More Pics

Cell phone camera, apologies for the picture quality

11-2-08 Obama UC Rally




P 11/4/08 "Chalk for Change"





P & L at the hotel pool Thanksgiving weekend:

Christmas Lights

N. spent some time this afternoon putting up Christmas lights. He was really getting into it.

I think he did a great job!

Obama Rally 11.2.08

It's been a while....

My apologies- I have been crazy busy trying to keep up with school and everything. I thought I'd at least post a few pics so ya'll can see what P and I have been up to.




P and I went to the Reds game on 9/19. A student group at school got half price tickets so a few of my friends and I decided to go. P had a great time and even got himself on the Jumbotron with his enthusiastic "YMCA" dancing !

Last weekend,P and I went up to see L march at the football game. N met us there and I had all three kids for the weekend. It was the first time L had been here since I moved in JULY , so it was long overdue.




Sunday afternoon we went to a picnic hosted by the student bar association. The older kids got a chance to meet some of my classmates and professors. N watched the student/faculty softball game with me, and P had fun making carmel apples. L just spent most of her time texting her friends, but she was there at least.



P finally got his cast off on Friday. He was very happy about that, although he is still limping quite a bit. He is so funny, he insisted on saving his cast and now has it strapped togehter and slung over his back as some kind of weapon along with his toy guns and pistols, lol.


Yesterdy P & I went to the aquarium and saw lots of great sea creatures. He really enjoyed how the divers were all dressed up like pirates for halloween! His favorite was petting the sharks which I have to say was one of my favorites too.

Palin Rap

Tina Fey is spot on!

Weekend

If you asked P, he wouldn't have to think very long to tell you his favorite part of the weekend!

We went to a great festival. There were boat races, sand sculpture, and most importantly for P, Civil War and Native American re-enactors! P wowed them with his knowledge of period weapons. They had a table of 5 rifles and 2 pistols displayed, and P named 6 of the 7 correctly. He loved the artillery demonstration too, but his favorite of all was firing a replica Springfield! The re-enactor had him tear the end of the paper cartridge with his teeth- P got a little too close and got some gunpowder in his mouth!


He didn't worry about that too much though, because right after that, he got to fire the rifle!



N isn't into history much- but even he enjoyed meeting this guy:


All in all we had a nice weekend. I didn't study as much as I should have, but it was fun to spend time with the boys.

Week 3

It's week three and I still LOVE LOVE LOVE law school!

It is very challenging to find the time to read, and more than that, the quiet space to really THINK about and process what I've read. I am enjoying my classmates, even though I do miss having opportunites to talk to people my own age.

It is funny, in so many ways we are different, but being in school is the great equalizer, because we are all in there trying to reach the same goal. I've been very happy with the school and the programs they have in place to help us succeed. Today we met with our "Chase Fellow", a 2L that meets with about 25 of us and talks about how to outline, to brief cases, and to just answer any questions we might have about our classwork, our professors, or anything about law school in general. They also assign us mentors (if we want one) and have lots of other programs. They have an office of "Student Success Initiatives" and they take their job seriously!

P is making a good adjustment to school and seems to be liking it. He's made a few friends and is excited for me to meet his teacher at "meet the teacher night" next week. We met a dog in the neighborhood tonight and the owner let P give him a few treats. That was a pretty well behaved dog- when we pulled up a racoon was peaking it's head out of the storm drain and the dog didn't seem to notice!

I had a hearing about all the custody issues on Monday and I was proud of how I handled things. I wasn't perfect, but I am getting better and better. I don't know if I'll ever be completely happy with the outcome, but I always feel better knowing that I fought for what I wanted. It is a shame that the agreements made on Monday don't even last a week, but sadly that is the state of things at this point.

I can only work on the things I have control over. I can't worry about the ex and his machinations trying to make things hard. He can waste a lot of time and energy doing that. I am going to continue taking steps and trying to make a better life for P and me. I hope that L and N will someday see it for what it really is and understand.

Week 2

One of my professors offered us this (unsolicited)advice in our first class:

1. In terms of your career, think about how you want to help people. Lawyers have high rates of depression, divorce, etc, and those that are happiest are the ones that have positions where they feel they are helping people or making a difference.

