I am zinging with happiness, because I just did some figuring and, barring unexpected complications, I should be able to graduate in May 2009. Lots to do before then, but that's so soon! I started college in the fall of 1998, so the idea of graduating is pure sunshine. As in-my graduation party will probably be bigger than my wedding. May 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Monday, July 16, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Is this thing on? Tap tap tap...
Wow-it's been a while since I posted. I'm sure I will make up for it soon, because in a few weeks I will have internet access at home! We've already received our DSL modem, we're just waiting for the service to be activated. Then I promise I will be a posting fool. My wonderful hubby bought me a new laptop for my birthday!!! I've been dying to use it to update y'all, but, again, still waiting for the internet at home. I have had no time to write at work due to homework and -shocker- actual work. The only reason I am writing here now is that it is 4:15 on a Friday and my work ethic has left the building.
My summer classes are still humming along. Accounting ended last week. The final that I was so worried about turned out to be easier than I thought. I got 106% (there were bonus points). That means that I got 100% or more on EVERY test, quiz, and assignment in that class. If that sounds like bragging, oh well. I am very proud of how I did. My professor gave me a recommendation to send in with my transfer application to Towson University and is trying to talk me into going into the accounting field. This weekend I'm visiting my brother who is a CPA (and lawyer-brains definitely run in my family). I'm going to get his opinion and I'm also interviewing a girl closer to my age who works for an accounting firm. No decisions yet though.
My ceramics class is still going on for one more week. As stressed out as I was a few weeks ago in this class, I'm sad that it is ending. The last two weeks everything has started to click. The good thing is that I will still have access to the studio for the rest of the summer and my professor will be there on Mondays and Wednesdays. Hopefully I will actually have some free time to take advantage of that.
My US History class started this past Monday (it's M-T-TH). My husband and I are taking it together. It is nice to see each other once again! We've barely had any time together since the summer started. He is supposed to be cheerleading me through this class since it's one of my least favorite subjects, but I actually like the class so far. Our teacher is insane. Not in a bad way-he's just full of personality, wears shorts and Crocs, talks in funny accents, and tells wacky personal stories. I was a little scared the first night but he grew on me. He's really good at getting things back on track after a tangent which is great since we have a lot of discussions in class. We have a lot of writing assignments, but I'm trying to go with the flow instead of letting that freak me out. Frequent short writing assignments are what kicked off the beginning of my academic demise. I guess this is my chance to show I'm over that.
That's all there is to say about school. As for the weight loss competition, I haven't worked out in two weeks! It feels more like two months. A lot of stress is making it's way out of my life though, so I'm going to get back on track. This week was the week 11 weigh-in. I'm up 1.6 lbs from two weeks ago (weight=194.8lbs), but that's less than I thought I gained. I'd love to lose 5lbs by the final weigh-in next Friday, but I'm not going to cry if I don't. I made the cut to continue for another 12 weeks, so I have plenty of time to lose more weight.
So now y'all know what I've been up to! Have a great weekend! I promise I'll be back with more frequent (and shorter) posts as soon as Verizon turns on my DSL.
Adios!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The Skinny
I didn't have a chance to update this Friday with my weigh-in results because I was busy getting in a car accident. I'm fine, everyone is fine, it's just one more headache to pile onto everything else. I don't have much else to say about that except, "Sigh...."
My weigh-in went great. I'm down to 193.2 lbs, for a total loss of 14.2 lbs. I'm looking forward to hitting and passing the 15 lb mark. There are three weeks left of the original competition, and then we begin the second 12 weeks. Even though I've been missing workouts left and right, I've been eating for weight loss because this competition keeps it at the front of my mind.
My classes for summer session I are now in the home stretch. Tonight I get back my last two Accounting tests and then go home to study. The final for that class is on Thursday. I'm nervous about it because it is a school exam, i.e. our teacher didn't write it. There were a lot of sections that we quickly whizzed over, so I'm going to be upset if those are tested heavily on the final.
There are a few weeks left of my Ceramics class and I'm finally starting to like it. I still think it is stressful and an insane amount of work compared to the course length and class time, but I'm starting to make some good looking pieces. Right now I have an eighteen inch tall vase drying that starts with a 5 inch diameter heart base, expands out to about eight inches, and comes back in to 5 inches. I wanted to glaze it a dark red, but apparently reds are hard to acheive in the kiln. That whole piece was done in coil, but last night I made boxes out of slabs and they were so easy. If this whole class were done in slab, I'd want to take it every semester. As for the wheel, that's another story. The wheel and I are still not speaking. Once this class is over and most of my stuff is glazed and fired, I'll post pictures.
Over and out. It's back to work time.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Just the Facts
I'm at work and in the middle of finishing my Ceramics homework before I have to leave for class. So instead of a lengthy post, here are today's highlights:
- I went to my workout. ON TIME.
- My trainer is back.
- I sweat a lot (see above).
- I went to kickboxing on Saturday.
- I sweat a lot (see above).
- I packed plenty of healthy food for today, including breakfast.
Now, back to my homework...
