One

One class.
One paper.
One hour of evaluations.
One meeting.
One day of grading transcripts.

Then . . . SUMMER!

Catching Up . . .

Well. I certainly seem to excel at waiting months between posts and then writing a belated summary of events, don't I? We'll see if I can nix that habit, but for now I will continue in that glorious tradition:

Work is going great: I love the kids that I teach computers to and my coworkers are all made of awesome.

ONE WEEK OF SCHOOL LEFT OMG. Technically two, but I do not have finals so HA SUCKS TO BE YOU NICK. Mwahaha!

Speaking of Nick, things are going great! Coming up on 4 1/2 years next month! And wow, it seems like our 4 year anniversary just happened, where the heck is time going? I have a feeling I am going to be one of those perpetually bewildered old people, always wondering how I suddenly got to be old when just a few minutes ago I was typing this post!

We're started going to the Farmer's Markets around us, and WOW real tomatoes taste amazing! I've been snacking on raw broccoli and ate a pear for breakfast and the oranges are so delicious and the eggs are tasty and the apple juice is . . . well, actually not as good as I hoped, I will try a different vendor next time. Overall, however, we love it.

My Uncle Steve is doing good! His fight with the brain cancer glioblastoma is documented here. To summarize: his surgery went well, his chemo sucked but he did it, and his latest MRI was the best it could be! There have been a lot of ups and downs and scary moments, but right now is good.

Oh! Hey! I got an ipad 2 for Christmas and I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

We ran in the Davis Lucky 7k and finished in like 48 minutes, or something. I forgot. But we did finish! We keep talking about doing more and then we don't. But I have found three new races in Sac that look interesting, so I will keep you posted.

I have one semester left at Sac State, and then I graduate! I should be graduating in December of 2012!!! Yaaaay!

That means I have to decide where to get my credential, and possibly my masters. Eep!

As for me, I keep pretty busy between work and school, especially this semester. I had to do 70 hours of fieldwork at 4 different sites, and write a lot of papers! That plus upping my work from 2 to 3 days a week teaching plus 2 days after-care . . . was challenging at times, but generally I enjoyed it. My stomach has been behaving (remember those days of gastritis/IBS/acid reflux? Me neither. Yay!) My biggest stressor lately has been trying to keep our apartment clean. That, plus wishing we had more sunshine on our patio so I could grow some non-shady plants (I would kill to grow some basil!).

Hopefully I will remember to update this blog every now and then. ^_~

Ciao!

Rawr

Big test on Wednesday! I attended a 3 hour study session this morning, and then studied for another three hours this afternoon. Whew!

We went and saw Dracula by the Sac Ballet last night! It was fabulous, definitely something worth seeing again.

We are re-watching Burn Notice. I lurve Michael Westen!

Updates in Real Life

I am on Spring Break! Huzzah! I am quite relieved, because for the week prior I was kind of losing my mind. I had four midterms for my five classes, and they flattened me a little bit. I don't know how I did on them all yet, so cross your fingers for me! I will say that taking Child Development as a major means my midterms are quite a bit easier, and less stressful, than when I was doing nursing pre-reqs. Microbiology was not my friend.

(Though I still have not re-started biting my nails since I took that class. Nothing like a healthy dose of paranoia about microorganisms and a year-long tummy-ache to let your nails grow like they are supposed to!)

So school is officially half-way through. It has gone by quickly, but I'm a bit anxious about the next half, because I have a LOT of projects that will be worked on and turned in by the end. (Papers. So many research papers. Holy cow. Apparently in Universities they actually expect you to WORK! Who knew?)

I'm sitting on our freebie couch, listening and watching Nick play Minecraft (square legomen! Aaagh!) (He says there is actually programming in it. Plus, he can blow things up with TNT, so WIN) and we just got back from dinner at Mikuni's sushi with his parents. It was absolutely delicious!

I'm still working on losing weight, and will post more on that later, but don't want to jinx myself. So shhhhhh!