2. Throughout law school- Keep your values. Don't think of the law as a neutral set of rules, think about how it really affects people's lives. In court, make the "values" argument first. After you've convinced the judge with the values argument, most of the time they will look for ways (in the law) to get to that result.

3. Put your family first- law school will suck every minute out of your day if you let it. Create a balance now so you aren't unhappy later.

With that said, I'm abandoning the laptop to spend some quality time at the pool with P.

Did I say that I love law school? :)

Week 1 as a 1L

All I can say is LAW SCHOOL IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!
So is Cincinnati for that matter-and my new apartment-and the fact that I have my little boy with me.
Life isn't perfect but it is good.

Someone at the Street Deparment has a sense of humor:

I knew I was going to like it here.... :)

P and Mom's Culinary Adventure

Yesterday while I was working on the computer P was watching the food channel (I had to make him turn off the military channel, future weapons, etc. there is only so much destruction one woman can take :)
Anyway Emeril was on and he was making Salmon burgers- back in the day we called them salmon cakes. Phil decided we should make some for dinner. Actually he did most of the work. Apologies in advance for the cell phone picks :)

He made the patties himself,



He was all set to fry them up


Here's how they looked right out of the skillet- Notice Phil giving his food bunny
ears, lol


Of course you can't have salmon cakes without mac & cheese

Now the big taste test:


YES! He likes them!



We had lots of fun making dinner together.

Tuesday

Today at about 4 AM I officially completed my last assignment for Ohio U. I was soooo happy!
In honor of the occasion, Goldie (my car) got a new accessory:



We spent many fun filled hours with Steve, the cable guy. P was really disappointed because it wasn't Larry, lol. Steve was nice enough, but I'm glad N was here because when he left, N programmed the remote to do everything it was supposed to do that Steve for whatever reason couldn't figure out. We will have to schedule yet another visit with Steve because there is not a cable outlet in my bedroom. Steve has never heard the old saying about asking forgiveness instead of permission so we must clear it all with the apartment gods and the cable gods before we drill one more hole in this apartment building.

Later we went to the local school district administrative offices and enrolled P in school.

After that we hopped on the outerbelt to check out my new school. I met the admissions director and one of the deans. In honor of the occasion my laptop( no name) got a new accessory to go with my block OU. P loves it because NKU's mascot involves armor and swords, lol







Phil found this representation of the Mascot (?) in the law school building




After we got home, N decided to take a nap, so P and I went to the pool. P loves to swim and the landscaping around the clubhouse is really nice. With all that school stuff out of the way, I feel like I can finally relax a little bit.

Moving day.....

It was crazy! and exciting! and stressful! But we did it.

Sunday a friend's son and nephew came and helped me move all the big stuff. They definitely earned their money and they didn't even mind P "helping" them. (At least they acted like they didn't mind :)

This is P and J showing off their muscles:




Here's the view from the balcony:

A couple of the big items even went up over the balcony. They were too big for the front door and the 90 degree turn on the stairs. The sofa bed barely made the trip after removing the legs, the door and the railings in the stairway!

By Monday we were having dinner on the balcony:


The boys seem to like the new apartment. It has had more than it's share of little glitches but we are getting things unpacked and situated.

Giant Steps!

Today I'm starting to move. I have to go sign my lease and pick up keys. I have to keep taking steps, even if others are still throwing up road blocks.
The kids are excited and I have a friend coming today to help me.

Yesterday was my last day at work. I spent most of my time training my replacement. She is a friend from OU and she is very excited about working there. I'm glad because my boss has been so awesome to me and he is one of the nicest people I have ever met. I feel good that he has someone reliable to help him.
He told me I was going to do fine at law school. It helps me have confidence when others have confidence in me.

I am pleased to inform you.....

