become more evident. Since I present myself as this "put together, intelligent, strong woman" the dichotomy of those insecurities seem even more glaring. I am who I am, so I guess we will see if "the boy" can love me as I am, good and bad. My heart of course will be broken into a million pieces, but, my heart has been broken into a million pieces before and I survived it, so if he walks away...... I will survive that too. I am hoping that won't be the case, because it is really difficult to find what I have found with him.

Anyway......you can see that I still have a little "pissy" left in me, however, just knowing that the class is in the books, well, that just made my day! :o)

Ok, time to write a research proposal.......(it is due tomorrow :o)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

*sigh*

The stats class is over, I am hoping beyond hope that I get a "B".......if I have to take that class over again, I may just scream bloody murder. (Graduate work requires a "B" for the class to count, I am certain that I have said that before, but just in case....now you know)

I am hot and sweaty and, well.....rather pissy........it doesn't help that "the boy" is pissy too. We have discovered that both of us being pissy at the same time, isn't such a fun thing. Although he did bring me flowers today and made me dinner (that is like the 3rd time this week that he has made me dinner, I could get used to that!)

He is watching the Tigers, although he did take a break from the game to run over to the mall with me for a bit.

Alright.....I am not in the mood to update this.....so.....I guess I better end this before it spirals down to a rant :o)

Peace Out.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Crash!!!

Ack, this week sucks so much I can barely stand it! It is nearly over......I so hope that I can survive it!

My head has a dent in it. Seriously! It is still a little too sore to really manipulate it, but I keep trying to determine if there is a break in my skull. I am assuming if there is a break, I would have additional symptoms, so I suppose it is just.....dented.

Ok......I am trying to get to bed early........even though I should stay up for hours more to work on this homework, my philosophy is that a good nights sleep will actually make me more productive tomorrow. I will let you know if it works.

Nighty night.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Geesh!

I did a post on Monday, where the hell did that go? ACK! Anyway....busy week here......my favorite hang out has closed shop (the MZone) so I am mourning the loss of that community of Michigan football fans........

"the boy" and I just bought a sofa together (well, it is ordered and should be delivered next week). I don't have a sofa, I had 4 swivel chairs and a leather ottoman, which worked ok for me this past year, but "the boy" likes to lay on the sofa to watch tv and well......that doesn't happen here, thus a sofa. We found one that we both loved but it was a bit out of my price range, so he paid the difference. We seem to keep doing things that scream "we are going to be together forever". Sort of cool.....sort of scary....but mostly cool. :o)

Ok.....back to homework, I promise to write more after this week!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

One more week!

One more week of this class that meets everyday and it will be over! I of course have lots to do before the end of the week. I must tell you that I am looking forward to a "little" break. July will be better and August will be better than that. I am ready for a little "Catie" time. Although, "the boy" makes what "Catie" time I do get really special.

Things with "the boy" are going well, better than well, almost perfect. I am really enjoying this relationship. We have been discussing moving in together. Of course that wouldn't happen until the end of summer, if everything is still going as well as it is now. I don't know about love at first sight, the timing here is very quick, we are working on 6 weeks now, it just is as if we fit perfectly together. I have never really felt that way with anyone. It has been really nice. So we shall see.

Friday, June 20, 2008

The Concert and such.....

Seeing my son was heaven, watching the Jack Johnson Concert with him was icing on the heaven cake! The concert was just incredible. He sang every song that I would have hoped that he sing. I stood and danced the entire concert (as did the entire audience) Of course we all sang to every song as well! My son was in total awe at the start of the concert. Jack Johnson is his favorite artist and he was almost speechless for the first 15 minutes, then he got into it. It was a LONG concert. It began at 7pm with the opening acts (2, Money Mark and Mason Jennings, both not bad), than about 9 pm Jack came on and he sang for 2 hours! It was a total goat screw getting OUT of the concert and getting out of the parking lot. We arrived home at 1:30 am.....starving......to a wonderful pizza and breadsticks that "the boy" had brought over for us to have when we arrived home.

I had a stats midterm yesterday that was a little disconcerting to be out so late, however I did "ok" on the exam even after spending all of that time having fun.

I have one more week of this class......I have so much to accomplish in the next week that it is nearly going to be impossible......but the light at the end of the tunnel is lovely as after this next week, it will be July and the stats class will be over and things are going to be much smoother in July......even better in August!