Friday, June 22, 2007
Naughty, Naughty
Some people have been noticing the lack of posts this week. This was due to two factors: 1-I am very busy with my summer classes and spend most of my lunch hours doing homework instead of updating my blog, 2-I have been a naughty, naughty girl in regards to the weight-loss competition and I knew if I posted anything, I'd have to fess up. Ah well, since I am down again this week, I'll come clean.
The big badness is that I skipped my Wednesday and Friday workouts again. I know. I'm terrible. I wish I didn't like sleep so much or that I could bring back the insomnia I had a few months ago. My mornings are a mess-if I don't get up at the same insanely early time as my husband, I sleep right through the later alarm. It wasn't as much of an issue before, but with the late classes I am just so tired. Hopefully I can make it through the next few weeks without gaining weight or getting fired. My late classes end soon and the next class gets out before 9pm. I am definitely looking forward to the 2 weeks in August that I will be free of classes. Since we are too poor for a vacation, I will be drinking ice cold diet soda and watching TV on DVD. I miss TV.
Speaking of school, I have excellent news from my accounting class. Last night we got back our first full test and .....drum roll..... I had the highest grade out of both classes that my teacher teaches (over 60 students). I only got one question wrong, which was worth 1.5 points, but I got the 2 point bonus question right, so my score was 106.5 out of 106. My teacher came over during break and asked if I work in accounting (I don't). I told him I was taking the class for fun out of curiosity. When he left the room, everyone wanted to know who had gotten the highest grade (he had written the score on the front board). I was shrinking down in my seat, but the woman next to me sold me out. Then she started telling everyone that I'm so nice and I help her out all the time. It's true. She and another student have been saving me a seat between them so they can ask me questions. It makes me feel good. I love helping people.
Another warm fuzzy moment happened later in the class when I was helping the woman who blew my cover. She stopped me and said, "You should be a teacher. You're so calm and patient and the way you explain things makes them make sense." I almost started crying because my number 2 reason for finishing college is so that I can teach. The number one reason is to put my past mistakes behind me. Anyway, when she said that to me so genuinely, it made me so happy. I happy now just writing about it. Warm fuzzies!
To get back to my confession of naughtiness, I ate about 20 pounds of sugar this week. During the day I ate only healthy foods, but I ate very small amounts. One day, all I ate until 11pm was a chicken breast and a piece of cheese. That night, I hit the Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches again. I don't usually have much of a sweet tooth, but the last two weeks I've gotten into this weird pattern where I'm not hungry all day and then I want sweets at night. The good and bad thing is that I've continued to lose weight. The only negative thing is that I've been tired, but I've been tired ever since classes started. This weekend I plan on preparing several days of prepacked meals for next week. I also plan to go to kickboxing class tomorrow (for real this time).
And now for the numbers. As of today, I weigh 196.2 lbs. That's 1.2 lbs down from last week. My pants are very loose.
Have a great weekend, y'all!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Update: Classes
I can't believe it's Thursday already. I haven't posted in a few days, because my new schedule is absolutely nuts. On paper it didn't look so bad, but I forgot to figure in two things: homework and sleep. Accounting is not so bad: I've been doing my homework at lunchtime and in class. My Ceramics assignments are much more involved inside and outside of class. Last night, I did not leave campus until 11:15pm and that was only so my husband could stop worrying about where I was. Sleep these days seems to be something I only do when I should be getting to work or to my workout.
I've been exhausted all week. Being in class until 10 or 11pm is much different than watching TV until that hour. When I get home I'm still all wound up, so I end up staying up for another hour or two to relax. Getting up at 6:30am yesterday to make it to my workout was out of the question. I didn't even make it in to work today until 10:30am. Thank goodness I only have these classes for another five weeks. I'm taking another class during the second summer session, but it gets out at 8:40pm. I'll be able to get to bed at a decent hour and do things like cook and do laundry (the other reason I missed Wednesday's workout is that my gym clothes were all so dirty they could have walked downtown on their own).
On one hand, I feel bad. I am slacking on my workouts and food preparation. I am sucking at my job and spending half my work hours sleeping or doing homework. On the other hand, I'm sticking to my priorities, so screw the guilt. I want to be skinny and have enough money to keep my house, but my number one priority right now is to finish school. If I have to find another job or it takes an extra six months to lose the weight, so be it. As long as I'm making progress toward my degree and not slacking off in my classes, I'm ok with that. I don't feel ashamed of my weight or my career progress. I do feel very ashamed of the way I conducted and demolished my academic career. So if I fix that, I will have much more happy happy joy joy to spread to the other areas of my life.
So there, I said it. I am prepared to accept failure at two very important things in order to succeed at what is most important to me. Just because the idea makes me hyperventilate doesn't mean I don't accept it. I'm not saying I'm giving up on the job and the weight-loss, I just know I can't put enough effort towards them to do well. I guess it's penance. I get to do school the hard way now since I dropped out of school five times and threw away a $40,000/year scholarship when I had the chance to do things the easy way. Ah, well. My eventual graduation party will be much more kick ass than if I would have had it five years ago. My hubby and my nieces will be there now and I have a huge backyard. I may even make my cats wear party hats.