"THE MAGISTRATE FINDS THAT IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF ALL OF THE CHILDREN THAT THE RSTRAINING ORDER, PREVIOUSLY FILED HEREIN, NOT BE MODIFIED, THUS PERMITTING THE DEFENDNAT TO PROCEED WITH HER ARRANGEMENTS TO MOVE TO THE CINCINNATI AREA AND ATTEND LAW SCHOOL THERE, WITH P"

Woo Who!!!
I'm going to law school and P is going with me!

I'm voting Republican-NOT

As seen over at Lynilu's- too funny not to share

Did you miss me?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It's been crazy. To give ya'll the cliff notes version - The ex filed papers to further restrain me to this school district, I filed papers asking the judge not to. The judge is supposed to rule Tuesday, which is good because I have to sign a new lease in Cincinnati pretty soon. If the judge signs that restraining order I'm stuck. I have to be out of this apartment by the end of the month and it is rented already. Cross your fingers everybody.


Heres a little something I found on youtube from one of my very favorite movies. Enjoy.

Filling in the Blanks

In case anyone is lost-

I made my ex husband aware that I was planning to move to Jacksonville this spring and take my youngest son with me. He proceeded to ask a court for a restraining order against me and for full custody of all my children. He also wants me to pay him child support. My 16 yr old daughter hates me and is already with her father full time. This is definitely a low point for me.
My oldest son does not want to move, he seems to want to move in with his father permanently. (His father also happened to give him his own room and buy him a golf membership this summer) My youngest son, P wants to be with his mommy wherever I go.
The judge granted the restraining order so as of right now I can't leave the state with my youngest. The custody hearing was also set for the end of August- of course not in time for me to start school.
I filed papers asking for the judge to lift the restraining order and/or move the custody date up. His decision is what I am waiting on.
Yesterday, a new school accepted me so now I have a new option. Even if the judge does not lift the restraining order I still have a chance to attend law school this fall.
While I'm waiting I am trying to work on both my case( my boss is my lawyer and my ex's lawyer is frequently sending us threatening faxes) and my boss's other cases. I'm also trying to finish three classes I failed to finish last quarter and pass two new classes. I have 5 weeks left to finish them all and say goodbye to Ohio U. I also have to find a new place to live hopefully close to this new law school. Oh and I have until Aug 1 to do all this and pack and move.
I'm stressed and exhausted but what a ride.
I know Cinci is not Jax but it has its advantages.

Karma.

"Reverend Mother always says when the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window."

-Maria, from THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Karma?

Still waiting for the Judge to make his opinion known. The days keep ticking by and the uncertainty is hard to deal with. It's tempting sometimes to just say "I'm not going anywhere" and make all the turmoil stop. The only trouble with that is, I cannot stand to stay here. I really can't. So for right now- uncertainty is what it's all about. I'd love to skip ahead to the end and see how this story turns out.

Positives to be happy about:

P got his Light Blue Belt! He had to break another board- and got it on the first try. He is really enjoying Tae Kwan Do.

S is liking her new job.

Spent a great weekend with S in Jacksonville. Great weather, great food, WONDERFUL company. Someday I'd like to call it home. Not sure if now is the time or not.

Got a lot of schoolwork done yesterday- despite being in transit. Spending hours on the runway waiting for the storms to clear over my destination did have one unintended benefit. Not much else to distract me when it's just me and my carry on bag. One seat-mate slept, the other was a devotee of sudoku. That made class work on MS Office slightly more interesting than staring at the back of the seat in front of me.

Calling all good Karma...

Today a judge will sit at his desk and make decisions that will change my life. Please send all your positive energy his way so he sees things as they should be seen.

Graduation Day

Graduation day was really fun! It was great to see my classmates one last time.
My kids were there and some very dear friends took time to come through a bad thunderstorm to see me graduate. It was really nice to have someone there cheering me on. When I graduated in '06 it was just the kids and the ex brought them, so that was, well, awkward.

The speeches were on typical graduation themes- but several of them spoke to my heart. One speaker spoke of finding the courage to pursue your dreams. Another talked about confidence and how it has to come from within.

My friends M & J went all out for me. M brought her camera and took lots of pictures. They bought flowers and a cake and after the ceremony the kids and I went back to their house and had pizza.

