I'm stuck trying to figure out how to start.
Friday was my mom's birthday and I got her and Dad Carrie Underwood tickets for a show in April. They came over to Michigan City for dinner, a gourmet dinner of chili dogs and chips and dip! It was a great time!
We had a busy weekend, Saturday we got up and went to Bounceland in Kalamazoo which my kids love to do. It was David's first time and he was sweating halfway in! It definitely wears you out! We went to lunch at QDoba which was delicious and makes me wish there was a QDoba here. I did my Algebra in my book on the way there and back which was nice as I like to do it often to keep it fresh in my mind. My first exam is a week from now and I'm a bit nervous about it but I think I will do well. Plus you get to use a formula sheet so that's comforting! Algebra is a challenge but English is far more so.
I worked on my Lit Narrative some more this weekend, adding more info and I'm at 7 pages but I am not happy nor confident with it at all. I put it in order, I had previously been entering paragraph after paragraph whenever they popped in my head and didn't put it in order. So I did that and hopefully I can continue to improve on my writing. I am so daunted by this class and right now I'm just hoping I pass. I don't want to drop it because we all face difficult personalities or differences in opinion so I'm not going to like all my classes but I am determined to get thru it!
We found a couch finally! We've been looking for what seems like Forever even though I know it hasn't really been that long. As soon as we saw it we knew it was the one. We get it Wednesday and I can't wait! In the meantime I'm trying to sell our current couch on craigslist so hopefully it goes quickly!
Sunday the kids and I went to JCPenney Portrait Studio to get their pictures taken. They wore the outfits that Debbie bought them for my Dad's funeral. All in purple of some kind. I know my Dad would've loved these pictures because they turned out so good! It was hard to choose what I wanted because I wanted them all! I veered away from the enhanced ones as they are insanely expensive! I get to pick them up February 4! Debbie came over for dinner and I made meatloaf, which was my dad's favorite meal. It made me think of him as everytime he came down I would make that.
I have most of my to-dos for today done and have to clean the house so I'm off til next time!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Balance
It's Wednesday and I'm exhausted! This week has been really busy and I've stayed up late, well late for me (midnight), almost every night... My body is not used to it but I keep staying up late! Tonight I'm really going to try and get some sleep.
Classes are still going well. I have made a couple friends and like the work, I'm still working on the balance of things regarding home and school, or maybe I should say homework, home and school. I have a daily calendar thta really helps me keep everything together and I have daily to-dos. If I don't get to them I move them til the next day, or later in the week depending on class schedule. I have been putting Homework on every day, but decided instead to write down 30 minutes Algebra, 30 minutes Spanish, 10 minutes English (for reading portion). I have my Literacy Narrative due on Tuesday and I'm STRESSED about this! I'm still not 100% sure what I want to write on, though I continually go back to how being a mother changed my life. I'm not sure I could write 5 - 7 pages about anything but being a mother.
David, the kids and I played Wii sports resort tonight. What fun! My favorite is the swordplay, it's incredibly cathartic! Whacking a fake Mii with a fake sword is wonderful! I was a bit put out that if you don't have Wii Motion Plus on a remote you can't use it for any game on Wii sports resort. Kind of a racket!
I think I overuse exclamation points. Saying that reminds me of a Seinfeld episode where Elaine breaks up with a guy for not using an exclamation point then she goes on to overuse exclamation points. I love Seinfeld. What a brilliant show. You could easily relate any life experience to Seinfeld and all of our individual idiosyncrasies (I had to look up how to spell that word :) ).
I'm off to watch American Idol with David. Love the show!
Classes are still going well. I have made a couple friends and like the work, I'm still working on the balance of things regarding home and school, or maybe I should say homework, home and school. I have a daily calendar thta really helps me keep everything together and I have daily to-dos. If I don't get to them I move them til the next day, or later in the week depending on class schedule. I have been putting Homework on every day, but decided instead to write down 30 minutes Algebra, 30 minutes Spanish, 10 minutes English (for reading portion). I have my Literacy Narrative due on Tuesday and I'm STRESSED about this! I'm still not 100% sure what I want to write on, though I continually go back to how being a mother changed my life. I'm not sure I could write 5 - 7 pages about anything but being a mother.
