Monday again

It is Monday again. I know I should have a better attitude about Mondays but it is so hard. I really, really don't like Mondays these days. I seriously feel I'm "working for the weekend." That's the song that keeps going through my head. It also doesn't help that I had a test this morning. Monday tests are always hard.

I was really nervous about this test. It's the first formal test I've had since I came back to school. I've had essays that are essentially test grades, but this was a classroom test, no talking, timed affair. I have never been nervous about tests before in my life so this was a new experience for me. But once I got into the exam, I realized I knew the material pretty well. I just hope I put enough information in my essay. It was really hard to think with the professor calling out the time very five minutes. I know he was just trying to help but I do better when I can just get it all out. I've had enough experience to know how to plan my time.

Steven helped me study dates last night and that was pretty funny. Even though I'm a history major, I rarely have to study dates because as revisionist historians, we aren't required to know dates, but rather focus on themes, ideas, trends, etc. Most professors I've had say you can always look up a date. It's the themes in history that aren't concrete. But for this exam, 15 points of it was knowing the year that several events happened. So last night Steven was drilling me on these important years. I went to bed saying, "Death of Victoria: 1901, Armistice: 1918, Winston Churchill: 1874-1965!" And then at one point told him to stop drilling because I was going to learn it so much that it was going to get all mixed up in my head. I think I did ok though.

Next weekend is the Sacred Harp singing in College Station. I'm kind of excited about it. I haven't been to a singing in a long time and it's just around the corner quite literally!

Do you know what is frustrating? It's so typical. I wanted a drink this morning from the machine and actually had a dollar in my purse. I rarely have cash so this was good. But what I didn't have was a quarter to go with it. Drinks in our building are $1.25. It's ridiculous. I forgot my water bottle today so I have to wait through two more classes before I can leave campus and get a drink. $1.25! It's crazy. Drinks used to be 50 cents. I even remember getting a drink in front of HEB for 25 cents. The world has gone nuts!

I think it's funny that I study all day about holocausts, wars, tyrants, and crusades, but I think the world has gone crazy because a drink is $1.25. haha....

Finally Friday

I am so glad today is Friday. I've been waiting for Friday since Monday. This has been the toughest week since I've been back to school. I honestly feel it is because I didn't have the weekend to reboost. I use the weekends to get the house organized for the week to lessen the chances of chaos in the week but that didn't happen last weekend because I just did not have the time. Another thing of course is that my work for school this week was heavy.

Now the week is coming to an end. I still have a lot of work to do this weekend but at least I've shaved off a big chunk of it. I'm turning in two of my essays today and that leaves the weekend to study for a test on Monday and begin readings for next week. At least I like what I'm doing. I would just say to people entering college, don't leave all of your content area to the last. It makes it really hard when you are in nothing but all of one kind of class. By far I think this is my hardest semester. The summer will be tough because of how fast classes go, but I won't just have only history classes or only english classes. Then in the fall I'll do methods which are a different kind of intensity, and then student teaching in the fall. And then.......GRADUATION!!!!!!!! sigh....that's what keeps me going. I should just keep a sign on me that says "Remind me about graduation." Then I'll remember why I'm going through all of this on days like today.

On a different note, Valentine's was a flop. I said a different note, not a better one! We are going to try again today. It was mainly my fault because I have had so much school work this week. But I think we are going to go out tonight and Steven mentioned something about my favorite sushi place so I'm getting a little excited. It's slightly on the pricy side so we only go there on special occasions. And even though Valentine's was technically yesterday, in the Deardorff home, yesterday did not exist. :) That's how rough the day was.

However, like uncle said at church this past Sunday, "I was sorry I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet." I actually used that in one of my essays. It fit nicely with the book of Job we were analyzing. That's a whole other blog for another day. Let me just say, I'm glad that I can maintain what I believe and work it into what "they" expect me to say.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!!

Happy V-day...early

Happy Valentine's Day! I am a day early but I probably won't get to post tomorrow so I'm completely within V-day etiquette. Not that I really think there is any, but whatever.

Steven was sick yesterday and stayed home from work today so I don't think there will be any major Valentine's Day celebrations for us. We did go out last year and had kind of planned to do the same this year but, it looks like we may just be staying home. This probably is better anyway because I have a first draft of an essay due Friday. Still, I was looking forward to not having to clean up the kitchen after cooking. I like the cooking part, just not the cleaning. Oh well.

I don't know what is wrong with me this week but I have been tired every day. I'm taking vitamins so I don't think it's a deficiency. When I wake up I feel like I could use another 3 or 4 hours of sleep and stay that way all day. I just can't wait until the weekend. It's just one of those weeks.

My sweet cousin got to have her first bottle last Friday. This is a major milestone. She looks so sweet and precious. I just wish I could go see her. She's such a sweet blessing.