S was ok with not being there till the day came, and then she was sorry she missed it. It couldn't be helped, job obligations made it impossible for her to come. I hope to have ONE MORE graduation in me and have my whole family there.

I'll be lonely this week- all the kids are gone on vacation with their Dad. I really miss them and I just sent them off yesterday :(

Don't make plans for this evening.....

You're all going to graduation with me... I had trouble deciding how to decorate my mortarboard until Syd put Wordle on her blog yesterday. For everyone that helped me along the way- thanks. I wouldn't be where I am today without all of you. :)

Word Cloud

I guess you'll have to click on the picture to see all the words- I can't make it any bigger for some reason.

Confidence?

What makes you confident?
If someone isn't confident, can you tell?
How does someone who isn't confident gain confidence?
How do you help your kids be more confident?

"Am I Blue" ?

I just read Alice Walker's essay "Am I Blue" for one of my English classes. In it she describes the life of a horse in a pasture near her home. She recounts how the horse is at various times somewhat content, bored and lonely, joyful, grief stricken
and angry.

I feel so much like the horse "Blue". As the story begins the horse seems happy enough, eating fresh spring grass in the pasture. As spring turns to summer, the horse finds no joy in the dry grass and wanders about the pasture alone, finding little happiness in his surroundings or his life.

All that changes when another horse is added to the pasture. A female horse is brought in to mate with Blue. Blue is uncertain at first, not having had another horse in the pasture before. He soon comes to love and accept the other horse as his companion. Alice Walker describes the look of joy, the confidence she sees in Blue's eyes. She describes it as "this is it-ness". Blue has arrived and his life is complete.

Once the companion horse becomes pregnant she is taken away. Blue's joy turns to despair. He refuses to eat the apples Alice brings him, he tears at the ground with his hooves, runs around the pasture just to wear himself out. The look Alice sees in his eyes is one of grief and disgust, a "how could your kind do this to me?" look.

This story parallels how I feel about my life in so many ways. Before S, I was going through the motions. I was reeling from the trials of those few years right before she came into my life. When she came, I didn't understand it at first. After working through my feelings and finding for the first time in my life real JOY, I knew things would have to be different. Not knowing what would happen, fearful of the changes that would inevitably result of being honest about our feelings, I went forward. I took the plunge. Being honest has been very liberating.

Others didn't like the honesty. S did her best, and seeing an opportunity to free herself from a bad situation, she took it. She took a step away in an attempt to get back to where we wanted to be. She took the word of others who said they would help, when in fact their motives were selfish. Doing so caused us to be separated.

I feel just like Blue did. I look around my "pasture" and I wonder what in the world I am doing here. Where is S, why did they take her away? How can I get back to her? Things that once gave me joy have no effect. Nothing is right anymore. Once you've had "this is it-ness", it's hard to content yourself with anything less.

Our lives apart batter us, they knock us off our feet. We tire of the struggle to be together, but can't fathom being apart. The love we feel tears at our hearts and the pain of separation is sometimes too much to bear. Anyone that looks close enough will see in our eyes that we are afraid, still trying to hope, but confronted every day with the cold hard fact of being apart. Will it be my lot in life to content myself with the memory of "this is it-ness" or will I get to know that feeling again?

This is where my screen name comes from.....

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
The Inland North
Boston
The Northeast
North Central
Philadelphia
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

S always used to say "you sound like such a yankee", lol. You can all pretty much guess what she sounds like. I'm such a sucker for that accent. The people who wrote this description have obviously never visited southern Ohio. Southern Ohioans have a very pronounced accent, very much like southerners.

"Mountaineers are Always Free"

I thought a lot about Mom and Dad yesterday. All the activity at Arlington this time of year makes me think about them. I think they would have liked being there- although I sometimes wonder if my Dad would really want to be that close to the beltway and all the nonsense that goes on in DC.

The bands played a lot of Sousa yesterday- Mom would have liked that. Arlington is only about an hour from where she grew up. I'm glad my Mom is buried near her Dad, even though they are far apart in the cemetery it is still closer to him than his wife or his other children are.