David, the kids and I played Wii sports resort tonight. What fun! My favorite is the swordplay, it's incredibly cathartic! Whacking a fake Mii with a fake sword is wonderful! I was a bit put out that if you don't have Wii Motion Plus on a remote you can't use it for any game on Wii sports resort. Kind of a racket!
I think I overuse exclamation points. Saying that reminds me of a Seinfeld episode where Elaine breaks up with a guy for not using an exclamation point then she goes on to overuse exclamation points. I love Seinfeld. What a brilliant show. You could easily relate any life experience to Seinfeld and all of our individual idiosyncrasies (I had to look up how to spell that word :) ).
I'm off to watch American Idol with David. Love the show!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Lovely Weekend!
Buenas tardes!
Wow! What a great weekend! Saturday morning we took Blythe to the Niles Ice Festival.... It reminds me of Frankenmuth's ice exhibit, although it was unlike Frankenmuth in the fact it didn't take us Hours to drive thru the small town! It had some great exhibits though and Blythe really enjoyed it! I took lots of pictures and will add later this week!
Blythe went with Mamaw and Papaw and David and I took off to St. Charles, IL. We stayed in a nice resort in St. Charles. It was hideous on the outside, just brown and blah but inside it was super nice! It's on a golf course and has 3 pools inside as well as a spa and a theater. We enjoyed a hot tub, massage, dinner and a Beatles tribute. We both really enjoyed the Beatles Tribute! They were spot on and the band did numerous costume changes along with the Beatles' real life. I took lots of pictures and a few videos which I'll try uploading later this week in this blog (as well as Facebook). The show was 2 1/2 hours long but it didn't feel like it!
This morning we had a disgusting breakfast at IHOP where we were served what was supposed to be bacon but bore no resemblance to my favorite breakfast side dish. And I'm not even the bacon snob that David is! However I do give David credit in knowing his bacon. I would buy whatever was on sale and he was insistent on the Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon. So delicious I can see why! I usually only buy it on sale or at Walmart where it is priced right in comparison to Meijer where we routinely grocery shop.
David and I have been thinking about vacations with the kiddos and I think we are going to look into going to the Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky. It's only a couple hours away and the kids would just go gaga over an indoor waterpark! Plus they have some great deals during the winter!
I am feeling good about my classes, other than English. I did Algebra in the car to and from St. Charles in the book and then finished up my homework online for Wednesday's class. I have to do my spanish homework tomorrow and I think I got my spanish alphabet down. I say it all the time in my head and last night dreamt of having a conversation in spanish.
All in all it was a great weekend and tomorrow I'll be getting up early to go to a kick off with the girls at the Chicago Title in Northwest Indiana. It's a bit after 11, so I'm going to sign off for now!
Hasta pronto!
Cari Holmes Clifton de Adams
(formal Spanish name) :)
Wow! What a great weekend! Saturday morning we took Blythe to the Niles Ice Festival.... It reminds me of Frankenmuth's ice exhibit, although it was unlike Frankenmuth in the fact it didn't take us Hours to drive thru the small town! It had some great exhibits though and Blythe really enjoyed it! I took lots of pictures and will add later this week!
Blythe went with Mamaw and Papaw and David and I took off to St. Charles, IL. We stayed in a nice resort in St. Charles. It was hideous on the outside, just brown and blah but inside it was super nice! It's on a golf course and has 3 pools inside as well as a spa and a theater. We enjoyed a hot tub, massage, dinner and a Beatles tribute. We both really enjoyed the Beatles Tribute! They were spot on and the band did numerous costume changes along with the Beatles' real life. I took lots of pictures and a few videos which I'll try uploading later this week in this blog (as well as Facebook). The show was 2 1/2 hours long but it didn't feel like it!
