Done...

The semester is done.  I think I’ll end up with one A and one B.  If I’m lucky the B might be an A-.  I’m glad it is done and I learned nothing from my science class that I will use or remember and some good things from my Prose Stylistics which I’ll use when I’m editing.

Yesterday was a busy day with errands and running around.  Ken helped Dominic unload from his move up from Indiana and I hung out.  I wrote in my journal for the first time in forever – that felt really good.  I have to type up a poem I wrote while I was waiting. 

One of my essays was published in Circle Magazine.  They contacted me for some they could use so I sent them in a few.  It was a one page essay that I wrote a while ago. 

I have to make a list of deadlines I don’t want to miss for writing.  There is a grant I want to write for and a few competitions I want to enter.  There is also a few publications I want to look at their guidelines.  Yup – there is definitely a to-do list for the summer.  It should keep me busy and out of trouble…well at least busy.

Vicki has made a very successful start to her job.  She is busy from the moment she steps in the door until she leaves.  She is even taking work home with her already. 

Now that Ken and I are on our own, we have a few things to get done – like rearranging things in the house, the basement fixed and so on.  It is nice to settle into a schedule with him and getting used to there being no buffer between us. 

I’m getting shots in my knees for the next two weeks.  I started last week and it was interesting to say the least.  I nearly passed out on the nurses – I guess I should actually drink water before I go to these appointments.  Fortunately, I’ve noticed a decrease in pain this week for my knees and I’m hoping the other two shots will keep that going in the right direction. 

The next couple of weekends will be busy with a visit to Vicki - Gin and Stephanie are coming up from Georgia so they can see her new place – and helping Kelly and Dominic move to their new house.  I’m excited for both.  We haven’t seen the girls in a while and it will be a quick visit but we aren’t going to do a lot of running around but just hang out at Vicki’s apartment and be together.  Kelly and Dominic will be moving into the next stage for them.  While I’ll miss them living near us, I’m happy for them to be on the same page and moving forward.

After that I'm hoping for a slower pace so my weekends will be less hectic and more about writing and relaxing...

One Down - One To Go

Just finished my last science test, I’m done with one class.  Next I need to finish my paper – have all the data; now I just need to write.  I can take my school books back to the book rental.  I am half done and will work on the other one tomorrow night.

The end of this semester hasn’t been as bad as last semester when I was laid up.  It has in many ways been stressful and variable.  I sure didn’t expect to have to move Vicki just before the end of the semester.  I also didn’t expect to have to prep for the department to move either. 

Next I just have to write – this is never a hardship.  I already know at least two to four differences I want to talk about for my final project.  It is just a matter of sitting down and writing.  This will happen tomorrow night when Ken has gone to bed.  I can spend time writing about the sliding scale and so on.  I have a good section of it in my head – it is just a matter of getting it on paper.

Funny how it is a ten page paper that is due Thursday and I’ve not written a word about it.  I have it all in my head and I think once I start writing it will go quickly.  I’d love more time to develop more of my comparison, include more examples, research different genres, and so on but that isn’t going to happen.  I’m just going to have to be happy with what I have and get it done. 

Then I can take a week off and just do fun stuff like reading and crocheting.  After that a brief slacking period, I have to start my to-do list.  Although I will try to keep my to-do list in a more manageable size, unlike I’ve done in the past

End of Semester Craze Plus....

Vicki is moved and settled in to her new place.  She will start her new job Monday.  It was a long weekend of a lot of stress and work.  She has organizational things to do with her books and dishes but I think everything (or nearly) is unpacked.

This week has been crazy with move stuff at work and end of semester work stuff in addition to the culmination of my own classes.  Tuesday after a long work day I came home and finished off my last chapter of science.  I just have the last exam to do.  Wednesday I read part of the book and picked out stylistic things to write my paper on.  I wrote the rough draft and put it away.  Thursday morning I asked my chair if he had time to read it – he took the time.  He gave me GREAT feedback that I was able to use to refine my writing.  I turned in the paper on Thursday.  Now I just have to do my final project, which is a ten-page paper. 

This weekend will be working on that paper, bills, and sleeping.  I also have to finish a baby gift and work on the afghan for the grad gift.  I’m hoping to have a rough draft by mid-day on Sunday and then revise, revise, revise until Thursday when I have to go to class and turn it in. 