Spring break is just around the corner and this is keeping my spirits up. Last year Steven and I couldn't do a thing because #1 - Mama broke her nose the first day of the break, #2 - Mema had a stroke on the last few days, and #3 - Steven lost his job with that dumb security company. But this year we both get a break and we may actually get to do something! I would really like to go camping. This of course will have to be discussed with the husband. I think it would be fun! We haven't had recreational excursion since our honeymoon. It would be really nice. Anyone have any good places for camping?

Very short weekend....

I don't know about anyone else, but my weekend was way too short. I hardly got anything done it seemed. Maybe it was because there was so much to do.

My mom asked Steven and I to come help her clean out her garage on Saturday but I had so much reading to do this weekend, I just really couldn't. My sister and her husband did go Saturday to help but no one ended up cleaning the garage, so it was ok that we had other things to do. So Sunday after church we all worked to help sort out the mess.

There were several boxes of old toys from when my sisters and I were young and it was really neat to go through all of the old Barbies and baby dolls. We had to split up a lot of the toys and it was interesting to see that we still fight over the same things today that we fought over as kids. There was a "fur" coat for Barbie that we used to argue over who was going to get to use on their Barbie and we had a mini-spat over who should get it. I mean - I do collect Barbies after all, so I feel I had a very valid argument. But unlike in the old days, we compromised and really enjoyed going through our old stuff.

Something that I found interesting was that I have been a historian my whole life. Cruel people call it being a pack rat, but I prefer lover of history. I found letters from friends, some I still know, some I dont, letters from my Aunt Muriel and Aunt Joyce, concert programs, metals, report cards, art work, post cards, certificates, and lots of other things that show different points of my life. The most intriguing thing is when surveying all of it is that almost everything I saved, most of it is history oriented. I found archeology magazines I used to get when I was 10 or 11, bulletins about museum events, mini-books on the mummies of Egypt, and tons of newspaper clippings of events like the death of Princess Diana, JFK Jr., etc. Plus I found old notebooks and papers from as far back as kindergarten. One particularly funny piece was an "About Me" project said, "My parents and Paula and Olivia are important to me. I want: Olivia to have a good birthday but she should not have a boyfriend." Steven thought that was really funny.

There were several things I found that I had wondered where they were. My cousin Angela drew me a beautiful picture of Cinderella just after she is transformed by her Fairy Godmother for a birthday. Thankfully it had been wrapped up and was in very good condition. That's something that has always been special to me. I also found my "drowzy beanz" that I used to carry around with me. She's in pretty good condition too, just needs a good wash.

So even though I didn't get as much done of the things I felt like I really needed to work on, it was really neat to take a look back at happy times as a kid. But now I have a lot to do this week and I'm already, even though it's only Monday, ready for the weekend. Isn't that typical?

Positive Reinforcement

Today I got a very nice surprise in my 8 AM class. My professor asked if I had received her email and I unfortunately didn't check my school email so I had to tell her no. She asked if I could meet her in her office during her office hours and I said sure. I was very nervous because that sounded really bad and of course I always think I'm in trouble in these kinds of situations. She did tell me not to be worried though so that was good. :)

The first part of her email was to ask if I would mind analyzing a painting of Sam Houston for the class since I worked at the museum for several years. This was on the spot and I told her I wasn't sure because I know more about the homes and the family than about the artifacts. It turned out that the painting she brought up on the projection screen was the very famous painting of Sam in his Indian blanket, holding his cane and hat. So that wasn't hard to analyze at all. I feel like I pointed out some very good things and my professor seemed pleased.

Well, during her office hours I went up to meet her as I was instructed and what she wanted to talk to me about was great! She likes an idea I brought out in class on Wednesday about women's suffrage and she thinks it's a very original idea that would be an excellent topic for my graduate work. That's when I thought - let's back this train up. Graduate school?! In my early days of education, that was always my goal. I wanted to go all the way and get my PhD. But circumstances haven't been great in my undergrad and it's only been in the past few months that I've felt back on top of things. The new goal was to just finish my bachelor's degree. So it came as a shock that she thought I would go on to grad school.

We talked about it for a while and she said I definitely was smart enough (I was pleasantly floored. I've never heard a professor say something like that!!!), and that if Steven and I could manage it, Sam Houston even offers a master's degree in history online. So I could teach and do graduate work. I don't think she knows it, but my professor has renewed my desire and confidence in education. It's so nice to feel successful!

This may seem like a small thing, but to me with the things I've been through, this is major. To have a professor want to meet with me privately to discuss my educational future AND to give me the compliment of having an original idea in a field of very unoriginal themes is huge. Not only that, she complimented my recent essay topic saying it is not only interesting but different. TWO compliments of originality in one meeting!!!! What a great day... :)

This semester I am much more vocal than I've ever been in classes. I am contributing and discussing whereas I used to listen, take notes and move on to my next class. So now I'm thinking that if I had just found my voice earlier, maybe I would have felt better about myself in school. The good news is, it isn't too late. I still have good opportunities.