I'm glad that Dad gets to "see" all those military folk running around every day. I'm sure he liked hearing the President speak. He was a Bush fan, although I'm not sure what he would have thought about 9-11 and everything that's happened since then.

I know they aren't really there-it's just where we left their remains, but when I think about my parents now I think of that place.
Montani Semper Liberi- Mom & Dad I still miss you.

deja' vu

Here we go again. My midweek with my dd was reminiscent of the old days- last year while the divorce was going on she was angry, resentful, confrontational, and distant.
Tonight was my midweek with her. While we ran errands she either stayed in the car to talk on the phone, or walked away from me and stayed away until it was time to go when we went in the stores. Once we arrived home I started dinner and she buried her nose in a book. Her dinner table conversation consisted of- so how are you going to support yourself while you go to law school? DS #1 chimed in and explained about student loans, etc. and DD said-how are you going to feed P? I then had to remind her about child support and spousal support.

Her grandmother picked DD up at the end of her visit and took her back to her house to spend the night. That's something that isn't supposed to be happening on a school night according to our divorce decree. Funny, the ex can't care for the kids he's got without his Mom, yet he wants to take P away from me.
If he thinks that's going to happen- he'd better think again.

One vote not to go

I talked to a friend of mine today who feels I shouldn't go to FL. We were in the paralegal program together at school. She has been an awesome friend.
She is one of the first lesbian women that I met after coming out. We met one day when she saw me crying in the stairwell at school. This was right after S left and I cried at school, work, and everywhere else.
Her and her partner have been very supportive of me these past couple of years. I have been able to count on them to come to my rescue when my car breaks down, when I need help moving something big, or when I just need to be around people who understand. It is okay with me that she thinks I might be making a mistake. I appreciate that I have friends who care and feel close enough to be honest.

My Ex Sent me an "Offer"

My boy loves the beach. We are both ready to go now!

My Ex says he won't let his son move with me to Florida without a fight.
Guess I'll be going though the legal process AGAIN.

Of course, he says we can avoid the fight by negotiating.
He says-
"Just make me an offer"
"Let's make a deal"
"It's not about money but..."

I'm already annoyed and it's just the beginning.

Pretty, Smart

AND SUCCESSFUL!!!

You'll have to take my word about the pretty part- S made me take her picture down. : (


My sweetie interviewed for a job in a bank branch inside a retail store. Two interviews later, she is awaiting an offer on a job in the downtown regional office of the bank! A job that they NEVER hire external candidates for, but my sweetie just impressed the hell out them! I could not possibly be prouder! Way to go S!

You Act Like You Are 25 Years Old

You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

1 Yes, 1 Maybe, 1 No

Ge*rgia State said "NO". They were all nice about it and everything, they said my interest was appreciated, but they get many applications and have to decline "many worthy applicants".
I knew this school was a long shot, so I am not too terribly disappointed. That leaves 1 application out there hanging around. It was sent to a school closer to where I live now. It's not somewhere I really have a burning desire to go to, and it is the only school that did not list being LGBT as a positive trait for admission. So let's just say, considering I was totally out in my application, that I will probably get another no here in a week or so.

I only needed one yes and I got that. The school is in a nice part of a nice city and I am excited about moving there. I'm glad I got that letter today, it helps me not focus on it so much and put the whole "acceptance" aspect of law school behind me. I can focus on finishing up these last two quarters and figuring out my finances, moving, etc. for starting law school this fall.

My boy

This is my main man. I never have to wonder how he feels about me, he tells me and shows me all the time. I have lots to decide in the next few days- more than I'd like to have to think about all by myself. I have to think about what will be the best for me and for my boy.

1 Yes, 1 Maybe

P and I just got back from a great weekend in Jacksonville. On Friday afternoon, I took a campus tour at Fl*rida Coastal and the facilities are great! I didn't get to talk to many students, because it was the last day of classes and there weren't too many around. The ones that were around were studying furiously for finals! I did pick up a campus paper and there was an article in there about how the non-traditional students feel "out of the loop". This is something that concerns me, although I feel like I'll have to address it to a greater or lesser degree anywhere I choose to go. From the article, I learned that about 10% of the student body would be classified non-tradtional in terms of age.