My head is healing up well, still pretty sore but the swelling is down to simply the "bump" of where my head actually hit. The swelling was taking up half of my head!

That about does it! Peace Out!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

quickie

Just a quick update. I am doing fine. No headache or confusion. I have a VERY sore noggin, but all is well. I of course stopped the new medication until I see the doctor later this week.

My son should arrive any moment so that we can enjoy a day together, including the Jack Johnson concert. I am crazy excited to see him and can hardly wait until he gets here. He is going to class with me and then we will leave for the concert from class.


I am hoping that you are all having a fabulous week!


Peace Out!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

What was that?

Ok, so I am a little stressed (have been for what, 47 years now?), and my diet is not the best it should be, and I did start a new medication........ even still, I do not see what would precipitate me passing out. I met "the Boy" at a local restaurant for ONE drink (I did not even finish the one drink) we were there about an hour and when we decided to leave, I got a cold sweat and salivation in my mouth and I thought, I am either going to pass out or vomit, which is the last thing I remember until I wake up to see "the boy" leaning over me asking if I am alright. I hit my head very hard on a hard tile floor and have a VERY swollen and sore head today. I had him check my pupils and my hand grip. He stayed the night, iced my head and this morning I went to UHS (University Health Services). The doctor is a bit concerned because my head is really swollen and it is very obvious that I hit it quite hard. So I am suppose to ice it 15 minutes every hour and watch for signs of a brain bleed. She suggested "the boy" stay the night again so that I am not alone tonight. There is nothing obvious as to why this would happen except that I did start a new medication (which I will not take until I see that doc again on Thursday), my diet has been very low in calories, I am stressed about money and school (but hell, that is normal for me). The only other thing is that I may be coming down with something that hasn't quite manifested itself yet. (but seriously, I have been sick before, I never have passed out!) So......the real problem is, I do not have time for this shit. The next 2 weeks is super cram time and I need to be at 100%. *sigh* I am taking it easy today. Sitting here working on homework and I WILL go to class (I can NOT miss a class or I will get lost in this stats class), However, this evening I will be not going anywhere, and just resting. Tomorrow night is the Jack Johnson concert with Ben, and I don't want to miss that!

I must say though......it was nice to have someone care about me. I don't think I have ever had anyone take such good care of me when I was sick!

Monday, June 16, 2008

The REAL new Uni's!


Ok, Ok.......so the first pic I posted must have been some prototype? (how about a hoax!!) Here are the new Uni's!

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Truly

It has been one month since I met "the boy" and I must say, I do believe that I love him. (I can hear all of you now, and trust me when I say that I am not rushing it.....but.....damn I can't help it!)

There it is.

I am crazy busy, only 2 more weeks of this class that meets 2 hours every day. I have more than humanly possible to complete in the next 2 weeks (I have said THAT before, and you can trust that I will say it again!). July will be a bit better, August will be a bit better than July. Then of course September will come and well.....I do have to say that I think that the Ritalin is making a difference.

Finances are at a scary stage, I am hoping that this week brings in some expected funds, which will ease the pain slightly.

Ok, I have LOTS of math questions to answer.....better hop to it!

Ohhhhhh....one more thing......my youngest son (Benjamin) is coming into town on Wednesday to take me to the Jack Johnson concert that evening. I am crazy excited!! Not only to go to the concert but to see Ben and spend some time with him! I think I am taking him to class with me....hee hee....should bore him silly, but I will love to have him with me! Ok.....NOW......homework!

Friday, June 13, 2008

My how time flies!

I am shocked to wake up to see that it is the middle of June! Good heavens time is going so quickly! (and there is so much to do!!)

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

More Shit

[Ed. Note: I am not certain about the new Uni's for Michigan, but relatively certain......I think the thing that makes me question it is that the away uni's are also colored.......I thought that they were suppose to be white...hmmmm) anyway....take it for what it is worth........if it is true......they totally suck!]


Ok....so.....my checkbook is missing. Nice huh? Yeah......it is a pretty good chance that the ex roomie took it. We stopped payment on the check numbers that I believe were left in the check book. Without the check book it is difficult for me to know exactly which ones were left. I of course was panicked about the situation, calmer now.


