Friday, October 16, 2009

Hello reading audience. I'm sitting here staring at this blank screen trying to decide what to do here. This blog has been a good therapy tool for me over the last couple of years. It's helped me clear my head and unburden myself. I've gotten to write a bit, and be creative...which has been good fun. Oh yes, I've complained (mostly about school!)...probably a lot, but overall, it's revealed to me the blessings in my life. I really do have great family, fantastic friends, a very special guy...

Been thinking about deleting the blog though. Not sure if anyone is reading it, and I have a hard time keeping it fresh and interesting. I mean really, how many times do you want to read about all the disgusting adventures the girl is having in anatomy class? Very Silence of the Lambs. Clarieece....I ate his liver with some fava beans...and a nice Chanti. Ewwww.....

If you're out there, and you'd like to voice an opinion, I'd love to hear from you!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

OOOPS!

Nothing wakes you up like accidentally walking into the men's bathroom with a guy utilizing the urinal. I am embarrassed. Hope he didn't see me!

Totally busted too. The women's bathroom is right across from it, and a lady was coming out as I was making my hasty retreat. She burst into laughter and said "You go girl!" What does that mean anyway??

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Anatomy Exam #1


It's over!!!!! And...I think I did pretty well. The questions I wasn't 100% sure about, I tried to make my best educated guesses based on how the words sounded....you know...the Latin and Greek derivatives? May have screwed the pooch there, but at least I tried. The one essay question was this--compare and contrast pseudostatified columnar epithelial tissue with areolar connective tissue. Luckily for me...I knew plenty about both. Whoa! Am I turning into a nerd? I couldn't figure out the compare and contrast part of it though, so I just listed everything I knew about them. What they look like, what their function is, what the characteristics of them are, and where you can find them. Sound good? Hope Dr. Wilson agrees...

Wow, am I burnt! What a relief though....I'm a much happier girl! Now to learn the skeletal system...

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Wanted: Chicken Soup

As much as I don't want to admit it, I give in. I have a cold. It's not allergies...it's a full blown cold. I'm sitting here missing someone, and trying to cram in all the anatomy information into my brain for what's shaping up to be a brutal exam and lab practical. Problem is--the info is duking it out with the mucus. I know...not a pretty picture. Who will win? Stay tuned...


The upside, if there is one, is I'm looking out my bedroom window here on the second floor and I'm noticing it's that magical time. You know, the time when that beautiful golden light streams in through the trees right before dusk. It's soooo pretty! No one should be alone when it's like this! Makes me miss him more...get a grip girl...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

thought you'd want to know...


Did you know that everything that we see visually on a person is dead except for their eyes? Never heard it put that way until today. Interesting...

Sunday, August 23, 2009

I made it through week one. It wasn't so bad. I think we begin dissection this week. Yikes. I've got my lab coat and rubber gloves standing by.

I found a great, albeit expensive, rolling backpack at Sports Authority. I dragged Chris around one evening to several different stores on the hunt for one. They seem to have two kinds. Cheap ones made for children--poor quality, kind of small, and with a very short handle. Then there are the really expensive, but great quality ones like the ones I found at Sports Authority and REI. I chose the black Jansport one from Sports Authority. It has a huge capacity to store stuff, and the handle is not only sturdy, but it locks into place. The thing cost me $80, but I think it's going to be worth it. Now...does my coolness quotient go down with the use of this handy item? I submit that it does not.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Day four...

Lab #2 today. We looked at slides under the microscope. Deudenium...stomach...trachea....kidney...They ALL looked like bacon! Lol!

I really like my lab partners--Tonya, Jana, and Victoria. Very nice ladies. Gave myself a headache today by having the light resolution up too high on my scope. Sometimes I learn the hard way. :) We're learning so much info, so fast. I'm really going to have to stay on top of the memorization stuff. Algebra is cool, cause I get to do my homework online, and I don't have to turn any in. Honor system...because of Arnie's budget cuts. No more aides to grade math papers apparently. Stupid of you not to do the homework though....that'll bite you in the you-know-what. With my math bundle, came an online code for this website called MyMathLab. Sandy (my adorable latina teacher...hmmm....interesting....why are all the teachers at the JC either hispanic or granola?) has it all set up for us, so we can do the problems on the computer. The nicest part is it gives examples of similar problems in case we need extra help. We can also take practice tests there.
Had to drop my speech class because it conflicted with my anatomy class. Anatomy is #1 priority this semester. May have to take that next summer.

