Another Marathon Completed

It's hard to believe I have just finished another marathon. I am realizing that it is difficult winding down afterwards. I am going as fast as I can despite feeling completely worn down and then bam, it's all over. I can handle the start up fairly easy since we start off with orientation and then start really getting hit hard a bit later but going wide open at the very end makes it hard for me to settle back into a normal routine. I'm now waiting for my final grades to appear but I finished well above a 100 in both classes. Once again, I can't believe I worked so hard when it wasn't completely necessary but it is just how I am. I completed every bit of extra credit even though I didn't need any of it. It has been that way for every extra credit assignment I have done thus far. I really need to chill out more! If I am not applying myself 100% all the time, I stress that I am not working hard enough. Somebody slap me!

Anyway, we are now working on preparing for our cruise. I'm spending extra time with the kids doing fun things for them everyday now. I'll try to keep this up until we get off the cruise ship and by then, my classes will already be back in session. Fall classes start on Aug. 18th and I'm signed up for History, Psychology, Spanish, and Geology. This will be the heaviest semester so far with 13 credit hours but after this, it should be a bit easier unless I push myself for 12 credits in the spring. It's hard to believe I still have 3 more years of this to go but at the same time, I'm amazed with how far I have come and how much I have learned. Now I understand the true meaning of what a well-rounded education is and can appreciate for what it is truly worth. Seriously, every child should have this opportunity if they desire it regardless of academic history. This is how the community college system is designed, to give everyone the same opportunity. Well, I'm doing this now and now is definitely better than never so I'll continue to drudge through this and absorb every ounce of it that I can.

Camping with Homework

I am not so sure if I recommend attempting this task again. Surrounded in an unfamiliar setting, using my laptop that dh has taken over (which by the way is a whole nother complaint), and not being able to escape into a separate room each made this almost impossible. It was easier reading my book without my internet dictionary and being interrupted every other sentence than trying to get any research accomplished. Then we have the added disruptions of all the storms coming through. Geesh, it doesn't rain for a month and the one weekend we decide to take a trip and it storms ove and over and over. Poor puppy is suffering from diahrrea, a swollen mouth, and swollen eye (she couldn't even open it). I just don't know if this trip was really worth all the hassel. I would have much preferred to stay home and take this trip in August after I'm done with this summer schedule. Now I'm really concerned about how I'm going to handle the first week of class for fall semester on the road too. Obviously I have plenty of planning to do before then!

Summer Semester

You can tell it has been chaotic since I haven't posted since this semester started. The American Literature class seems a bit challenging since it is so abstract to me. I can read and read this stuff but always wonder whether or not I understood the full concept. It is very confusing and I get frustrated because a lot of the others seem to breeze right through it. I read it, then browse through some educational links online and then form my own conclusions. Good thing I don't want to teach this type of class! The humanities class is much easier and more on my level so far. It is very similar to Sociology and since I am still winding down from that class, this is like an extension of it although on a smaller scale.

I'm ready to get this semester over with though. I'm so tired and only half-way done. I dread the fall semester but it might be my last heavy load in the online program here. I'm going to try to complete another two classes next summer so I will only have 0-2 classes to finish up next fall in 2009.

In the meantime, I have brought up the Amazon Kindle product and questioned why we are in an online degree program but buy books that we can only use once and then are deemed useless and tossed into the landfill. I am hoping with continued harrassment, I can convince them this is the route they need to consider for the future.

The results are in

I seriously do not know how I pulled this one off. I checked on my grades last Tuesday and there it was...all As once again. It is crazy! I ended up making a 94 on the final religions test despite feeling like I had flunked it. There were several questions on there that I had no clue what the answer was so I had to make an educated guess. Some how I lucked out and must have guessed correctly. Then the research paper that I stressed so much over for that class turned out earning me another 94, which is bad for one of my essays but excellent for that class. I am much relieved to have that semester behind me! I will make a promise to myself to never take another religions class again. We just don't get along well at all. I loved my instructor though! How crazy is that? She is awesome, knowledgable and creative with assignments. It was just a struggle for me personally.

Now that I am on break, I am enjoying a lot of extra sleep, hanging around the house (too expensive to drive any where), cleaning, organizing, and catching up on life in general. I felt like I was in a fog these past 2-3 months and almost no housework was completed the past month. I am also excited about painting the foyer/living room/hallway a fresh, new color scheme. Hopefully I won't get sidetracked and can start on that today. Tomorrow, I have the big tooth extraction which has me really concerned. Then I have a big yard sale coming up Saturday morning as long as I think I can pull it off without being in too much pain. We have tons of toys and clothes to sell this time around. I wonder how we accumulate so much stuff. I am also busy preparing for Bradley's field day event later this month. I finally decided on the menu for the day and it's expensive. I hope the parents will help pitch in and cover the costs.

I'll be back shortly after classes start next week.

The Marathon

The last four weeks sure felt like I was running a marathon and the closer I got to the finish line, the more tired I was, the more I hurt, and the more hopeless I felt. It's all over now but the crying. Haha That was a pretty intense semester and I hope to avoid another like it. I've been told that next spring might be just as difficult so I'll be ready to drop to three classes. I feel like I have alienated Bailey and the house is a disaster. I have so much to catch up on.

I got my 15 page Sociology term paper completed...98. Our group project for Argument-based Research...100. Math comprehensive final exam...? Religions research paper and final test...? I am really worried about these last three grades and since course grades are due tomorrow, I don't think I will get a chance to see how I did individually on them. For the next 24 hours, we need to pray for the best. I hope I haven't ruined my perfect record.

By far, Religions has been my hardest class

Feeling Hopeless

You would think with only 2 weeks of classes left that I would feel on top of the world but that is not the case at all. I can't believe how much work we have crammed into those two weeks. I have a project, term paper, research paper, comprehensive final, religions test (that is difficult enough itself), oodles of math homework covering two more chapters, extra credit work in religions (yep, still difficult), among all the other stuff. Plus I have to juggle Tae Kwon Do for Patrick, Field Day, Book Fair, Science Night, Playgroup for Bailey, and forget cleaning the house-who has time? I don't know how to get everything organized so I can do it all. Then there is only a two week break until Summer classes start and I need to get a tooth pulled quickly before it falls apart or gets infected and need to get the yard sale organized and done to rid our house of all this clutter. I seriously need a nice long break!

Ups and Downs

Seriously, there are some days where I don't really know how I can fit everything in. Days will drag and I just keep plugging along. Then the sky clears up and I begin the see the light at the end of that long, dark tunnel. These past few weeks have been like that and it is very challenging keeping up with everything. There are even some days where I cannot keep up. I lose my keys, my wallet, my kids (just kidding) and wonder if am pushing myself too hard. Then I get an opportunity to talk with someone and that really helps me realize that I can do this. Thee are many others out there going through the same thing.

So I have been enrolled in two classes for this summer, and another four classes for fall. The summer classes shouldn't be too difficult and they will be short with only 10 weeks. The fall is one that I dread. I just have this sinking feeling that it will be similar to this semester and wonder if I should back down to 3 classes. If I can pull it off though, I'll be in good shape and almost done with only seven classes to go. It will be possible for me to have only one or two classes left to finish up that final semester. I could either take a much needed break, or take a class at the next college to help with the transition.

The day-to-day workload is what really drags me down at times though. Just when I think I might give up it lets up and I have some breathing room to spend time with Bailey during the day. After almost missing two deadlines yesterday (posting my assignments within minutes of the deadline), I am more than ready for some up days.