I have been having trouble this entire past year with focusing. This is such a long detailed story and I don't have time to spell it all out.....but......I saw a doc today and she put me on Ritalin......HA! I am hoping that it helps me to focus better. I like it for the fact that I only have to use it when I want to focus and it is not a long term, take one every day type of medication. I am one of those people that hates taking any type of medication. So....we shall see, I am hoping it makes it a little bit better for me in regards to school work......I might focus better. I can't even sit and watch TV without doing 3 other things (a pretty good sign of ADD) Gotta run.......

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Timing is everything

Well I just submitted a paper that was due with 10 minutes to spare. How is that for meeting a deadline. I have NO idea if it is a good paper or not! UGH! It is a critique of a research article that my professor wrote. Even more nerve racking! I am planning to recreate the same study that she did, thus I had to critique her article. The real problem was that it was limited to 5 pages INCLUDING the cover page. I went over by 2 sentences. I suppose I will lose a point for that. I could have easily written 10 pages.......*sigh*.


Having that finished feels good. I need to schedule out my time and get my other stuff completed sooner than the due date, the stress is horrible when I go so close to the due date (10 minutes!!) I would have preferred to have a day to let it sit and review again prior to submission. I lost my focus the last week (certainly understandable with the roommate situation) but it is more than that. "the boy" has some to do with it, just working out our schedules has been challenging. This week he changed his work schedule and that seemed to almost make it worse, although it was suppose to help...HA! I do think that we have adjusted better now and it will improve greatly. June is just a horrid month for me with this stats class that meets 2 hours every single day M-F. The level of intensity is turned up very high with that and I have so much other work that also needs to be completed in the mean time.

I am looking forward to completing the Spring and Summer term successfully and having a little bit of a breather in August, although August is when my data for my research should be complete and I will need to analyze it and write up the results, however it will be better to focus on that during August and get it reasonably complete before the Fall term begins. I don't expect too much of a breather until the summer of 2010 when I won't be taking any summer classes (although I will be studying for my prelims that summer.....well hell......ok so no real breather until the summer of 2012.....but then I will be finished! :o) Depressing huh? Nah, not really, it is exciting too and I LOVE learning and I have been learning SO much, both scholarly and personally..........so I really am not complaining!

Peace Out!

Panic, Anxiety, and Stupidity

Well, for a smart chick.........remember the ambiguous statement I made a few days ago, about my a situation that was not going so well? Allow me to explain,

My roommate, after moving in, shared that he is on probation for assault and battery, the reason he told me this is because last week he was arraigned on some charges stemming from fraud (trying to cash checks that came from Nigeria, yeah, not too bright). I of course was not pleased with this information, but me being me, always wants to believe the best in people. Then, $20 was missing from my wallet. I was 99% sure that HE took it, but it is one of those things that there is simply this doubt in your mind that it was possible that I spent it and forgot (I am fairly poor at the moment, so I know how much money I have at all time!) But, confronting him seemed like a bad decision. I discussed it with "the boy" and some another friend and the best thing to do was to give him notice of 30 days (our rental agreement was by the month) and just get him out ASAP. I had not done that yet. There is much more to the story, but it is not necessary for me to go into all the details here. Anyway......Friday morning I thought that I would check my wallet to see if he PUT the money back........(I so want to believe in people) there was a $20, $10, and a $5 bill in there, exactly what I thought was in there. So, he hadn't put it back, but at least no additional money was missing! I went to the bathroom and did a few things and came back and sat down and thought, well, maybe I didn't look close enough, maybe he did put it back.......so I opened my wallet again, and the $10 and $5 were now gone. In a matter of an hour, I had not gone anywhere, no one else was in my apartment except him, $15 goes missing from my wallet. Now of course there is NO doubt in my mind that he is taking money from my wallet. I was physically shaking by this point and trying to figure out what to do. He was leaving for work in about 30 minutes........so I waited. I was just going to call the police........"the boy" had a more rational plan, which I followed and included changing the locks on my apartment and leaving him a note. He had still not paid his rent for June, so legally that was my reason for being able to kick him out that day, AND I also knew that his estranged wife would take him back in so he was not going to be on the streets.
I however was a basket case, in full blown panic by Friday afternoon. I ended up going to the student clinic for some xanax and going to "the boys" house to calm down and wait for the Roommate to find the note. He of course denies that he stole from me. But.......he knows that he did.....and I know that he did. I boxed up his stuff and he came on Saturday morning to pick it up and it is now finished. I have course am financially in a pickle, but that is far better than not trusting someone that lives in your space. I could not have that!