It's raining here, and snowing where our parents live. Dad is back from Italy, he came home last Sunday, and mom comes home tomorrow! I very much look forward to seeing them both together and hearing all about Italy, (and getting my SOUVENIRS, yippee!) and Nick and I plan to go up Tuesday night to see them. Troy is traveling to Munich right now, as I type, on an overnight train. He is also on spring break, and I expect him to have lots and lots of fun! (Safe fun, Troy.)

Mmm, what else?

Working at the private school is going really well. I like teaching, and just found some free tutorials to help me out with Dreamweaver and programming at my university that I hope to take. Pretty awesome! I like the freebies that Universities give you. (Since you're paying a ton of money anyways.)

Nick has some pretty exciting news about the direction that he wants to take his career, but I won't post that until at least Tuesday night, because I am keeping it a secret from my parents. (Hint: it involves engineering.) (Teeheeheee!)

I really, really want a Starbucks. Something hot--like a peppermint white mocha, a caramel macchiato, a latte. Something warm! (My toes are cold. I think from therein springs my hot drink craving. If Nick were closer I would put my toes on his stomach to warm them up.)

And we ordered curtains! Red pretty curtains from JCPenney's, ordered like two weeks ago, supposed to come in 4-7 days, and reportedly shipped just a few days ago. FAIL, Penney's. Whenever they arrive, though, I am looking forward to seeing how they look! I also really would like to get some plants for our little patio and for inside, so I will kidnap mom and go shopping with her soon. ^_^

Biggest news of all: I TOTALLY BOUGHT THREE PAIRS OF SHOES FOR THIRTY DOLLARS, YAY!

Psssst . . .

Pssst! Come here--but shh! Don't let me hear you! You never know what your body will do when it realizes you're happy with your weight loss to date.

Because I am still 153! I was all prepared for disappointment of going back up in case my weight was just fluctuating, and it didn't! Still 153!

I'm celebrating with the same breakfast I've had for like, five days--yogurt with low-fat granola. Good thing I love yogurt!

This is totally a nonsense post. Ode to well.

PS I START SCHOOL TODAY HALP!

PPS I HAVE TO BIKE TO GET THERE HALP HALP!

PPPS NICK IS PICKING ME UP AFTER MY LAST CLASS BECAUSE I AM SO NOT BIKING OR WALKING HOME IN THE DARK, HECK NO.

PPPPS I lurve my boyfriend. ^_^

Quick Update

I taught computer class all by my self today, and by December will be teaching it completely! I'll go into that later. Suffice to say, it was fun, and awesome, and I wanna do it again. 

I substitute kindergarten tomorrow. Which means I have to get up early. Ugh. 

Went out with my coworker friends today, laughed a lot. Fun!

Our apartment is messy. 

I love my boyfriend. 

This weekend will be busy. 

I really, truly, seriously for-reals this time must study for my incompletes. 

Mwah!

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is where I will be for the next six weeks, since I finished up the first six weeks in special ed. I am loving this college class for the field experience we wannabe teachers are getting. The lectures are interesting, even if it is the same type of learning experience every day; we get into groups, read a section of the chapter (that we are supposed to have already read) and then write up a poster and present it; I suppose it's best for us to get experience in front of the classroom, and I certainly can relay that public speaking is no longer the stuff of nightmares. 

So far in this kindergarten class I have worked one-on-one with students who are struggling to recognize their ABC's and the related phonetics. It is a lot of repetition; you say the letter, the sound, and then the picture that relates to the letter; a lot of "A-ah-apple, B-buh-bear, C-cuh-cat," etc. Then we write down the letters on a whiteboard and have the child recognize it and (hopefully) say the sound. Today we also worked on writing and recognizing numbers 1-10. I was so proud of M, who went from knowing and writing 1, 2, and 4, to 1-6! 

We also work in groups of about six students to one teacher's aide. For example, the student may need to write "I like (fill in blank [usually T-Rex or guinea pigs, who knew?]) and then color a picture about it. We circle around and help them sound out their words, and encourage them. Afterwards we do a "Must-Do", which in my day were called worksheets. I was emphatically told by several 5-year-olds that "worksheets" don't exist. We worked on the letter U, copying Uppercase and lowercase over and over. 