Chris seems to be loving high school. Especially the abundance of pretty girls! A lot of fish in this pond. I was hoping this would be a great academic year for him. Oh geez....

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Day two...

Happy to report today was better than yesterday. Today was my first anatomy lab. 7:30am. Parking is better at that hour. :) Yesterday I had to park in Petaluma. Ok....a slight fabrication. Felt like it though. I wasn't late, but all the seats were taken by the time I got to class, so I got to stand for the first class. I'm liking the feel of the lab better than lecture. It's a much smaller group of people, which is less intimidating. Our lab instructor, Nick, seems like a really cool guy! So does Pete, his teacher's aide. Nick was way more positive than Dr. Wilson the day before. She gives the lectures. I felt really discouraged after her talk. What a negative woman! Made me question whether I'm going into the right field or not. Who is she to harsh my mellow? rain on my parade? hmmm...out of cliches..............

In the lab, there are 6 lab stations. Mine was with 3 other women...all super nice! We exchanged info with each other so we can study together. Nice to make some connections. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm determined to do well!

My complaint of the day is my back and shoulders. I'm carrying so much book weight in my backpack, that it's taking a toll. Actually broke some skin on my shoulder. I WILL be buying a backpack with roller wheels. Either that, or I'm rigging Chris's skateboard up. Think he'd go for it? I can hear him....Mom, you are sooo weird!

I decided that I would spend my afternoons in the Doyle library and do my homework in there. It's quiet. It has free wifi. The tutorial center is right there. Only problem with it that I've noticed is it's so quiet, I get sleepy. Oh yeah...iced coffee on level 2. :D Problem solved! I have this awesome new netbook now, so I can stay connected to you know who. So cool!

I like my algebra instructor. She's adorable. Couldn't be more than 25. She has a very different teaching style from my last teacher, so I'm hopeful this time. She also says that she calls on us, so that will keep me focused. Let's face it, I'm never going to be a math teacher. That would be disastrous for everyone involved. I just want to understand it better before I move forward with Chemistry. Oh yeah....and that kid over in the corner glaring at me?...that's Aaron. I'm not high on his list of favorite people....ever since I made him lose his recess time in 6th grade. Haven't got a clue what he did either....must have been bad if I went that far. Maybe I'll torture him tomorrow and plunk myself down right next to him...good idea?? Thought so...

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Summer's over??

I'm just going to say it. Back to school blows...

This summer flew by! Thanks to Scott, I got to have a lot of new and fun experiences. I can't speak for him, but I really had a great summer. Hope he did too. I am so grateful!

This semester of SRJC starts on Monday. I'm taking Anatomy, Algebra (again), Communications 7 (world speech), and Counseling 60 (what the heck is it?). Dreading the early classes, but I know I'll adapt fast. Probably feel like I'm working again. I hope. I'm sure my coffee intake will increase exponentially. Hope I can handle the load....small sigh....

And in other news....my baby starts high school on Monday too. Big sigh...

Friday, August 7, 2009

Reflection

About to enter my fifth decade. Wow! How do I feel about that? It's a very mixed bag really. Getting older naturally makes me think of the past, as well as the future. I've said it before. Didn't expect life to look like this. A year ago, things looked so bleak that I just couldn't even allow my thoughts to go beyond that day. What a difference a year makes! I'm getting closer in my education goals, which feels great! (school starts in a week! Yikes!). My family and friends are doing well. Scott. Scott is a big change. I now have Scott. What a blessing he is to me, each and every day. Never know what life's got planned for us, do we? Since I don't know what God's got in the works for tomorrow, I'm not going to worry about it. I am a happy girl. What an amazing feeling!

Ok...anyone care to place a bet on how long it will take mom to remind me that Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson Family today? Ah....birthday traditions!

Stuff that happened 40 years ago:

The first man landed on the moon. It was the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the face of the moon. Armstrong flubbed his line of "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." and famously said "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Richard Nixon became president of the United States.

The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 came into service.

Golda Mier of Milwaukee became the Prime Minister of Israel.

Public Broadcasting Service was established (PBS)

The first US military troop withdrawl of Vietnam began.

Senator Edward Kennedy drove his car into a pond. A female passenger was found dead on the scene. This was named the Chappaquiddick Affair.

Manson family gruesomely murder 5 people.

Wal-Mart incorporates into the Wal-Mart stores, Inc.