This morning we had a disgusting breakfast at IHOP where we were served what was supposed to be bacon but bore no resemblance to my favorite breakfast side dish. And I'm not even the bacon snob that David is! However I do give David credit in knowing his bacon. I would buy whatever was on sale and he was insistent on the Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon. So delicious I can see why! I usually only buy it on sale or at Walmart where it is priced right in comparison to Meijer where we routinely grocery shop.
David and I have been thinking about vacations with the kiddos and I think we are going to look into going to the Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky. It's only a couple hours away and the kids would just go gaga over an indoor waterpark! Plus they have some great deals during the winter!
I am feeling good about my classes, other than English. I did Algebra in the car to and from St. Charles in the book and then finished up my homework online for Wednesday's class. I have to do my spanish homework tomorrow and I think I got my spanish alphabet down. I say it all the time in my head and last night dreamt of having a conversation in spanish.
All in all it was a great weekend and tomorrow I'll be getting up early to go to a kick off with the girls at the Chicago Title in Northwest Indiana. It's a bit after 11, so I'm going to sign off for now!
Hasta pronto!
Cari Holmes Clifton de Adams
(formal Spanish name) :)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Literacy Narrative
I have a literacy narrative due as a First Draft by January 26. The paper needs to be about What has made me into the reader/writer I am today? After a couple of pages of ideas/frustrations/nerves about writing a paper written down I think I'm going to go with how Motherhood has changed me as a reader, making me a more emotional person and able to
connect more and relate more to books.
I want to use The Shack as a support to this topic as I would never have related to the book or reacted to the book the way I did prior to children. The Shack has affected me more than any other book that I've read to date. Children do change you and your entire being. I don't think I would recognize me now as I am 8 years ago.
I talked with my English Prof about it and he didn't seem super enthused on the idea, maybe I didn't convey it right. I was a bit peeved about that because I think I could write a good paper about it and it's something that I know and is true to myself as a person.
We had an impromptu essay today and the professor asked us to write regarding the best tv program or worst tv program. I wrote about The Biggest Loser. How it is an inspiration to thousands and millions of people and what enjoyment I get out of it. The professor urged us to think of a catchy title to this as well as any paper we had in. It's something I hadn't thought about before. Write an essay, ok. Write a creative title? Darn :). Surprising myself I think I did come up with a catchy title today for my essay though which was "Why I love Losers!"
Today was a busy day and I'm still trying to adjust to everything I have to do and get a scheduled down! I'm off to farm to relax and then head into some homework!
connect more and relate more to books.
I want to use The Shack as a support to this topic as I would never have related to the book or reacted to the book the way I did prior to children. The Shack has affected me more than any other book that I've read to date. Children do change you and your entire being. I don't think I would recognize me now as I am 8 years ago.
I talked with my English Prof about it and he didn't seem super enthused on the idea, maybe I didn't convey it right. I was a bit peeved about that because I think I could write a good paper about it and it's something that I know and is true to myself as a person.
We had an impromptu essay today and the professor asked us to write regarding the best tv program or worst tv program. I wrote about The Biggest Loser. How it is an inspiration to thousands and millions of people and what enjoyment I get out of it. The professor urged us to think of a catchy title to this as well as any paper we had in. It's something I hadn't thought about before. Write an essay, ok. Write a creative title? Darn :). Surprising myself I think I did come up with a catchy title today for my essay though which was "Why I love Losers!"
Today was a busy day and I'm still trying to adjust to everything I have to do and get a scheduled down! I'm off to farm to relax and then head into some homework!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Ah College Life!
I never know how to start writing. I sit here staring at the computer screen for a few minutes before starting to write this blog entry thinking where do I start and what do I say? And look at that run on sentence I just created!
Classes are going well. Yesterday was the first day of my 3 other classes. I went early as parking seems to fill up very fast and I needed to buy my books for my first two classes. My Spanish class and Computer Lit class are only 15 minutes apart from the end of the first to the beginning of the 2nd, but luckily they are in the same building. My Spanish book comes in a loose leaflet format that you need a binder for and My Computer Lit book is Ginormous! I thought I was going to die lugging that up 3 floors to Spanish, plus my other book and laptop! I should be in shape in no time!
