5 Question Friday

It's been a week of crazy around here. But then again school is going on, so that's nothing new. Between work, school, and life in general things are super busy. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, because them I'm on the back side of this semester. And I'm most certainly ready for this to be over with. I hate my classes, and I just can't seem to find the umf to study like I should be.

No big plans this weekend, except homework. I know, try not to jump for joy.

Don't forget to leave your porch light on today to honor our veterans and the sacrifices that they have made.

1. What's the last thing you spent too much money on?

Groceries. I haven't really bought anything lately that hasn't been essential, so I'm guessing that would be what I have spent too much money on. But seriously - it's too much money considering I walked out with 4 bags and it was $162. Apparently I bought caviar and prime rib, instead of chicken.

2. What celeb chef would you want to make you dinner?

Pioneer Woman. She doesn't do weird. She doesn't do fancy gourmet stuff (except every now and then) but I could have her refrain. Rachel Ray would be fun, she seems like she would be a lot of fun to cook with. But then again, to someone who measures out everything, the dumping stuff in the palm of my hand would bug me. Then I would probably offend her when I gave her measuring cups as a thank you gift.

3. Where do you hide things when visitors pop over or do you let them see the real deal?

Well, that depends. If they tell me they are coming and warn me a week in advance, then I don't hide anything. Because I clean it all up.

But for the most part I don't have to hide anything. John and I are both fairly neat and tidy, so except for school books that are just piled around and mail that neither of us seems to be able to go through and dispose of when it comes in, there aren't too many messes to worry about hiding.

4. Who is your oldest living family member?

Um..I don't know. I don't know if it's my grandmothers sisters, or who it is. How's that for knowing your family.

5. What is your favorite DQ treat and/or Sonic drink combo (ie: cherry vanilla Dr. Pepper)?

DQ...now I'm thinking about ice cream and it's 8:37am. Oops. I'm a blizzard fan and a vanilla ice cream cone fan. If I go to DQ it's one of those two. The blizzard flavor varies, but not by much. Oreo, cheesecake or cookie dough. No chocolate syrup please! Just ice cream and oreos, or cheesecake or cookie dough. Don't screw it up by adding chocolate syrup. If I wanted chocolate ice cream I would have asked for it.

Sonic -probably a cherry limeade. Now I'm thinking about those too. At least it's ok to think about something to drink at 8:40am. But alas, I'm stuck with water.

Have a great weekend! If your bored, I know where you can find some *free* awesome activities to occupy your time. Calculus, Spanish, History of Rock and Roll, I've got it all.

5 Question Friday

I know, I know two posts in one week. Don't fall over from shock.

I'm still fighting that cold from 3 weeks ago. I go from being completely exhausted to a zombie. It's a pick and choose kind of thing. I figure I should go back to the doctor, but I just don't have time. I'm trying to save a Spanish grade and a calculus grade. I'm so very, very thankful that after next semester my math classes will be non-existent.

This weekend doesn't bring big plans. Just hanging out and doing homework. Well and a much needed trip to the grocery store unless a sandwich with moldy bread, crunchy, crusty cheese and condiments is your food of choice. Or an apple. I do have apples. I'm not sure where they came from, but there are apples and milk. Mostly because there is a CVS across the street from my house and that's convenient for milk.

1. What movie do you love to quote?

I'm not much of a movie quoter. I'm a movie watcher. My husband however quotes Elf often. Maybe he should feel this one out.

2. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

Yep. Well, it was a dirt bike, but close enough. Yes, my mom knew about it. Yes, I wore a helmet. And the overly cautious person in me wouldn't go more than 20 miles per hour. So the only thing I was in danger of was skinning my knees.

3. What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

Read. There is nothing better than curling up in a comfy chair and reading. I don't get to do it often enough and I miss it. I would rather read books for fun than for school any day of the week.