Charles De Gaulle resigns as President of France.

The death penalty is abolished in the UK.

Woodstock attracts more that 350,000 rock and roll fans.

The first transplant of a human eye.

Seiko sells the first quartz watch.

The first ATM machine is installed in the US.

The Boeing 747 jumbo jet makes it's debut. It carries 191 people, mostly reporters and photographers, from Seattle to New York City.

UNIX is invented. That one's for you sweetie!

The Pontiac Firebird Trans Am is introduced.

A free concert by the Rolling Stones is held in Livermore, CA. The Hells Angels are hired as security, resulting in numerous deaths.

Sesame Street makes it's debut on PBS.

The Beatles last public performance is held on the roof of Apple Records.

Popular films:

Funny Girl
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Love Bug
True Grit
The Midnight Cowboy
Easy Rider
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Stats:

Tangerines--29 cents a dozen
Skippy peanut butter--85 cents
a dozen eggs--49 cents
Average price of a house--$15,550
Rent--$135
Average cost of a car--$3,270
Gas per gallon--35 cents a gallon

Famous people born in 1969:

Jack Black
Kate Blanchett
Jennifer Aniston
Matthew Perry
Gwen Stefani
Renee Zellwegger
Ice Cube

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Chris scared me awake at 4 am this morning. He used to be quite the sleep-walker, but as he's gotten older, he's almost stopped. This morning I heard loud rustling coming my way, complete with my bedroom door being thrown open...and Chris flopping himself down on top of my bed. What scared me the most was that my dad (insomniac that he is) was already up downstairs, and was apparently opening the front door at the same time to check and see if the newspaper had come. I thought it was Chris going outside. He did something similar when we lived at Spring Creek. Scared the living **** out of me! I got a shot of adrenaline so big...let me tell ya! I was relieved to see him when he threw open that door. Getting him to go back to bed in his room was not easy! Probably going to be mad at me...if he remembers at all...which is usually not likely. I tried to go back to bed after that, but apparently adrenaline and sleep are not good bed buddies. Finally gave it up at 5. Since I don't seem to make the time to blog much these days, I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to get some thoughts down. I seem to be quite lucid. We'll see...

Let me see...Well, day camp is over for the summer again. Seemed to be a tiny little camp this year. Don't know what that means for next year. The JC is about to start again on August 17th. This semester this lucky girl gets to take Anatomy. Complete with a cadaver. Oh joy! I also decided to take algebra again. I hated the fact that I didn't do well, and I really want to understand it. I'll need it for my chemistry class when I take that also, so here I go again. Hopefully, I'll discover some brilliant part of my brain, and it will all click! Yeah...right! Another class I'm taking is called Communications 7. Something about world speech. I dunno. All I know is it involved public speaking...gulp! Helps to have done a bit of subbing at RVC I guess. Whatever...maybe I'll try picturing people naked. Does that really work? And you're not supposed to laugh, right? Lastly, I needed 1 more unit, so I'm taking an online class. I don't even remember what it is at the moment. Doesn't start until November anyway.

Got my books a couple of days ago. All used...$280! Ouch! Could be worse I guess. Look at me being all positive! :) Chris is also starting a new school. We made the really tough decision to enroll him at Maria Carrillo High School. It has been really difficult for me to cope with. I had always had a dream that he'd go the full ride at RVC. The tuition became too much. I think this change may have had something to do with Chris's sleepwalking adventure this morning. Stress seems to be a trigger for him. He's going to do great, but it is a really big change. I'm sure the fear of the unknown is what he's worried about. Me too for that matter...We meet his counselor and get him plugged into his classes next week.

Scott and I took another trip to Redding a couple of weeks ago. Had a really nice time visiting with some of his family. His wonderful cousin's Kim and Bill hosted us again. The only down side was the tremendous heat. I think, at one point, it was around 115 degrees. You just can't even really go out in it for more than a few minutes at a time. But it's a dry heat!! So is my blow dryer, but I don't want to walk around all day with it blowing in my face. How does anything get done around there? I felt like a sloth. We did manage to go visit a neat old museum. It was the old courthouse/jail/bakery/general store for Shasta. Got some neat pictures, which I will post. We also visited the Sundial Bridge again. Last time, we saw it during the day. When I got home, I looked it up and found out it's all lit up at night. What the pictures didn't show was how the entire bridge is covered in those huge garden spiders. Yuck! My flesh was crawling the entire time. Scott thought it was amusing to pretend to throw one at me too! Isn't he a prince?! Pretty sure that's my last visit to the Sundial Bridge, thank you very much!