Spanish class was fun and I am hopeful that I pick it up as easily as I picked up French and German in high school. I still have Spanish homework to do (learn to spell my name in Spanish by tomorrow) and I have a Spanish learning buddy, Andrea. Computer Lit seems like it'll be the easiest class I have this semester and is just what I wanted it to be! We will go over Word 07, Excel, Outlook and Power Point. I've worked with Outlook, Word and Excel for years but I know there is stuff I don't know. I know nothing about Power Point and it daunts me to be honest so I'm really excited for that class!
I have about a 2 hour break between Computer Lit and English. I purchased my Algebra and English book and lugged it out to my car with my other massive books! The lunch at the cafeteria is fabulous and the whole campus has free wifi so I spent my time farming, listening to 20 year olds wondering if I was ever that shallow and dreading English!
I love to read but writing is just not my forte. Anyone following this knows that talking is! The English Prof is stricter than the other teachers it seems and the class seems that it'll be very work intensive. He suggested we blog or write every day so at least I was on the right track with that. I'm definitely going to be relying on David and my sissy to be my finest critics.... though I'm unsure they realize this! Surprise! Love you!
After class David, Blythe and I ran around, went out to dinner and went to our favorite store, Walmart. After Biggest Loser (American Idol recorded in DVR) I started in on my math homework and finished it up this morning. I'm not fond of fractions! I really like the online Math homework, it really helps you, gives you examples of different problems or helps you solve it and then gives you a similar problem to work on.
I finished Shopaholic and Baby last night. I wanted to finish it the night before but realized I had more than 100 pages and just couldn't force myself to stay awake to finish it up! Great book, I love Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood). I hope the author keeps coming out with more!
I have a Sandra Brown book up next. She is such a good author. I used to read her romance novels and then she turned into a suspense/romance writer and they are so good I usually have a hard time putting them down. I recently read her newest book, Rainwater, which was Excellent! It wasn't a suspense, quite a different book than what she's put out over the last few years but it is so good! I highly recommend that or any of her other books!
David is home for lunch so I'm off to have lunch with him before back home to study Spanish and reading my English Guide to Writing assignment! Class at 4 for Algebra!
Happy Wednesday to you!
C
Classes are going well. Yesterday was the first day of my 3 other classes. I went early as parking seems to fill up very fast and I needed to buy my books for my first two classes. My Spanish class and Computer Lit class are only 15 minutes apart from the end of the first to the beginning of the 2nd, but luckily they are in the same building. My Spanish book comes in a loose leaflet format that you need a binder for and My Computer Lit book is Ginormous! I thought I was going to die lugging that up 3 floors to Spanish, plus my other book and laptop! I should be in shape in no time!
Spanish class was fun and I am hopeful that I pick it up as easily as I picked up French and German in high school. I still have Spanish homework to do (learn to spell my name in Spanish by tomorrow) and I have a Spanish learning buddy, Andrea. Computer Lit seems like it'll be the easiest class I have this semester and is just what I wanted it to be! We will go over Word 07, Excel, Outlook and Power Point. I've worked with Outlook, Word and Excel for years but I know there is stuff I don't know. I know nothing about Power Point and it daunts me to be honest so I'm really excited for that class!
I have about a 2 hour break between Computer Lit and English. I purchased my Algebra and English book and lugged it out to my car with my other massive books! The lunch at the cafeteria is fabulous and the whole campus has free wifi so I spent my time farming, listening to 20 year olds wondering if I was ever that shallow and dreading English!
I love to read but writing is just not my forte. Anyone following this knows that talking is! The English Prof is stricter than the other teachers it seems and the class seems that it'll be very work intensive. He suggested we blog or write every day so at least I was on the right track with that. I'm definitely going to be relying on David and my sissy to be my finest critics.... though I'm unsure they realize this! Surprise! Love you!