My second favorite thing to do is cook. I don't know why. So if I'm home all day and it's rainy there is usually something extra yummy for dinner.

4. Do you prefer a bunch of small gifts, or one really big, (expensive) gift?

To be honest, I've gotten to the point that I prefer nothing. We have done wish lists with my family in the past and I love doing that. I list things I want, regardless of price, and I'm always thrilled, because the gift was something that I already wanted. As long as it's something that I want, or something that the giver knows that I will use, price doesn't matter to me.

5. Do you ever lose track of days and show up somewhere wrong?

Not yet, but there is a first time for everything. If I don't start getting some sleep, I might start doing this more often than I will admit too. Think my boss will mind if I take a nap? Think I could tell him I thought it was Saturday when I get caught?

Probably not, but a girl can dream.

Have a Happy Friday!

Opportunity of a Lifetime

So yesterday sometime a week or two ago (oops) you got the background story on the Dean's List.

Let me give you the story on the Congressional Internship that I was invited to participate in.

So I get this email from someone telling me about this internship in Washington, DC where you work with a member of congress for a semester as an intern.

It's a big deal, you live in a house with other interns from the same college and you all work on Capital Hill for a whole semester. How freaking cool is that?

Really cool.

It's so cool that I debated, and I wondered and I tried to imagine what kind of opportunities would be opened up to me if I were to apply and be selected. Because even though they sent me the email, I still had to apply and be accepted to get selected to go.

Then I prayed about it. Then I told my husband. Then I told everyone on facebook about it. And how I wasn't going.

What?!?!

It's the chance of a lifetime, it's the opportunity of a lifetime. Just not mine. Part of me would have liked to have gone, just for the experience. Plus to have lived in Washington DC for a semester, and played tourist on the weekends to all the fabulous places nearby, it would have been wonderful. It would have been breathtaking. But I couldn't imagine doing all of that stuff without John. I couldn't imagine giving up my life here, for a temporary life there. I couldn't imagine putting all my heart into it, when it wouldn't be.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime for someone else. Some other student at Tech has dreamed about this internship. They want it so bad that they can taste it. I know how that feels. I know how it feels to want something so badly, to have dreamed about it, to have planned your life around it, that when the opportunity slips through your fingers you wonder what just happened. Your entire existence is questioned, every plan, every dream, everything is suddenly very different than the life you wanted. It's hard having to pick up and move forward from that. It's hard to give up on something that you want that badly.

And deep down, when I had that realization, I knew that I couldn't take that dream away from someone else. I couldn't do it because it would be a good opportunity for me, but my heart just wasn't in it. I wanted to go for purely selfish reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with the actual internship. My heart wouldn't have been in the internship. Sure, I would have still worked my butt off, but it's different when your heart isn't in it. There's no passion, there's no joy, it's just mundane and routine. And life's to short to have given up 5 months of my life for something that my heart wasn't fully into, when there was another student whose heart is set on going.

It's the opportunity of a lifetime, just not mine.

Dean's List

So I'm only like a month late, but I've been busy, you know doing homework. Trying to make the Dean's List next semester, again and probably failing misreably.

So yeah, I totally made the Dean's List. Barely, but it still counts.

I was walking out of History of Rock and Roll when I got the email. I had made the Dean's List. My very first semester in college in 12 years.

I needed that. I earned that. But I still needed it.

This semester I have been bogged down. I'm still trying to deal with losing Papa, which hit me a lot harder than I anticipated. Plus I have October to deal with and that reminds me of the grandparents that celebrate birthday's this month, that I'm celebrating without them. And Christmas and with the past few months of family issues with the in-laws, this semester has been draining. Physically, mentally and emotionally.

Last semester was draining too, but it was more a "I'm too old, too fat, too stupid, to be going to college". It was hard on someone who doesn't like doing things alone to, in fact learn how to do things alone. It was hard learning how to ask for help. It was awesome seeing the final grades, knowing that I had survived my first semester.