Turning 40 in two days. Naturally, I'm feeling a bit reflective. My life is sure different from what I thought it would be like. I was driving through San Rafael on the way back home the other day. I got slammed in the face by a huge rush of emotions, and the tears started. Not sure why exactly. I guess some old dreams that will never be, or something like that. Letting go of them, piece by piece. My hometown kind of reminded me of some of those, I suppose. I'm enjoying my life right now, and I have found a wonderful person who wants to share it with me..and he makes a lovely addition to the friends and family I'm already blessed with. This is a really good time in my life. So why does the number 40 sound so foreign to me?? Come on! I feel like I'm still 18. Aren't I supposed to be flowing with wisdom and maturity? Dignity and grace? Have you seen me in the morning? Oh well...I'm me. I guess that's good :)

Friday, June 19, 2009

Man, I'm bad about being consistent with this blog stuff. Sorry about that!

Chris had his first concert with Destroying the Evil. Actually, he's become a band of one I guess, as the other guys have slowing fallen out, or gotten grounded, or whatever teenage boys do. Fatt Matt got Chris a guitarist/lead singer and a bass player to jam with(jam! Look at me trying to be the cool mommy!), so he did get to perform. The venue was the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma (looks like a crack den), and the cause was a benefit concert for the new Christian radio station, Broken FM. Chris's band was one of many that played that evening. I'd never gotten to hear Chris play the drums other than in chapel at school, so I was amazed at his skill level! He was awesome! I was (am) so impressed with my kid!! Scott and Judy went with me. I think we all had a good time. Thank goodness for those foamy ear protector thingys cause it was super loud in there! Am I getting old, or what?!

Scott and I recently spent the day in SF. Turned out to be a really nice day! We made another attempt at the Marin Headlands, since the first time had tornado-force winds (ok...perhaps a slight exaggeration!). This time the weather cooperated for us. We walked down to the Point Bonita Lighthouse, and walked over that rickety bridge. So glad it wasn't windy! Even then, we could feel it moving. We also got to see the Nike missiles. We were able to go underground and check them out. Very cool! A lot of nukes, pretty close to home. Scary!

After lunch at Tommy's Joint (yum!), we headed to the Japanese Tea Gardens. I hadn't been there since I was a kid. It really was like I'd remembered. Tranquil and beautiful. Scott, being his very sweet self, bought me this lovely paper lantern painted with cherry blossoms as a momento of our day. It now adorns a special corner of my bedroom. :)

Our last stop for the day was Japantown. I've driven by it a multitude of times, but had never stopped before. We went down into this underground shopping mall. It was filled with all things Japanese (duh!), like a couple of Japanese video stores, lots of anime stuff, a huge Hello Kitty/Sanrio store that we passed by (the little girl in me wanted to go in, but I didn't want to subject my tour guide to it!), an equally huge two-story Japanese book store (too bad I couldn't read a word of any of them!), and just about any kind of Japanese food you'd ever want to eat. We did stop at a candy store because I was thinking it might be fun to get some for Chris, but I couldn't find anything that he wouldn't find suspicious. We also stopped at a crepe place. I got a strawberry tapioca drink. It was really good, and really odd. It had these black round tapioca pearls at the bottom that get sucked up in the huge straw they give you. They were very chewy like a gummy candy, but good. Not sure I've had a drink I had to chew before! Scott got a crepe. I think it was filled with green tea ice cream. Seemed to have some fruit, and red bean paste. The best part was that the person who made it turned it into this fun monster face, complete with beety little chocolate chip eyes, red bean paste hair, and a strawberry lizard tongue. It was so cool!

A very, very good day!


Brian Regan....

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Summertime!

Is it really here again?! I don't feel as prepared for it this year! I just wrapped up the hardest semester I've had yet. Looking forward to recharging in the next couple of months. I'll be doing the day camp thing again this summer.