This week flew by. I'm so glad tomorrow is Saturday though. Saturday mornings are my favorite times with Steven. Especially when we don't have to go anywhere. We can relax and enjoy being together. Even if we have work to do around the house, we always take some time on Saturday morning to just be together.

Have a great weekend!

To market, to market, to buy a...nice cabbage?

Steven and I have discovered two diamonds in the rough this week. Actually the people I work for told us about them so we really cannot take the credit.

Since our finances have balanced out and we've recovered from last years disaster of unemployment, we have been buying a lot more fresh vegetables and higher quality of meats. Unfortunately eating healthy costs more and when you are lacking in funds, hamburger helper and hot dogs are your diet. Now that we are buying things that are better for us, we are realizing that the quality of produce in our HEB is iffy and they don't always have what we want. For example, last week they had no fresh spinach and the tomatoes were expensive and overly ripe, and an onion I bought was rotten in the center when I cut it open.

Well, the lady I work for sometimes asks me to start dinner for them and yesterday she wanted me to start a roast in the crock pot but she was out of onions. She asked if I didn't mind getting one and that it would be easier to go to the "Farm Patch" because taking the triplets to a grocery store is hard. I, being new to town, had no idea what the Farm Patch was so she gave me directions and the kids and I headed out after breakfast in search of an onion.

Let me tell you... This place is AMAZING! It's a local produce market in every sense. All the produce is locally grown, it's excellent quality and wonderful prices!!!! And it's a really cute market place. Everything is in a covered area but it's open on both ends so if feels like it's out doors. I couldn't pass up a cantaloupe for Steven and myself because they looked and smelled so good. I was so excited about this place that Steven and I went after work and got lots of good things. We got a nice big cabbage, some new potatoes, corn, onions, and even some yummy honey that was harvested locally. They also sell locally made tortillas. You can get 20 flour tortillas or 50 corn tortillas for $1.50! They also had pure sorghum syrup and I think I may have to get some next time. It's a really neat market and very clean. Steven and I have decided that from now on, that's where we will get our produce.

Another great thing we found out about is the local meat market. Sam (my boss), gets all of her meat at this place and I've been noticing what good quality it is. I assumed it would be expensive and not in our budget so I never asked about where she bought it before, but yesterday when I was making the roast, I noticed the price had been written on the paper and it was very reasonable and cheaper than meat that Steven and I looked at in HEB. So again, I asked her about it and she told me where it was and we went there after work as well. It was so neat too. It's almost felt like stepping back in time when we went to these markets. It made us much more conscious of what we were buying and it was a lot more fun!

Sam is from College Station so she knows all of the best places. This has been invaluable to us. They've helped us so much since we moved. I really feel like God provided them for me in more ways that just a paycheck. Liking the people you work for isn't a given and it's most certainly a blessing when not only do you like them, but they show you how they appreciate you as well.

So since the roast I "crock-potted" for their family smelled so good when I left yesterday, I decided to make one for us at home. Lately I've been putting the crock pot my sister gave me to good use. It's very handy on school days when I know I'm going to be tired in the evening. This is the first time I've made a roast for us to eat so...we'll see how it goes!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....lalalala

I just love "Finding Nemo." :)

Last week was a bust. I got the flu and was out of commission for a few days. I'm feeling a lot better now though. I still have a slight cough and my ears keep popping but I'm back on track! I played catch up over the weekend with school work so I am a-OK in that arena. For now....

The weekend went fast! Steven and I went to breakfast at the Kettle on Saturday morning and it brought back a lot of memories. The one near where we live is really nice and has lots of rustic decorations and John Wayne memorabilia. It's pretty cute. Steven even ventured to say that their food was better than Denny's. This is major because Steven LOVES Denny's. In fact, we had our first date at Denny's in San Diego. aww....

After our breakfast we did a lot of errands. We both got hair trims, we got new tennis shoes, went grocery shopping, and took care of some bills. The grocery shopping took the longest because we were out of absolutely everything. We even had to buy ketchup and mustard. Condiments seem to be the things that indicate whether we are low on stuff. We filled up the largest cart at HEB, if that's any indication. The good news is, we don't have to go back for a while!

The rest of the weekend was spent reading and researching. I am starting my senior research for my Civil War class. The topic I've chosen is broadly music of the day. I always tend to study music and I think it's because music is so much a part of my life. I love music so much because it tells us a great deal of what is going on in the world. You can literally see history in music. It's so exciting. Aren't you excited?! :)