Yet this semester, I don't enjoy many of my classes. They aren't things that interest me, I don't like most of my instructors, and I find myself having a "I don't care attitude". So that reception, that honor, meant a lot to me. It proved to me that I can do anything I want to do. Anything. All I have to do is...do it.

So many of my friends made the Dean's list and blew off my accomplishment, as "no big deal". But to someone who hadn't stepped foot inside a classroom in 12 years, to someone who worked full time and went to college, it was a big deal. It is a big deal. And I earned it.

I went to the cheesy reception and all. I got my gorgeous certificate and I'm very proud of it, and the hard work it took to get there.

Hopefully it won't be my only cheesy reception. I'm hoping to be sitting in that seat next semester. So I probably better go hit the books.

5 Question Friday

I'm so glad that this week is in the books. It's been a tough week to stay focused and on top of things while I have still felt icky. So glad that things to appear to be on the mend.

No big plans this weekend, I have a Spanish exam on Monday and a calculus exam next Thursday, so my weekend will be filled with...wait for it...STUDYING!!! Yeah, still not thrilled about it.

I'm not planning on much, simply so I can try and finish kicking this yucky gunk I've been fighting to the curb. Good news is all that sickness and no appetite/everything tastes yucky, I've managed to lose 5 pounds in the last week for a grand total of 11 pounds in 2 weeks. So part of me kinda wants it to hang around. Just for the weight loss.

Sad, but true. What we chunky people will do to lose a few pounds.

Have a good weekend!

1. Where do you escape to when you've had enough?

I cry. When I hit rock bottom, I cry. It's what I do. Then I clean. Because cleaning and scrubbing gives me time to think whatever is stressing me out over and it gives me a chance to figure out a new way to approach things. Plus I get a clean house as a bonus. But we are talking serious cleaning, like scrubbing the grout lines with a toothbrush and organizing every nook, cranny, and crevice. So my husband knows when something is bugging me, and thankfully he either pitches in or hides. But he never questions. He's probably afraid that I'll pin him down and scrub him too.

2. What shows are you watching this fall?

Well, see, when I decided to become a "real" full time college student, I sorta had to cut TV down to the bare minimum. So I have tons of stuff on the DVR, most of which will probably be deleted before I ever get around to watching it. I kept CSI, Criminal Minds, The Pioneer Woman, and The Little Couple. There are other things that are DVRed, but those are the only ones that I attempt to watch on a semi regular basis. Everything else can wait until Christmas break, or I'll delete it.

3. What was the longest roadtrip you've ever taken and where did you go?

Minnesota. Oh my. In a bus with no a/c in the middle of July with 25 other teenagers. It took us 2 days. It was miserable. Because of the hot, but the trip itself was awesome. We worked as youth counselors at a camp in Minnesota for a week with our church youth group. That week opened all of our eyes to the suffering that goes on for other kids and people in the world. We all went home changed.

4. Do you plan on taking your kids to Disney World?

Nope, I'm not paying for a ticket for a dog. I love my puppies, but no. Now, my husband and I would both love to go. And I'm willing to pay for his ticket.

That might be an awesome way to celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary. Disney Style. It would be cool. It would be groovy.

I think I just might have to look into that.

5. What is something people would surprised to know about you?

 

*That I'm not much of a junk food person.

*That I don't like speaking to or in front of large groups of people I don't know.

*That it takes me a while to warm up to you, but once I do, I don't shut up.

*I like things to be done my way, and if you don't do it my way, I will often redo it when you aren't looking so that it's done "right".

*I don't like to shop. I like new clothes, but I hate the process of acquiring them. I have to be in the right frame of mind to shop.

*I don't like to get up and eat breakfast like everyone says you should. I like to get up and eat breakfast about 90 minutes after I get up. But I won't get up early enough so that I can do this while still at home.