Scott and I just got back from a trip to Redding to meet his family. The Aldrich clan is pretty large...and this wasn't all of them. Such lovely people. I felt at ease with them immediately. We drove with Scott's sweet daughter Cassie, and her equally wonderful husband Noah. We stayed with Kim and Bill. Kim is Scott's dear cousin. He says she's like a little sister to him. The stories she must have! Note to self...talk more to Kim. Sweet to see how much they care about each other! Scott's brother Keith, his wife Dee, and their son Nathan were down, visiting from Oregon. I also got to meet Scott's brother Bob, his wife Julie, their daughter Melissa, her husband Tav, and their precious baby girl, Petra. Tav is apparently working toward being an RN too. It was neat to talk to him about his goals. Kim's son Daniel was present to provide comic relief...sounds like he's all about pyrotechnics and appears to be an uber fan of that wholesome restaurant chain, Hooters. Far be it from me to disparage his depth of character in any way! Nice guy though! Just don't call him Dan :)



That afternoon, after we'd had a chance to rest for a bit, we drove to see Sundial Bridge. What an incredible site. Why Redding though? The modern structure should have been in Japan or someplace like that. Scott and I were looking down on it and wondering if it lit up somehow. When I got home, I found out that it does, but we missed seeing that. Too bad we weren't there after dark. It was pretty warm, so we sought some shelter inside and got a snack while the rest of the family got a sunburn. :)



Scott's Aunt Sharon came for the bbq Friday evening with her friend and companion Rod. Sharon is such a sweet woman. She makes me feel like family. Hard to believe she had just had surgery a week before. She looked awesome! She is Scott's champion and holds a very special spot in his heart. After a lovely meal of barbecued steak (thank you for grilling Noah!), potatoes, and salad, we played Apples to Apples well into the evening out on their patio. Fun to hear the brothers talk about the various ways they used to torture each other. Unfortunately, Keith looks like he may have gotten the worst of it! Poor guy! Snake pits, falling knives, dart impalement, caterpillar trauma. Amazing he survived! And their poor mom, God bless her! The food bills...the countless trips to the emergency room...the stitches...

Sunday, after Kim and Bill filled us with pancakes and eggs, we loaded everyone up and headed to a park. I don't know what the name of it was, and Scott and I were trying to guess as to whether the body of water it was next to was Lake Shasta or not. It was beautiful,nevertheless, wherever it was. (Note--later found out it was Whiskeyville Lake) We had a nice picnic lunch, and played more games. I'd brought Mexican train with us, thinking we'd teach them how to play. Many of them already knew it though. Scott's mother joined us at the park. She'd driven over from Susanville with a friend. It was nice to meet her, although we didn't really seize the opportunity to talk with each other. I don't think she was expecting me. :)

On the way home, the car was all about technology. Scott and Noah were both watching movies on their ipods, while I just listened to music on mine. Scott even got me to watch Rambo with him on the way to Redding! I'll do anything for that man! Somehow, even Rambo is romantic when you're curled up in your boyfriend's arms sharing a splicer. Pretty sure he owes me a chick flick! And no falling asleep this time! The car was nice and air conditioned. Got a refreshing beverage at the drive-thru Starbucks. What an amazing world we live in! I think we left around 3pm and got back home around 8ish. It was a really fun trip, and I felt privileged to be included.


Jim Gaffigan......



Brian Regan......

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

She survived to see another day...

We made it back! Bandcon Lalapalooza Fest 2009! Wow...were we wiped! It turned out to be an interesting experience. Got some great girl time with a couple of dear friends, and some quality time with Chris. I missed Scott, but I'm glad I went. The bus wasn't even that bad...had my Ipod...my cellphone for those ever-essential texting purposes....my buds Liz and Patty. All in all...not much to complain about. They even gave everyone a goodie bag as we got on. In it was a band t-shirt that all of the women found uncomfortable. We dramatically improved them by performing surgery with scissors. Good idea Patty!


We stayed at The Residence Inn by Marriot in Sunnyvale. I was so impressed by this place. I highly recommend. Wish I could have tried the hot tub, but there was zero time. I roomed with another mom named Kate. :) After we got to the motel...ate some Subway....chilled for something like 20 minutes (you think I kid?), we loaded the fancied up (think tuxedos and gowns) kids back on the bus and headed to Milpitas High School. The men's and the ladies ensemble choirs performed for the judges. It was so interesting to watch these judges. They both talked through the songs into a recording device. I guess their ears are tuned to hear what they're looking for. The rest of us thought it seemed rude. The day was filled with a lot of standing around and waiting. I'm not sure how many other schools participated, but it seemed like 8 or so. After the choirs, the instrumental band got to perform a couple pieces.