After class David, Blythe and I ran around, went out to dinner and went to our favorite store, Walmart. After Biggest Loser (American Idol recorded in DVR) I started in on my math homework and finished it up this morning. I'm not fond of fractions! I really like the online Math homework, it really helps you, gives you examples of different problems or helps you solve it and then gives you a similar problem to work on.
I finished Shopaholic and Baby last night. I wanted to finish it the night before but realized I had more than 100 pages and just couldn't force myself to stay awake to finish it up! Great book, I love Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood). I hope the author keeps coming out with more!
I have a Sandra Brown book up next. She is such a good author. I used to read her romance novels and then she turned into a suspense/romance writer and they are so good I usually have a hard time putting them down. I recently read her newest book, Rainwater, which was Excellent! It wasn't a suspense, quite a different book than what she's put out over the last few years but it is so good! I highly recommend that or any of her other books!
David is home for lunch so I'm off to have lunch with him before back home to study Spanish and reading my English Guide to Writing assignment! Class at 4 for Algebra!
Happy Wednesday to you!
C
Monday, January 11, 2010
First one of many!
Welcome to my blog! I've wanted to create a blog for some time but wasn't sure what I would say that I don't already say on Facebook. I started college today and one of my first 4 classes is English composition. I have never felt that I was a strong writer and so creating a blog is my way of trying to become a better writer. I want to write about college, kids, books I've read and want to read, get friend and family feedback on books that they loved and want to read, movies, places to go and things to see!
December 18 was my last day at Chicago Title of Michigan and the few weeks between work and starting college were really busy! I enjoyed my first Christmas in my home with David, the kids, my parents and Grandma. I stayed at my parents for New Years Eve and spent time visiting friends and family. I worked on my dad's estate, got organized, spent time with the kids, read great books and got ready for school. Oh and I farmed... of course!
Today I only had one class at college, Introductory to Algebra. I enjoyed Algebra in high school but high school was long ago and I love my calculator! The class was small in size and the professor was laid back and easy going. We covered a lot in our first class but it made sense so that made me feel pretty good. I'm sure I won't be saying that in the future chapters, but I'm choosing to remain optimistic. Tomorrow I have 3 classes starting at 9:30, Spanish, Computer Literacy and English 101.
When I got home from class Poor Blythe was sick on the couch. I feel so bad for her, she's already had the flu. I'm hoping that it's a 24 hour bug. Hopefully the twins don't get sick. They went to their dad's starting today for the week.
I'm currently reading the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. I'm on the 4th and final book of the series, Shopaholic & Baby. I would highly recommend the series to anyone and everyone. Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is hilarious and her antics are sure to make you laugh out loud while reading the books! I enjoyed the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic and the books are an utter delight! Please share what you are reading or have read that you enjoyed!
Aspen is pushing against me for attention so I'm signing off for now!
December 18 was my last day at Chicago Title of Michigan and the few weeks between work and starting college were really busy! I enjoyed my first Christmas in my home with David, the kids, my parents and Grandma. I stayed at my parents for New Years Eve and spent time visiting friends and family. I worked on my dad's estate, got organized, spent time with the kids, read great books and got ready for school. Oh and I farmed... of course!
Today I only had one class at college, Introductory to Algebra. I enjoyed Algebra in high school but high school was long ago and I love my calculator! The class was small in size and the professor was laid back and easy going. We covered a lot in our first class but it made sense so that made me feel pretty good. I'm sure I won't be saying that in the future chapters, but I'm choosing to remain optimistic. Tomorrow I have 3 classes starting at 9:30, Spanish, Computer Literacy and English 101.
When I got home from class Poor Blythe was sick on the couch. I feel so bad for her, she's already had the flu. I'm hoping that it's a 24 hour bug. Hopefully the twins don't get sick. They went to their dad's starting today for the week.
I'm currently reading the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. I'm on the 4th and final book of the series, Shopaholic & Baby. I would highly recommend the series to anyone and everyone. Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood) is hilarious and her antics are sure to make you laugh out loud while reading the books! I enjoyed the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic and the books are an utter delight! Please share what you are reading or have read that you enjoyed!
Aspen is pushing against me for attention so I'm signing off for now!
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