*I like frilly clothes, lace, ribbon, bows. Yet, I'm not so frilly that I don't mind playing with cars in the dirt.

*It takes me 30 minutes to take a shower, get dressed, fix my hair, put on makeup and be ready to walk out the door. It takes me longer to take a shower than any of the rest of that process.

 

So you got more than one. Consider it a bonus look into my head. Probably one that you are wishing you could undo right about now.

 

Have a great weekend!

I'm alive...and coughing

Well, I know that I've been MIA for almost a week now.  I finally caved and went to the doctor last Friday night (after my Dean's List reception (read about that next week)). I figured that it was going to be bad. My ear hurt, my throat hurt, I had an awful cough, I was just miserable in general.

Instead I left with a shot in the hip and 2 infections. Sinus and Upper Respiratory. Beautiful. So a $35 co-pay and $76 in drugs later.

And lots of sleepless nights and general feeling like poo.

I'm sorta better. I still have this lingering cough, but for the most part, today, I feel almost normal. Almost.

I still have no appetite, nothing tastes like it should, and my asthma is pissed at me for not going to the doctor that it stages random revolts, but other than that. I'm good.

I'm feeling good enough that my husband has been sending me suggestive text messages all day about a marital summit in our bedroom tonight and I haven't been telling him that the building is being repaired.

Now, I'm off to do calculus homework! I'll see you tomorrow for 5 Question Friday!

5 Question Friday

I'm still sick and instead of getting better, I think I now have an ear infection. So my Friday evening will be spent sitting in the walk in clinic getting the good drugs. Hopefully they are ninja drugs, because whatever this stuff is deserves to have it's butt kicked.


No big plans this weekend, mostly because I have a ton of homework due Saturday and Sunday. So I will spend most of my weekend doing homework. Fun. Or not. Hopefully I'll also be feeling better.


Today, however, I'm going to a reception this afternoon honoring me. For making the Dean's List. My first semester of college in 12 years and I pulled that off. Yeah, don't worry, I'm not sure how I did it either.

1. Do you prefer your ice cream in a bowl or in a cone?

That depends. Every now and then a yummy waffle cone is fabulous. But the regular old sugar cones. No thanks. I try to be home when I'm to that point and give my dogs the cardboard flavored sugar.

Otherwise I'm a bowl girl.

2. What three things do you love the smell of?

Rain, Scentsy, my husband's cologne.

I have loved the way that rain smells since I was a kid. My favorite rain smell memory: I was about 7 or 8 and I was outside riding my bike and my grandfather was watering the orchard. It was getting dark and starting to thunder, so I headed back to the house. My grandfather and I sat outside for the longest time just smelling the rain. I was always asking questions about why this and why that and I remember asking him why rain smelled. I can't remember his answer, but I remember sitting there with the wind blowing and that smell.

Any of my favorite Scentsy Scents are awesome. (Power girl - you still haven't picked out your free warmer!)

And my husband just smells yummy. It makes me want to chase him down and rip his clothes off and ....sniff. (Mind out of gutter.)

3. Giftcards or no? (In regards to gift giving...)

Absolutely. It's the perfect gift. Especially if you get one to a place they like. They pick out the gift, and their happy and your happy that they are really happy and not fake happy.

Plus they are helpful when your a busy college student and don't have time to shop like they used too before school.

4. What sports did you play in high school if any and do you still play them?

I was a band nerd.

 

I'm not competitive enough to have the drive to play sports. I don't like coaches being bossy to me either. Yeah, I was that kid that was out in the field chasing butterflies. In Jr. High.

5. Were you in band in high school? What instrument did you play?

I was a band nerd. Hello, my name is Abby and I'm a band geek. I'm that person, "And this one time at band camp..." Yep that's me. Hi! (Waves)



And no, I don't still play. I sold my clarinet many, many moons ago. I don't miss it.

UPDATE: Good news. Went to the doctor. Got drugs. Back to normal by Monday. Yeah!