Once we were finished at the high school, we loaded back up and went to Home Town Buffet for dinner. Wonder who picked this place? It appeared that several of the other schools had the same idea. It was packed with scads of impeccably dressed young people.....filling their tummies with chicken a la king and 10 different types of jello. I must say....this place....not so good. We were hoping to get some decompression time after we got back, but we were running late. Only got half an hour before lights out. I was assigned a room full of girls to look after. I got a couple of panicked phone calls at lights out time regarding important stuff like manicures and french braiding.


The next morning was an early one. We were supposed to be cleared out of our rooms and ready for breakfast by 6am. Chris's chaperone Tom came to me and said Chris was the first one up....got himself showered without any reminder. He was so impressed! So am I! When did he grow up? Later, Chris confessed that his room played video games until 2am. Smart boys...real smart. After breakfast, we did the bus thing again, only with full marching band uniforms (polyester....toasty!) The band marched in front of Milpitas High for what...30 seconds? With a police escort no less. Our tax dollars at work. Then....a bunch more standing around until the jazz band performed their 3 songs. They sounded great! I'm such a proud mama!




Once the kids changed, it was off to Great America for the day. I haven't been there since I was probably 18? It felt pretty much the same. The junior high kids had to have adult chaperones (which they were not too pleased about!), so Patty, Liz, and I spent the day together with 8 of the precious darlings. Some were more enjoyable than others. (Code for...man, these kids are being bratty!) Chris has never been much of a ride rider. The anticipation of it makes his stomach hurt. I don't push him. I must say, he was so great that day. He never complained...at least not to me. The only thing he wanted was a funnel cake. By the time we tried to get him one, the line must have had 50+ people. I felt so bad. He shrugged it off, and said he'd wait for the fair. Such a great kid I have!



At 5:30 we all met up at the Nick Theater for the award ceremony. RVCS received 5 trophies...all first place...all categories! It was awesome! It says so much about the music program at our school, and especially the leadership of Jim Humphreys. He really gets these kids to give there best! I was so proud of them!


It was time to go at 8pm. We were exhausted from not only two jam-packed days, but from all of the whining. It was a pretty quiet bus ride home. I think Liz was the first one asleep. You should have seen Chris all curled up in a fetal position on that little bench. Me? I texted my honey the whole ride home, as I was starved for his attention. Something tells me that's what Miss Patty was up to too....Alan :)

Monday, May 4, 2009

I think I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. This semester has been intense! Remind me why I'm doing this again? Oh yeah...so I can get my scrubs and make a difference in world...and being a homeless person doesn't sound all that appealing. I like regular showers. I still have three weeks in front of me. This means essays, and final exams. The only class I wanted this summer turned out to be on the Petaluma campus...4 days a week....at 7:30am. Consequently, the girls taking the summer off. Going to work at His Image again though. This time I'm not the arts and crafts director. After so many years of that, I'm going to enjoy a break. Maybe my creative side will have a chance to come back. I have been cooking however, as I now have a special someone to cook for. That has been fun...and I think he appreciates it!

Chris and I leave on the band trip to Great America this Friday. I think he's excited because his "girl" friend is going too. So Mom gets to be the spy this weekend! :) Oh...and get this....someone thought it would be a good idea for Mrs. Brown to ride the bus with the kids! Doesn't that sound delightful? I do realize how fast my boy is growing up, so I'm going to concentrate on having fun with him this weekend..and taking lots of pictures. I will post them when I get home.

More Brian Regan....



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

I'm a little more than half way into this semester already. Started out with seven classes....four remain. I feel like I've made some decent progress. I find myself struggling along in algebra and history. History is my Achilles heal this term. I don't enjoy my professor's style of teaching, his strange and manic personality (I know...imagine that...Kate thinks her teacher is odd...do we see a pattern? Maybe it's just me?! You'd tell me wouldn't you?). The text is so incredibly dry that it lulls me to sleep....and after I wake up with the book stuck to my face, I wonder...is there a better way? Has to be... It's a pity, because I normally enjoy history. So I'll continue to plug away at it in spite of these feelings. No one said this would be an easy process. Truth be told, the hardest part is in front of me now. I need to stay focused on just getting through today's stuff.

Everything else is pretty great. And that's all she wrote........

