BRRR

So, I know it's supposed to be cold here tomorrow but I would rather be here than in Indianapolis. The high tomorrow is supposed to be 1degree F....if they're lucky.

So, I didn't make resolutions this year- I haven't made resolutions for a few years now. But, I do have a few hopes for the next year:

1. spend less money on the house and save more ( i know this is only 1/2way voluntary, the other 1/2 is based on repairs, etc)
2. bake more cookies (i used to bake more often, i think it's a direct reflection of the stress in my life and the way i let it affect me)
3. do more arts and crafts (this one goes hand in hand with the rationale behind #2)
4. print more pictures to update frames in the house

HIGH for the day: catching up on DVR'd shows tonight

LOW for the day: it got colder throughout the day, not cool!

bring me the Kleenex please

I think I'm going to cry, the spring semester starts tomorrow (for me). I've decided to just take ONE class this semester, but ENTHUSIASTIC is not the word I would use to describe my feelings right now. Hopefully my attitude changes very soon, b/c if I carry this bad attitude with me all semester- there's no way I can do a good job. I'm still just trying to figure out what exactly it is God would like me to do here. Until I feel strongly against it, I will continue to go to school. Even with mediocre effort, I've been able to pass my classes.

OK, well enough about school b/c I don't really want to think about it.

Back when I blogged on Xanga, I used to do a "high" and "low" for the day. I think I'll start doing that again.

High for the Day: a good workout! Full body weights and 20 mins on the elliptical
Low for the Day: Having bad burps from Tex Mex Ravioli tonight. They don't bother me too much, I'm burping more than Chris tonight. That's no good.

Fall Semester, 2008= done

...Well "almost done". I had a final in Advanced Reservoir Engineering on Thursday, Well Completions on Friday and a paper due tomorrow. The teacher told us to keep our papers to less than 20 pages. Well, mine is 12 pages. 12 is less than 20, right? So I should be good to go.
This semester has been interesting. About 5 weeks into the semester and realized that my desire for going back to school had tumbled hard into no-man's land. At that point, however, I was too far into the semester to get any refund amount. Really my only choice was to keep on, keepin on. I cannot express how hard it is to keep doing something, when you don't want it anymore.

About 3 years ago I had decided that I wanted to go back to school, but knew that I couldn't afford wonderfully, overpriced TU. Then, 2 years ago when I started work with my current employer- I decided the time was right to go back to school. My employer has an educational reimbursement plan, and they cover 100% of the cost of tuition and books. The first 2 semesters back at school were great. I felt as though I was learning a wealth of knowledge and suffered only normal stress. By normal stress I mean: midterm and finals stress. The homework assignments weren't too bad and I always seemed fairy prepared for the quizzes.

Then....out of no where, Fall Semester 2008 hit me like I had run into a brick wall. I couldn't figure out why it was so tough this time around. I had spent alot of time in prayer about my initial decision to go back to school and I was wondering why God would let me be so down about school. I really felt in my heart that I was doing what He wanted me to do. This point of confusion led me to spend SOOO much time in prayer and quiet listening.

Here's what I've come up with (God assisting, of course): I need to slow down. Therefore, I am only taking one class next semester. Life goes by too quickly to not spend it doing the things you love. I love spending time with my husband, and I've been neglecting this passion the past few months. I also realize that I CAN DO THIS, but I can't do it at the same pace as before. Grad class are getting tougher. With working full time, I can't expect myself carry 6 hours of school as well. The last thing I've come to realize is that I DON'T HAVE TO BE PERFECT. Even though the kitchen may not always be as clean as I want it, or my performance at work is only 99% and not 105%- I'm still ok! No one else expects better than perfection out of my, so why should I expect it out of myself? Most of all, God does not require perfect from us- certainly I shouldn't set my sights higher than our Creators.

Well, that rounds out my thoughts tonight. I'm sure alot of things are misspelled and my grammar is probably not the best...but sometimes it just feels good to get thoughts from my head onto the blog.

my handsome little nephew

My brother, and his wife came over the other day to have a picture taken for their Christmas card. This is my nephew, Hays. You can't see it in the picture, but he has 2 really cute lower teeth and I think some upper ones are on their way. He was so good during our little photo shoot.

LBS

I don't even want to know how many lbs I've gained this glorious holiday weekend. Oh well, I guess I'll just do 45 minutes of cardio each day this coming week. That should help a little. Plus, school will be getting ultra-crazy over the next 2 weeks. That means no sleep, not much food and alot of energy drinks. This usually results in a weight loss, although I'm not completely convinced it's a healthy method. KIDS- please don't try this at home.

Well, I'm headed to bed early tonight. I am one of those crazy black friday shoppers and I've now been up and at em for 19 hours and counting. We shopped for about 7 of those hours. And spent an hour eating. I feel pretty successful at this point. The only person we don't have a present for is Chris' grandma and brother. I also need to pick up a few little items to go along with gifts- but I had most items crossed off my list by the end of today! I also picked up some LED exterior christmas lights. They were on sale and then I got an addition 20% off (my cousin has a relative who worked at the store). Now- Chris and I just have to find the time to install a new outdoor electrical outlet in the soffet and hang the lights! I'm sure I'll post a pic when it's all finished.

Goodnight.