It's very fun, and very repetitive. The kids are so sweet (for the most part. C makes me rip out my hair with his ADHD-like behavior) and I love the colorful fun environment. I still don't know if I want to teach kindergarten or a higher grade, but from what I've experienced so far, I think I'd like it either way. 

Lucky Phone Call

I'm feeling very lucky right now!

Yesterday I gave my classmate my contact information so she could pass it along to her boss who is looking for after-school workers to help teach and corral students. I felt so lucky just that the opportunity presented itself, and really appreciated her offer even if it didn't work out.

Today the principal called and invited me to an interview this Monday! If all goes well I will start right after the meeting. It is not a big job, just two to three hours daily for four to five days a week, but I'm so excited to start working again, especially since I will be in a teaching environment! It's even a private school!

Happy happy happy day!

Time to Bust Out Those Erasers and Alarm Clocks

It's that time again! Pencils are being sharpened, filled with .5 lead, schoolbags are being organized, books are being bought ($250 so far oh god), work hours are being cut back (we hired a girl from South Africa today to work my Monday and Wednesdays), and I'm treasuring every moment of laziness I can get, because school starts tomorrow.

This will be my sixth semester of college. (Yikes!)

Every time I start a semester I get excited because it's a new chance to do AWESOME. Of course, a few weeks in I lose my enthusiasm and classes get boring, and they aren't as awesome. But right now, the potential to do awesome? is awesome.

Here's to a semester that I don't get stressed in. Instead, I want to do well, feel well, and get great grades.

Cheers!

Something to Remember

Sometimes I really do love my boss. He has been really understanding about my anxiety issues and stomach problems. (Also it is nice to have a doctor, albeit for animals, because if I have any questions about my meds then I just ask him!)

He has also given me some great advice. When I start to panic about choosing a career and work and my stomach he just reminds me that my health and school are the most important things right now, and that what I do right now will not ruin my life.

He said that there are a million things that I can do and still have a happy life. There are lots of careers that I can choose and be happy in. He said that there are a million ways to make money so don't worry about that, and that the important thing is that I am happy and healthy.

College Confessions: "Finals? What Finals?"

I'll bet you read that title and now think "Oh, Katie didn't study so she's pretending she forgot finals." 

Nope. I'm not taking them. 

You see, I am a special delicate flower and petitioned for an Incomplete in both microbiology and chemistry, so I now have a year left to finish both of those classes. An Incomplete basically means that I keep all of the grades that I have right now, and all of the work, but have another year to catch up and take any remaining tests (my chem final, micro lab exam 2, and micro final). Incompletes are granted to students that are unable to continue or keep up their grades in a class due to circumstances beyond their control. 

I did this because I simply do not think that I can finish these courses in the time remaining (school ends December 17th) and maintain B's in both, due to my gastrointestinal issues. (IBS/Gastritis/Heartburn/Acid Reflux/whathaveyou, plus the anxiety that I get that makes my stomach/IBS issues worse when I get stressed). This was not a decision made lightly; when my microbiology teacher told me about an option for Incomplete a few weeks ago I thanked her and said that knowing that would probably alleviate my stress levels, but that I thought I could handle it. 

. . . and I couldn't, not really, not and get the grades I want (need). I feel kind of happy about this decision, because ohmigod the stress isn't so bad; but then I feel bad about it, because I never ever have failed a class or not finished a test and what will people think and will this even make a difference to my grades, and that just leads to its own anxiety. But not too bad. (I hope). My stomach is actually acting up a little bit today, when it has been pretty good for about a week now, on and off. 

So I'm curled up in a chair, listening to the rain outside as I sip my peppermint tea (it's an anti-spastic!) and watch the Christmas tree lights twinkle while I wonder at what exactly has happened to the single-minded, driven, completely healthy girl I used to be. 

Wondering . . .