How does all of this drama hit me? Holy shit! It is over now, so.......onward!

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Program Plan!!

Woohooo! I met with my program planning committee to present my program plan and it is now officially approved! YAY ME!

That likely means nothing to you all, but trust me, it was a long and painful process and now, the map of how I finish this degree is written in stone, including what classes that I am taking and when I am taking them, additionally all other requirements for my degree are also detailed in the plan. It is a large document and it is finally approved!!

I have MUCH to accomplish in the next 6 weeks so you get a quickie update.......coz I need to git er done!

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Good Lord!

Ok, there are a few things happening in my life that I can't actually talk about here..........a quote from my son should clue you in......."what next? You seem to always find a way to fuck up your life". Yeah. Nice huh? It has nothing to do with "the boy" in fact that is going better than I could possibly dream it could go. Hopefully in 30 days this little problem will be cleared up.....without physical harm to myself or losing everything I own :o) How is that for ambiguity!

Just send good thoughts and white light.............I am going to need it!


Stats class is going well, I have learned more in 2 days than I did in the two 16 weeks stats classes that I have already taken. It is going to be rough this month, but I think I will come out of it KNOWING this shit and that makes me very pleased!

Monday, June 02, 2008

Cool Site!

I found this site yesterday and it is tons of fun! You upload a photo of yourself and then people judge you simply on your looks. You MUST have thick skin, coz they are brutal!

Go Here

You can judge others as well.......be nice! :o)


[Ed. Note: I put the pic of me that I have on this site up and the average says that I am bright, not bad looking, average age 44 (I am 47, so not bad to have an average lower than what I am) The words to describe me are hysterical. Some are nice, some are....well, really mean like "witch" , "needtolose15lbs", "tired", "outdated", "scary", "depressed" and "fake". They guessed my name to be names like....... Bob, Helga, Martha, Delores, Helen, and Phyllis (wtf?) The did guess Maryann.......nothing close to Catie though! I put my old photo up (the one I used to use here) and I am waiting on the judging now......]

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Buried!

Yikes! Suddenly I am buried in homework! ACK! I will be making a focused attention today to get much accomplished. Tomorrow I start a statistics class (I HATE stats!) that meets for 2 hours EVERY day M-F for the entire month of June. I am not looking forward to it at all. June is going to be a busy month! I know of one fun thing in June.......my son Ben is taking me to the Jack Johnson concert on the 18th! That will be fun.....of course all of the times inbetween "the boy" will help make it fun!

I had a very fun surprise delivered to my door! J&P my friends from Indiana sent me a birthday box of goodies. They are so good at knowing just exactly what to get me and I was not expecting it at all, so that was such a fun thing to open my door to find and then sit and open it up!

A short update today, as I really do need to get crackin, but please, if you missed the comment on my last post from Joe......please pray for his son. They are taking him tomorrow for a brain biopsy. Of course they are afraid and any and all prayers, white light......all will be helpful.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Ta Da!

I just emailed "the paper" to Yale! Yay me! I will need to do some additional tweaking to it to get it published (right now it is an unpublished paper for presentation at Yale) I may as well take it all the way and get it published, likely in a Nursing Ethics Journal.

I have other homework to begin work on, plus I need to get my ass down to financial aid today and see about a student loan for my tuition. My funding sucked big time this term and there is no way that I can get my tuition paid as it stands, so I believe that I will take a student loan to get me through this term. Not what I was hoping to do, but necessary.

Things are going well. My Program Plan (a large document that details how I plan to complete my degree) is ready for approval by my committee and so I am working on arrangements for that. (Another HUGE hurdle complete!) Research is coming along, things are a bit slow right now as I wait for the data to be collected. Once the data begins to come in it will get much busier.

Next week I start my other class, which is a Stats class that meets every day for 2 hours (M-F) for the entire month! UGH!

"The boy" got his work scheduled changed starting next week, so we will be on a similar schedule. (he worked crazy hours!) I am looking forward to that.