Once my classes are done, I’ll turn my free time to self-publishing the romance and meditations book.  I’ll also go back to working on my novel.  However, this summer I have a long list of things to crochet and write. 

If you've read my blog before you know my to-do list always outreaches my ability to get stuff done.  I plan to get a lot done including rearranging the house now that we no longer have kids or pets.  (pause to enjoy the thought)  I’m looking forward to having a quiet peaceful house.  No idea whether I’ll actually get that or not. 

I just have to get through the end of semester stuff and the move at work – then some of my sanity will return (if I had any to begin with). 

B U S Y!

Our house is a chaotic jungle of possessions.  Vicki is packing, organizing, stressing, and prepping for the move.  Ken and I are doing our best to help her; unfortunately, most of it she has to handle herself.

In addition to all the prep for moving, she is making appointments with moving companies, trying to buy a car, and in disbelief that she got her dream job.  The disbelief will go away once she signs her paperwork on Friday and completely disappear when she is working long hours to get the new library up and going. 

This means Ken and I will be alone again.  It is odd when people say to me “Aren’t you going to be sad?”  My answer is how can I be sad that my daughters who are all three brilliant amazing women in their own ways have done exactly what I raised them to do.  They have gone out and grabbed their lives and are living them. 

It amazes me when I talk to them and hear about their lives.  I may not be involved in their daily life.  I may not talk to them daily or even every week (depending on everyone’s schedule) but I know if they need me or have news – Ken or I are their first call.  I’m so proud of who they are and what they have accomplished. 

We have a lot going on in the next ten days.  Vicki, her godmother, and I went  Indiana to look at apartments.  We looked at four apartments and went to five complexes.  The first apartment was small and very much like her college apartment - a bit shabby and old.  The second one was a viable option even though it was small and the bathroom had an odd setup.  The third one they took her to one I couldn't get into and when she was about to walk away they said well they might have one that was accessible and took us to that.  It had a great layout with full size washer / dryer and place for her laundry but even though it was a new complex the cabinets and counters were very old looking (i.e. something from the 60s).  The other thing was the one they showed us they weren't sure it was in a cat building.  Vicki's concern was that she would have to choose between having her cat (not a choice there) or being in a place I could visit (not a choice there either in her mind).  The fourth place was just a fiasco.  We had an appointment with them and had talked at length about her needs before we set up an appointment but when we got there - they weren't sure they had anything.  Then the woman said well I have two that might work and of course of the two the more expensive one was the better option which was nearly $50 over her budget.  We walked away.  

The last place we went to is the one she was most excited about.  We were two hours early and walked through the apartment.  It was nearly perfect!  There were lots of closets, a wood burning fireplace, washer/dryer hookup, fenced patio, end unit, and just a nice layout.  It is a two bedroom, one bath with a nice sized living dining room.  The bathroom is a normal layout.  The kitchen is a typical galley kitchen for an apartment, however, it has a gas stove.  There is lots of light, room, and a good feeling to the apartment.  The two drawbacks, it has plush carpet and no good place for cat litter box and there are two steps to get into the building.  These were concerns for Vicki.  I told her not to be worried about the steps because even though we had walked around so many apartments I managed the two steps.  Also Ken (today) suggested we get a chair mat to put under the litter box to protect the carpet.  This addresses the problem for the carpeting.  

The woman who showed us the apartment kept asking Beth if we liked the apartment.  She also was the most helpful when we called.  She went and took pictures of the actual apartment so Vicki could see it before she put money into her application.  Also we spent some time with this woman and she would be one of the people Vicki would be dealing with.  She is also a cat person and was very fun to be around.  We took the apartment.  She has a place to live and the utilities are set up.  We haven't nailed down some of the details.

Next weekend we will move her to Indiana with the help of some wonderful people.  Up here Alex and one of my student workers is going to help with loading the truck on Friday.  Then when we get to Indiana, Kelly and Dominic and their families are going to help with the unloading.  This week it will be finishing packing up and finalizing details.  My goal for next weekend is to get her settled into her apartment – boxes unpacked and furniture placed and items put in something of order. 

Will there be tears? Oh hell yes!  I’m happy for her but it will be sad to leave her in Indiana.  Just as I cried when Virginia and Stephanie moved to Georgia – it isn’t sadness though – it is more happy tears to see them move forward with their lives and know that my role in their lives is changing.  I welcome that change.  Afterall, I raised my daughters to be strong, independent, self-sufficient women, which they all are.  