The city is beautiful, and the area around the law school is very livable. Our hotel was just a couple of blocks from where P would go to school. Jacksonville seems to be very spread out, but the road system is excellent and it wasn't hard to get around. There was very little traffic, even on a Friday afternoon.

I do have some concerns of course. How am I going to make it by myself in Jacksonville, with no friends or family around? How am I going to support myself and P and go to law school full time? I consciously chose not to pursue part time law school. I've been a paralegal and a full-time student for the last two years, I know I don't want to have that kind of hectic schedule for myself or for P while I'm in law school.

So if I go to Jax, I will have P, and be a full time student only (at least for the 1st semester, hopefully for the entire first year) Then I will work in the summer time while P is up visiting his Dad and sibs. 2nd year, I will probably try and find some kind of work to help with expenses. I would prefer not to borrow everything I need to live for the next three years. Borrowing tuition is bad enough!
There are so many details to work out/think about. P loved Jax and was very excited about the idea of living there. I'm excited too- it's less than 2 hours from S and she will be done with her degree in Dec. 08. Hopefully after that she will be able to find work in Jax. She doesn't want to go to grad school right now. She's ready for a break from college life.

When I came home I had a letter from Stets*n in my mailbox. I've been wait-listed there. Not too disappointed by that, it's not a rejection after all. I don't think they will be offering any scholarships so I'm pretty sure that one wasn't going to pan out anyway.
So far I've heard from 2 schools, and still waiting to hear from 2 more. I have until 4/30 to give Fl*rida Coastal my seat deposit.

Happy Birthday!!

I love you!

It's the weekend!

It couldn't come soon enough for me. I have been "on the hamster wheel" all week and it's not slowing down yet!
Today after work I met with my co-project manager to work on planning for our practicum. We are still trying to figure out our roles and share this job that normally is for one person. We worked for two hours and could have spent two more. I'm really out of my comfort zone but it is kind of exciting to try and figure things out for a "real world" project.
After that I went to my ex's for my oldest son's birtday party. N will be 14 on Monday. He is a good boy. He and his friends were eating pizza and playing video games- every 14 year old boys dream.

More good news!

"Congratualtions on your acceptantance to Fl*rida C*astal School of Law's August 2008 class as a full-time day student and as a Governors Sch*lar. This Scholarship, in the amount of $12,000.00 for the Academic Year, recognizes the previous success you have had, and demonstrates our expectation that you will succeed in your future academic pursuits."

I got in! I can't believe it. Anybody know any bloggers in the Jacksonville area? I need info!

I heart my tax preparer

One of my friends suggested I go see her tax preparer. With everything that happened last year, all the advice I had gotten (and TurboTax confirmed) that I was going to owe about $1500.00 to the IRS on April 15.

So despite all this info, my friend convinced me to drive 1 1/2 hours to have this lady look over my taxes. The whole way down there I kept thinking "You're an idiot to spend this money on gas so she can tell you you still owe $1500."
Well, let's just say it was definitely worth the drive. Instead of owing $1500.00, I'm GETTING A REFUND OF OVER $3000.00!!!! WOO WHO!!!

This lady did my state and federal return and charged about 1/3 of what the ex and I paid last year to Jackson Hewitt to prepare our taxes.


Thanks again to M & J for suggesting I have my taxes checked. You're the best!!

Watching my mailbox

Spring break brought a welcome respite from school. With all this time on my hands I've had lots of time to think about my law school choices and those applications sitting in an inbox somewhere waiting for someone to look at them. I am really anxious this week. I am waiting and wondering if I'll get any positive response.

I've got three applications out so far. I may do one more,but I'm not sure. I want to live and practice in the southeast, so all the schools I've applied to are in that region.

The three so far are-
Georgia State University College of Law- In downtown Atlanta, attached to a great university and much closer to S. They have a great reputation for welcoming older students.

Stetson University College of Law- In Gulfport Florida near Tampa. A beautiful campus and a top 100 law school. A great reputation for legal writing and trial advocacy.