I did put an ad in a local magazine to clean houses, just trying to think of ways to make some cash! I don't have time for a "real" job so I keep searching for things that I can do "here and there" so to speak. "the boy" has a lead on a quick and easy type thing I can do as well......so, if I can just get my tuition paid for, I think I can scrape together enough cash to live through the summer. (without taking more of my retirement)

Ok......I may not have been awake enough ...... hopefully I made sense! Later!

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Remember......

"the paper".....yeah....it is due to Yale tomorrow. "the boy" and I worked on it until late last night. (How lucky am I that he is so smart??!!) Now I need to fix up a few things then I think it will be ready to send!

Today is the day that I begin the "diet". Oye. Carbo withdrawal here I come!

I am excited though, particularly since "the boy" entered the picture, I really would like to get my ass into shape.

Short update, I don't want to get too side tracked from this paper......why I spend so much time on something is beyond me, it will be good to get this off my plate, I have other homework to worry about!

Peace.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ahhhhh

Yesterday was about as perfect as it could get! "the boy" took me to my meeting in downtown Detroit, then we went to the Detroit Zoo, then to the Casino (where I won $31.25...hee hee), then to Fishbones for dinner, THEN a stop at the fabulous Bakery for a few goodies......then we met my friend and his girlfriend down at "the scene of the crime" (the bar where I met "the boy") played darts, pool and generally had a wonderful time!

Of course my phone rang off the hook with my kids, parents and siblings wishing me a happy birthday!

I must admit......I am falling for "the boy".....fortunately for me he is falling for me too :o)


Now.....to keep things balanced! Remember..... this little thing called a PhD......yeah.....can't forget about THAT!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Happy Birthday to me!

I am still trying to wake up........

A full day today.......I will report later! :o)

Monday, May 26, 2008

How much fun......

.........Can one person cram into a few days? Well.......I certainly am working on cramming in more fun than I have ever tried to before! Chrystal and Jeff came to visit and it was incredibly fun to have them here. "the boy" gave them a condensed tour of the campus and town and then took us to Blimpy Burger......for the best burger in town! I so enjoyed them visiting!!

Today "the boy" and I were going to take a picnic to the park, those plans may change now that it is thunder-storming!! He has to work later today, so that will give me time to do some school work since tomorrow........

Tomorrow........well.......I have no clue what is on the schedule for the day (except for a meeting with the chief of staff in down town Detroit (which "the boy" is driving me to) He has the day planned out........the ENTIRE day..........as in......he is planning to celebrate my birthday ALL day. How fun does that sound? I don't know if I can stand that much attention, however I am willing to try!

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Last Revision

I sent the paper off to the other authors and now have my final list of revisions to complete then I send the paper to Yale. I am so relieved and will be fully relieved once it is sent.

My daughter and her boyfriend are coming today to visit for the weekend. I am looking forward to that!

Things are going very well with "the boy"........every day just feels more "right"........hopefully it will stay that way for at least a little while. I have never had a "boyfriend" for my birthday. ("D" doesn't count, as he never even remembered my birthday, let alone get me a gift!) So, it is sort of a fun feeling knowing that someone is in my life and thinking about what they want to do for my birthday! I am pretty easy to please, so I sure that I won't be disappointed!


Now......to get that paper finished..........then I can play a little this weekend!


Peace.

Friday, May 23, 2008

So close

I am so close to having this paper finished. I am so sick of it. It needs more depth, so this morning I am going to try to add a bit to it. Then it needs to go to the other authors for review. I have a class at 1pm, after which I need to do a few things and then prepare for my "date". (I also need to review school work tasks to be sure that I have them on target) I get to play a little tonight though, which will be nice.

I am a tad bit sore from working out, nothing too bad.

My daughter called and she and her boyfriend are trying to see if they can come visit for the weekend, so I am hoping that happens. I haven't mentioned it here, but my birthday is Tuesday, so I think that is the push for her to come visit to celebrate my birthday! Nice :o)

Ok.....the paper............

Thursday, May 22, 2008

It is official

I am officially smitten. "the boy" knows just what to say to melt away my fears.......they will probably return at some point, but somehow I think he might be able to handle that.

Just when I gave up........I meet "the boy"....... certainly I don't know where this will go, but I am wiling to take the ride to find out.

Now....if I wish to spend time with him, I need to accomplish a LOT today and tomorrow morning.......so I am a busy girl today.