Thursday, March 12, 2009

OK all you Kate fans out there (Hi Alicia...Patty...Jude! :)....yes, she's reporting in. I'm off this week. It's what the JC is calling winter break. Too bad it doesn't coincide with RVCS's Easter break. So, what am I doing with myself? Out of my boredom, I'm working on getting ahead with school stuff. This is all going to hit the fan if I don't. I have an essay to crank out, a project about myself written in comic book form (should be interesting!), and the very dreaded History midterm. Can she do it? I'll get back to you on that one!

Isn't it interesting how God puts people in your path when you least expect it? I've met someone who is occupying a tremendous amount of my head space...which is scary and exhilarating at the same time. So is this what happy feels like? I didn't know....cool!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Just sitting here trying to think of what is newsworthy. School is keeping me busy right now. I felt concern about taking this many units at once. Wasn't sure I could accomplish it and keep an A average. Semester's half over, and guess what? I'm doing it...who woulda thunk it? I got the first part of my Pell Grant finally too! God is really providing for me....us. Thank you so much for all the prayers coming our way. He's clearly hearing them!

I'm meeting new people and having some fun for a change. It's amazing how that will improve ones perspective.

I could go into more details about my Mongolian project, or the looming algebra test.....but who wants to know about that stuff?! Perhaps another dose of Brian Regan is in order?

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Just loafing around......


I know! I stun myself at my brilliance!! Some days my humor just seems so...well....is inspired the word? Inspired...yes...

Today was the first of my two classes on yeast bread. Boy, did I get the times off! I thought today's class was 9am to 12:15pm. I thought it was kind of odd that a class on a time consuming art like bread making could be accomplished in a little over 3 hours, but you never know! That JC and its mysterious ways! It turned out that 12:15pm was the lunch break. Kate--you dummy! The class was supposed to go to 5:30pm. Our adorable little teacher let us go by 4:30 though, so that was nice! I was really surprised at the male/female ratio in the class. Way more men! Weird! We learned how to make a poolish (pronounced "pooh-leesh"). It is apparently the wet starter for most yeast breads. We made 2 baguettes, 9 dinner roles, 1 loaf of rustic Kalamata olive and rosemary ciabatta bread, and brioche dough that we froze until next weeks class. It actually was a lot of fun, although I really missed my Sunday School class! I met some really nice people too, so that was a bonus! I'm really glad now that I took the class. When I got home, I cut a piece of the Kalamata bread for mom. She took one bite, and handed it back to me, while making a rather pinched up and unpleasant face! Thanks a bunch mom! She coulda humored me don't you think? Where's the love?? I'm not surprised though...mom likes plain old Oroweat white bread....so what does she know anyway? Hummph!

Homework? Sourdough starter.......with pineapple juice no less...

Have you ever noticed how much I enjoy the "...?" I use it a lot.....................

Thursday, January 29, 2009

I had an interesting thing happen to me. About a month ago (maybe even a month an a half) I was contacted by this woman named Corrine who had apparently seen my blog. She said she wasn't spam, and she worked for Turner Publishing Company. She said they were putting out a book on the history of Sonoma County, and would I be interested in having one and reviewing it for her on my humble little site? I thought this sounded like an amazing opportunity, so I agreed, sceptically wondering to myself if it was legit.

Well...I surely did receive a book in the mail. How about that, I thought, as I slipped off the business card she'd attached confirming that it was from Turner Publishing Company. Historic Photos of Sonoma County. It's a big, beautiful coffee table book, with amazing old black and white photos of our lovely county and how it grew into what it is today. I combed through it several times hoping I'd see a relative, as my family has quite a history in this area. Although I didn't recognize anyone, I certainly saw very familiar names and sites. It was wonderful to see what downtown Santa Rosa used to look like. I remember listening to my Aunt Ada talk about going to Rosenberg's to shop for clothing and yarn to make make her trademark slippers. Man, did those slippers hurt your feet...but that is beside the point.


The book doesn't just center on Santa Rosa. Every area of our fair county is touched upon. The text is written by Less Torliatt, a former teacher at Santa Rosa and Piner High Schools. He was also an editor and writer for not only The Press Democrat, and the Petaluma Argus-Courier, but also The San Francisco Chronicle. Torliatt discusses the span of time beginning with the 1850's, taking us through the devastation of the 1906 earthquake, the prohibition years, the prosperous times Sonoma County enjoyed after the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge, and ends with a discussion of how the county was affected by the war years.