Fl*rida C*astal School of Law - Jacksonville Florida. This is a relatively new school, and they contacted me first and asked me to apply with the offer of a scholarship. This one is the closest to where S lives currently.

Georgia State is the biggest stretch for me based on my test score- but I'm still in the ballpark so to speak so I'm hoping they'll give my application a look. I would love to have some options to choose from! Good thing schools starts on Monday, then I won't have time to worry about it anymore. I'll just be surprised when the letters land in my mailbox.

Killer Ribs

I have been in the mood to have ribs lately- Not sure where I heard about it, but I found a great recipe for crock pot ribs. I know, if you're a BBQ purist that's probably not a good thing but let me tell you- they taste great! This was my first try at making ribs and they were delicious. I made them according to the recipe and used Daddy Sam's "Just Slop it on" West Texas Original Recipe Barbecue Sawce. I had never heard of Stubb's, and I just looked on the sauce aisle for something interesting.

For Mom (and for Me)

Call Crse Crse Sect Grade
Num Pfx Num Num Course Title Cr Hrs Grade Points

97450 COMS 110 MM1 COMM BETWEEN CULTURES 4.0 A 16.0000

58903 COMS 235 OO1 INTRO TO COMM THEORY 4.0 A 16.0000

86048 COMS 245 Q01 INTRO:ORG COMMUNICATION 4.0 A 16.0000

58928 COMS 352 OO1 POLIT RHETORIC 4.0 A- 14.6800

97451 COMS 410 MM1 CROSS-CULTURAL COMM 4.0 A 16.0000

58924 COMS 450 OO1 CAPSTONE SEMINAR IN COMS 4.0 A 16.0000

Hours Hours Grade
Attempted Earned Points GPA
Term Undergraduate..........: 24.0 24.0 94.6800 3.945
Accumulative Undergraduate..: 56.0 200.0 217.3600 3.881

Congratulations! You have made the Dean's list for this quarter.

Finally. over.

It's 3:39 am and the quarter from hell is now officially over. Well, it was actually over on Saturday, but thanks to the tolerance and understanding of one of the best professors ever (Thank you Dr. K!) I have just submitted my last assignments in time for her to have them graded by her deadline for grade submission.

A big thanks to everyone who helped with my senior project on non-verbal communication. I'm hoping to post about the results later this week ( I know you're all on pins and needles waiting for that-yeah right!)

I have been sitting at my computer so long I may end up like that poor woman that spent two years in the bathroom and had to have the seat surgically removed.

It's spring break week for the kids this week so I have them all week. we are planning so fun and I hope we can all relax a little bit. I have a whole week to get ready for next quarter and to fret about law school admissions :)

Spring quarter starts 3/31. Only 16 hours, that should be a breeze after winter.

A great weekend

I have spent today trying to focus on schoolwork. After having a sweet visit with S, it's hard to get back in the routine.

She lights up my life for a few days, and then she has to go back south. It's been getting harder and harder to be apart.

She brought a new futon cover and bought some artwork to hang in my dining area. She is just sweet that way- always trying to make our home more comfortable and inviting.

It's hard to be here today without her after having her all to myself yesterday. I keep expecting to see her come out of the other room to sit down next to me.
We both need the visits to keep us going and I wouldn't trade one minute of our time this weekend. The hours and days after we say goodbye are some of the hardest in my life right now.

More pictures

The was the most snow we have ever had in one day 15.5" and the most for one storm 20.5" !


P now has an Orange Belt! I'm so proud of him!!!



This is P getting ready to break a board as part of his orange belt test. That table in the background is the panel of judges. He had to show them his forms and defenses, "free fight" with another yellow belt, and then go up and talk to the judge and answer his questions. Once he had all that done, he had to break a board. He is enjoying it so much and I think it is so great for his confidence.
I'm so proud of P.

Blizzard '08

When I went to bed last night, there was no snow on the cars.

This is outside my front door- It is basically a wind tunnel, so there is little snow in front of my door, but the other three neighbors all have 8-10" drifts in front of their doors.




Have I mentioned that I hate winter?