. . . If I should stop playing hair-tie fetch with my kitten and figure out what exactly a nucleoside triphosphate that is missing a hydroxyl group that is normally located on the 3' carbon of a sugar ribose is called. (Gah!) How do you think my microbiology teacher would react if I told her my homework wasn't done because I had to play with my kitten? (Better than the "My dog ate my homework" excuse, though, right? . . . Right?)

What's New!

A series of interludes in our lives. 

1) The Symington's have Netflix! I am already making lists of movie that I want to see (or re-see, as I am a re-watcher and re-reader).

2) Oooh, a segue! I am feverishly re-reading Diana Gabaldon's addicting series of "Outlander" so that when "An Echo in the Bone" arrives soon (ordered from Amazon two days ago--released from Amazon yesterday! EEEEEEE!!!) I am up to date on the very complex happenings in the lives of Jamie and Claire Fraser in the late 1770's. 

3) I bought freshly squeezed apple juice today! An a caramel apple! Deeelicious!

4) I had a bad night last night. Needed to take pepto-bismol and four antacids before I could sleep. Felt a little nauseated. Feeling better today but still not right. 

5) I had my blood drawn yesterday for the Helicobacter pylori test (a bacteria that burrows into your stomach lining and can cause gastritis) and will have the results in a few days. 

6) Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a baby girl today! Charlotte Grace joins Willow and Wesley's daughter Seraphina. Yay!

7) I cried a little while reading a blog post by one of my favorite blogs. I've been getting all emotional lately! A few weeks ago, while ordering my microbiology book from Amazon, I spent like an hour trying to buy it and when I finally did I was so upset I cried on Nick. Gah! 

8) School is going well. Chemistry I just got a 92% on my first test, and I am acing the Microbiology lab tests but need to study more for the lecture tests. Music is pretty easy but I need to remind myself to actually do them online. 

9) Quentin's English is improving dramatically. He is on the high school's soccer team and we've gone to watch some of his games--they are very good! He has made friends and we hear that all of the high school girls are ga-ga for him!

10) Oz keeps growing more and more! He sticks by his people all day long. Right now he's napping about 2 feet away from me on his rocking chair. He is such a sweet boy!

Harry Potterverse and Randomness

Can't post new photos, camera is at Nick's. Rest assured that the kittens are adorable, and fluffy, and holy cow there are SIX kittens and that is a lot. They are so picture-worthy when they are all snuggled together! Just imagine it for now. ^_^

In other news, I gave an eight minute speech on why peoples should bring their pets to the vet and keep them up to date on vaccines and on heartworm preventative. Don't make me write the speech down, just take my word for it. 

In other, other news, I have become re-hooked on Harry Potter books and movies and heeeelpmeeeeeeee cannot stop reading Deathly Hallows! Will get no sleep tonight until I finish the book! (Shakes fist at J.K. Rowling for writing such intriguing novels!!!) 

Schooooooool (In EVIL, DOOM-FILLED VOICE)

Today was the first day of my fourth semester of college! (Ponder that for a second--didn't I just start college? How the heck did it get to be FOURTH semester? That's like . . .two whole years!)

I am in psychology and nutrition, and am trying to add both anatomy and chemistry. (AIEIEIEIE)

In Anatomy this morning, there were about an even number of people in class and trying to add it. He said he would accept nine people to stay, but not get add codes, and then kick some of us out later. We drew papers out of a box and I was one of the lucky nine that got to stay!

My heart was pounding SO MUCH. I tell ya, I don't want classes until I can't get in them, and then I want them BAD. So yay, I am sort of in. But next class he will probably do a random drawing and OHGODOHGOD WHAT IF I DON'T GET IN?! AGGGHHHH!

And tomorrow I get to see if I get into chemistry, which, hooray, I HATE chemistry and don't want to want it. Bleaagh. Stupid nursing prerequisites.

Three More Days

. . .and then VACATION!!!

From school at least! ^_^

I cannot wait for this semester to be over and done with! Just have to survive three more days . . . but I don't have that much to do--just a math final and interdisciplinary assessment and essay, and another essay. Woooot!

And then hopefully I can actually post something interesting!