Oh, in case you were wondering....."the boy" doesn't have my blog addy yet........it is just one of those things that I must protect for a bit longer.......although, he could easily have found it........hmmmmm......well if "the boy" is reading this then......Hi Handsome! :P

Peace.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Oh Boy!

Ok, so "the boy" is pretty cool. We have had a wonderful time together the last few days. I find it a bit odd that I am getting a strong sense of fear. Maybe that shouldn't surprise me. Hmm. Anyway, I could really screw this up. I think I should slow down, but how do you do that when it feels so good to be spending time with someone that you like?

I am not good at this stuff. I am not sure what the sense of fear is. It seems difficult for me to categorize it. Relationships with significant others are not something that I am good at. Oh, I know how to care about someone, it isn't that, I think that I don't know how to let someone care for me. And as soon as I find someone that can care about me......I become frozen with fear?

Meh. I am not quite sure what to do. If the fear is that I might not like him and then I will get myself into a sticky situation, or if it simply is fear to find something that I want and worry that it will disappear.

What I am doing at this point is legitimate, I have things to take care of for school so for the next few days I don't have time or "the boy", so that in itself will give me a little space to get a better sense of what I am feeling.

That said.....I have things to do.......I need to get moving!

Peace

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Nice!

"The boy" whom I have a date with tonight, called yesterday to see if I wanted to stroll around downtown. I of course said yes and we proceeded to visit many of the museums and libraries on campus. It was such a sweet day! We had some lunch, played some cribbage and talked A LOT!

Today is major focus on my paper before dinner and a movie.

The rest of my week is very busy, I am not sure when I will fit in more time for "the boy", hopefully a few moments here or there. He is quite smitten with me, and I must say, I am a tad smitten myself. Time will tell though, I am trying real hard to NOT get carried away.

Short update, I need to get back to the paper!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Here we go!

Another week! I have a fairly busy schedule this week. #1 thing that I need to do is reorganize my Yale paper (revise the draft), I have a assorted list of appointments and I need to finish my program plan. I also have the meeting with the big guy at the big health system that I need to prepare for. Also funding requests that I sent out last week need to be followed up on. Oh......and a date ;o)

The roommate is moved in and all is well at this point.

I will start working out with my workout partner this week (she cancelled last week) and I am going to order the Medifast diet this week and hopefully begin that next week. (although next Tuesday is my birthday, so I may have one day of a little bit of cheating! (meaning a few drinks)

Basically, I have a plan and I am working my plan. And I am damn excited about it!

Now to get ready for an 8 am meeting (why would I schedule a meeting at 8am on Monday? So I can get my ass moving at the start of the week!)

I wish you all a joyous, peaceful week!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Wake up!

Good Lord I am having trouble waking up this morning. I came back to Ann Arbor late last night because I wanted to be able to get a start on things this morning, and at the rate I am moving, I may as well stayed back home and drove home this morning!

My new friend got in touch with me and we are making plans for dinner and movie type of thing on Tuesday. I am nearly giddy about the whole thing. I have not felt that way in a long time. Recently all of the men that I have been "seeing" start out as friends without much potential to be much more than that, this is starting out much differently. At the very least, he is emotionally available (which NONE of the other men in my life ever have been) Of course he is also cute, intelligent and fun, so he seems to be the package that I have been looking for! Time will tell. I am working on taking this slow.

Ok, Maybe a hot shower will get my ass in gear!

I am hoping that you all are having a wonderful weekend. I loved seeing my kids and spending time with them, it really was a breath of fresh air!

Peace.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Shhhhh!!

After Zen training last night, I went out to have a few beers with my friend "B" and while sitting at the bar with him, I sat next to a guy who was doing a crossword puzzle. I asked him how he could concentrate in that atmosphere. He said he does his best thinking in noisy rooms. I then turned back to my friend and talked to him for about an hour and told him that I thought this guy was cute. He told me to talk to him, so I turned back and began a conversation (nope, I am NOT shy...lol) Fortunately "B"s girlfriend showed up so I didn't have to feel too guilty for ignoring him from that point on!

Long Story short, I met a really cool guy! I need to get to know him better, but at this point, I think that he is someone that could be fun to hang with (as in more than friends)......maybe....we shall see. He is cute, funny, intelligent and after we started talking, he was telling me that when I sat down he checked my hand for a ring (none of course) but was disappointed because I was with a man. It was sort of fun to know that he had been checking me out prior to me striking up a conversation. That probably sounds dumb, but it was flattering!