I loved the photos! There's a great photo of Luther Burbank in there, with none other than Helen Kellor! Seems like we've welcomed many famous faces over the years. I thought the book was very interesting, and did a great job showing the true spirit of Sonoma County. I highly recommend it, and it is now out in book stores, so go check it out! With distressing news everywhere we turn, it was nice to be transported to a simpler time. It was also encouraging to see that although Sonoma County has weathered hard times before, we do press on in a way that shows our local pride and a hope for the future!

Thank you for thinking of me Corrine!

Friday, January 23, 2009

The Scoop......

Once again....my poor blog goes neglected! I've been busy. I'm full-time school now with a lot more homework. Sometimes it makes me feel really overwhelmed...and frankly, kind of old. Why, oh why didn't I do this when I was younger? I frustrate myself! I doubt I would have taken it so seriously back then. Most kids appear to feel like they don't have much to lose. Well...this time around, I know the gravity of my situation. I think that is a large part of why it overwhelms me. It's up to me. I have no wing man. No...that's incorrect. Okay...God is my wing man! Better?


Somehow, I've wound up with 7 classes this semester. I was hoping to get into Communications 66, but the teacher didn't have enough room to add me. Her class appeared to be filled with the football team. This sent me scrambling to get three extra units so I would keep my full-time status for the sake of scholarships. I replaced Comm 66 with a couple small online courses......and yeast bread. Yes....bread making. It is obviously not a nursing prerequisite, and probably something I personally should avoid, but it was an easy unit. The class only meets two times....both on Sundays. Chris is excited that I'm going to learn how to make good pizza dough. Teenage boys often think with their stomachs! So my schedule has me on campus two days a week. The rest is online. I feel like I'm burning a lot of gas going back and forth though, not to mention the constant circling for a parking spot! Don't get me started on JC parking! Aaarrgg!! I have two classes each of those two days. Algebra at noon, and History 17.2 (after the Civil War) at 7pm on Mondays, and Algebra again at noon, and Humanities 5 (world cultures) at 7pm on Wednesdays. Besides the algebra teacher, I clearly am the oldest in the math class. That is a bit weird. I thought to myself at first, well...maybe they'll see me as some sort of wise mentor or something. Um....Wrong!! They're right out of high school, and don't need the help of rusty old me! Oh well! I've only had the history class once, because of Martin Luther King Day. I hope it gets better. My teacher is going to wear a hole in the carpet with his pacing back and forth. He may eventually poke someones eye out with all the hand flailing. Better sit a couple rows back. I felt exhausted after watching him for a couple hours. He took an immediate liking to one of the men in the class, and they proceeded to have a long discussion about politics. The rest of us could have left the classroom and gone home. I don't think he would have noticed. Fun times ahead for me! Somewhere in here I should probably put in a paragraph, so I'm going to do so right now....
Although the subject matter is quite interesting, my humanities teacher is, shall we say--unusual? She's quite granola (as are many instructors at the JC I'm finding), complete with homemade clothing and an all roads lead to God mentality. Can't you just smell the patchouli? She had us move the desks in a circle so that no one is elevated above another, herself included. Although she said she hates the idea of grading, she sure has assigned a butt load (please excuse my crudeness!) of stuff for us to do! When you speak to her, her face changes, eyes to the heavens, like she's processing your words in some internal computer and formulating the correct response. Quite a stoic gal! I guess the deal at the jc is that you must meet some weirdness quotient in order to teach there. She assigned us four different books for the semester--one she wrote (it cost $60 bucks!), one is called "Persepolis," about a girl growing up in Iran during the reign of the Shaw (did I mention it's in comic book style?), one is about what people eat in other countries, complete with a recipe for boiled goat head soup (Yum!), and one is called "We are Everywhere, the irresistible rise of global anti capitalism." Now, doesn't that sound like a page turner?! Two of my classmates got into a rather heated debate regarding how Americans should feel about how we repressed other cultures in our quest for world domination. I thought one of them was going to pop a blood vessel! My teacher just sat there looking nonplussed and rather scared! Going to be quite a semester! Here's another paragraph......
The other three classes are punctuation online (for me, easy peasy---yes, I am that ana..uh...retentive!), how to take an online course (I already know how to do that, but like the bread class--easy unit!), and information literacy, which helps the student develop better researching habits. I also have the task of making sure I've applied to every scholarship I qualify for, because I'm hoping to be a full-time student instead of a worker bee. This way, I will get to the nursing program before my son is done with college. Pray for me! I'm going to need miracles this semester!
So...what's new with you?