She Got IT!!!!!

Vicki got the job!  Friday she was bummed by the time 4:00pm rolled around because Indiana is Eastern Daylight Time it was close of business hours.  She hadn’t heard anything and was on the downward slope of “why haven’t they contacted me” and “I must not have gotten it.”

Yesterday we ran to do errands as we normally do on a pay week.  It was all about grocery shopping, UPS, and the pharmacy.  We got home and had lunch.  The whole day she didn’t check her email as she had been the whole week before. 

As we were getting ready to go to the open house for my niece who just moved back from Arizona (welcome back Cristi!), she checked her email, saw an email from the HR guy and figured she didn’t get the job.  Then she opened it and read the offer!!!

She laughed and cried all at once.  She was shaking with excitement.  I opened the netbook and logged into her email so we could read the offer.  It is a good offer and a good job.  I’m so happy for her and she is very excited. 

Yesterday – after the party – we came home and looked at apartment complexes.  Kelly and Dominic’s friend from Fort Wayne had very nicely sent us a list of good and bad complexes to look at.  We have a spreadsheet started and will call a couple of them today.  She will call and ask questions of the others on Monday as well as setting up appointments. 

With the end of the semester, Vicki’s move, and all the stuff going on at work I am going to be very busy over the next three weeks.  I am sure it will all get done but at the same time I am sure it will be crazy!  Crazy in the best possible way though!!!!

Update on Eczema and Writing - odd combination but hey that is how it goes sometimes...

It has been about 6 – 8 months since I started using Vicki’s homemade goodies.  My hair is fabulous.  I don’t have to use conditioner anymore.  My legs are almost healed; I have some scarring on the one leg that is fading and one spot on my other leg lingering.  I've started using deodorant for the first time in a long time.  It is amazing that I can wear this and no red itchy junk – just clean smelling. 

We are working on building a business for these items.  We’ve started a blog and will have pages with product description up soon.  http://simplynaturalbyvicki.blogspot.com/  It is small still – very small.  We are developing a flyer and other marketing tools.  If you are interested in the products email Vicki at simplynaturalybyvicki@gmail.com. 

My romance novel did not make it to the next round.  This just means I have to work on self-publishing it this summer.  School is done mid – to end of May so after that I will focus on getting this prepped for self-publishing. 

Good news though – one of my poems will be in the Muse this spring.  I’m looking forward to the reading on May 2 though I’m a bit nervous about reading the poem to a large group of people. 

I’ve also been submitting some of my work to different publications (not too many as I’ve been so busy) and time will tell on these.  I wrote one grant, which I will hear about end of the year and I’m planning to write another that is due in June (I think). 

Finally – after being AWOL from my email for several days I was wandering through and discovered this bit of good news.  My poem that was printed by CC&D Wild Places was read at a poetry reading in Chicago and there is a youtube video of it.  Check it out!    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMJEfllfhxU

Swamped and a Tad Bit Overwhelmed

Today I am going to work early so I can accomplish a couple of tasks early before others come in.  We – the department I work in – are moving so there are a lot of details to deal with.  Registration starts today so not only do I have to register for classes today but I have to juggle all the questions and issues that will arise with registration.  Scheduling for Spring 14 starts today and we have several classes that have to get into high demand rooms, which is why I’m going in early.

In addition to these tasks, I have homework to read / review in order to gain a better understanding of one section and lab I did really poorly on.  I have a book to finish reading for tomorrow as well as comments for a debate in class we are allegedly having. 

When I get to work early, I plan to leave my door closed until I have the scheduling done.  I’ll have it unlocked but closed in the hopes no one sees I’m in so I can focus on the task at hand.  After the schedule is entered – at least the first swipe at it – I’ll register for classes and tackle my emails. 

People ask me all the time how I manage to do all that I do – I schedule it.  I woke up this morning with my alarm and started with I need to shower, dress, and then… it is just what I do in an effort to prepare myself for what needs to happen and hopefully not forget anything.  If I outline what needs to get done then it stays in my head and I try to work on those things.  Now to be honest there are a number of times that I don’t accomplish what is in my head because other things come up but I do the best I can to be organized and get things done. 

I have confidence that I will accomplish what I need to – both with work, school work, and home stuff.  It may not all happen today but it will happen – even if I have to put in extra time here and there.