The shhhh part is for the headache that I have this morning.

I have MUCH to do today. I am heading back home for my niece's wedding (which is tomorrow) but leaving today after class (if I can get my ass into gear)

Ok, I suppose I should start with a shower........uh, yeah nearly 11am and not even showered......latersssssssss

[Ed. Note: So I have been freezing all morning and a nice long hot shower sounded so good, and it was good until half way through my water shut off!! Through the dribbles coming out of the spout I was at least able to get the conditioner out of my hair, but I was left very frustrated. Now of course it is back on (some maintenance issue) but I am out now, so I am opting for a warm sweatshirt instead of getting back in the shower......talk about disappointing!]

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Staying on top

My goal this summer is to stay on top of everything. Each day I review what needs to be accomplished. I am doing fairly well considering! At the moment I only have one class, this is helpful as I also need to get my program plan finished and approved, I need to find funding and of course there is the research project AND my Thesis (in doctoral school you must complete a Thesis and THEN your dissertation) My Thesis is the pilot to the research that I am conducting this summer. My Thesis should be complete by December (hopefully the majority of the work will be completed before September). This summer is in some ways a "clean up" term for me, I will be in much better shape by the start of my second year if I can get all of this extra stuff tied up in a nice little package.

Needless to say I have a few irons in the fire. I am feeling really good about it all though. I just sent my draft to my advisor for the Yale paper and I feel good about it. I know that she is going to rip it to shreds, but I at least feel like I sent something worthy to her and I haven't thought that about anything that I wrote in the last year.

Ok, time is a wasting........

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Budget

Oh boy, I completed my budget for summer and I am nearly $9,000 short ha ha!! (no, it is not funny, but at this point, all I can do is laugh!) So, my flabby ass is hitting the pavement to see what funding I can scrape up. Oh the joy. You do realize of course that I could be homeless in a heart beat? oye!

Working on the paper today as well then tonight I get to party a little (as cheaply as possible of course!!)

Monday, May 12, 2008

Official

The paper is officially a draft now. (Trust me that is good, considering). Now I can step away from it for a few hours before I look at it again.

My laptop is spending the night at the Apple store. I am in mourning! 24 hours without my laptop might do serious damage to my psyche! (Thank goodness that I have a desk top as a back up, I would really be nuts without that!) [Ed. Note: Apple called and said my laptop was ready, I went to pick it up and they put an entire new keyboard on it! It is under warranty, so it didn't cost me a dime! All that was wrong was the case had a crack (it is some common problem that they have been working on, it is the second time I had to have the case replaced, but a new keyboard and mouse pad too, SWEET! AND I got it tonight rather than the morning......I love Apple!]

I have a splitting headache. I have had one for a few days. Not sure what is causing it. Not splitting like I might have a brain tumor, but annoying all the same.

Tonight I need to do all of my budget paperwork so that tomorrow I can head down to campus and seek some additional funding.

Tomorrow night I get to hang out with my friend "B". He called me yesterday and wants to hang out and I could use a friendly face and a few beers. We will probably play some pool and have some great conversation.

Ok, I think I am going to take some motrin and see if I can't get this headache to go away!

Peace.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Shhhhhhh

ACK! This paper sucks! I don't know why I am so opposed to writing it, but it is torture when it takes so much effort! It is coming along and hopefully by this evening I will have a readable draft that I can send around for comments before I send it to my advisor for her to rip it to shreds!

Jordan called me today, he hates talking on the phone, so it was nice to talk to him. He just got back from a trip that he took to North Carolina with his father to go kite boarding. He had a great time and great stories to tell, like.......he stepped on a shark and lived to tell about it! EEKK!! I talked to Ben yesterday so I don't expect to hear from him today. My daughter, that is debatable on if she calls me or not! I talked with my step mother yesterday so that is not a task that I need to complete today. I will call my mother later so she can tell me all about what she did today. I sent them both cards in the mail.

Ok, I suppose I should get back to that damn paper. Once I get all of my thoughts down, then I can go back and organize it better and fill in the gaps. Then print it out and do my first read through before I let anyone else see it. Once I think it is fairly good, then I will locate a reader. It will be really nice to have this off my plate, there are so many other things that I need to be doing!

Peace.