Monday, June 11, 2007
I Like To Hit Things
Saturday afternoon, I attended my first cardio kickboxing class. If there were ever a workout made for me, this is it. I was expecting a cardio class where we'd be standing in rows and punching the air, but it was so much better than that. We got to wear boxing gloves and whale on the heavy bags. Punches and roundhouse kicks are much more fun when you are actually hitting something. It was an intense workout, but I didn't want it to end. As soon as the hour was up, I called my husband and told him I wanted a heavy bag for my birthday. Having this class once a week is not enough. I am in love....with kicking ass.
This morning's workout seemed boring compared to the kickboxing class, but at least I made it (almost) on time. I got to tell my trainer the results from Friday's weigh-in-he was proud. We added one new exercise to our routine today, which Jeff referred to as "hop-hop-squat." It's exactly what it sounds like. I didn't think it would be very difficult since squats have been getting easy for me, but after doing them for a minute straight my legs were burning. At one point I caught my reflection as I was coming up out of a squat and...I think I saw a thigh muscle. I'm not used to seeing muscles in my legs. I can always feel them, but they are hard to see with all the fat covering them up.
This weekend I started to get a lot of comments on my weight loss. It is so good to know that other people can see it. I can tell a difference, but I'm consciously checking myself out in the mirror looking for one. It means much more coming from someone else. I was a little down yesterday after seeing myself in some pictures and thinking, "I still look huge!," but I guess I am still huge. That doesn't take anything away from my weight loss though, and I have another 6+ weeks of guided workouts to shrink through. The power of positive thinking helped me last week, so I'm going to stick with it.
Damien, the head trainer, sent out a spreadsheet with the results of the top twenty people so far. I didn't make the top twenty, but it was good inspiration to see where everyone is. I need to step up my efforts. This weekend was the third weekend in a row where I took both days off the diet. That has got to stop. It hasn't really hurt my results yet, but I imagine I'd lose more without, say, the four slices of pizza I ate last night. It shouldn't be too hard to buckle down on the weekends as long as I head into them with a plan. This weekend I'm going to kickboxing on Sunday, but there is a good chance it will be followed with alcohol. I'm not sure what else to do on Fathers' Day since my dad recently died and both grandfathers are gone, too, so drinking it is! I figure if I hit the bag hard enough in class I won't need to drink as much.
Tonight I have my first Ceramics class. I'm excited to find out what we'll be doing. I'm sure the class is going to be fun, because I am having a blast in my Accounting class. Yes, I said I am having a blast in my Accounting class. It's not as much fun as I used to have in Calculus, but I dig it. I'm such a numbers person. I love it when problems have answers. I wish life was more like math.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Breaking News
I finally found a way to make the protein shakes taste good! When the overly sweet powder is mixed with unsweetened soy milk, it comes out perfect. It is almost delicious. I'm so happy I finally found a way to like this stuff, because many of my meals have to be consumed on the go. My new schedule is wake at 6:30am, workout from 8-9am, work from 9am-5pm, commute from 5-6pm, class from 6-10pm. That's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Holy. Wow.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Thank You, Internet
My covert ops at the bookstore yesterday were a success. I managed to obtain the real ISBN numbers of my textbooks and ordered them online today. I still ended up spending around $150, but that meant I got all four books for less than the price of one, which was $178 in the bookstore. My husband lucked out and found his online for $1 each, so the internet saved us some big bucks. School starts next week. This is real. Eek.
I have a few confessions to make. I haven't played DDR at all this week, in spite of my plans. I've been sitting very still under the ceiling fan in our living room trying to stay cool. Last night, I didn't want to heat up the house by baking chicken so all I ate for dinner was a bag of frozen broccoli that I microwaved and sprinkled with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. I definitely didn't meet my protein requirements, but I wasn't going near those shakes again.
Today's food was much better. I had cottage cheese for a late breakfast, a Lean Cuisine with 22 grams of protein for lunch, South Beach bars for my snack, and I'm going to get chicken or steak with a salad or steamed veggies for dinner when we go out tonight. I have no idea what the scale will say tomorrow considering it's taken me so long to get my act together this week. However, I vow to keep my cool, even if the number stays the same or goes up.
A few weeks ago, my husband made the point that this whole process is more about the end result than the weekly weigh ins. As long as I don't give up, the end result will be a smaller me. A smaller, but stronger, me.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Dreams Can Come True
This morning I dreamt that I slept late and missed my workout and ended up having to join the 11am class. Then I woke up early, like I usually do when I have dreams like this. When I laid back down to catch another 15 minutes of snooze, however, I slept late and missed my workout and ended up having to join the 11am class.
The workout was good, although I missed my group. One of the people in the 11am class was surly and another left pools of sweat on everything. Our trainer actually had to tell the sweater to go get a towel-it was that bad. As for the workout, we did one circuit of legs and then spent the bulk of the time on our arms. Nothing fancy, just a variety of presses, curls, and pull downs. At the end of class we did a short ab section that was basic, but really worked every muscle in my gut. I think the intensity was because I was moving through a wider range of motion now that my abs are getting stronger.
It felt so good to work out again. I moved around a lot this weekend, but it wasn't the same as an intense guided workout. My body is happy today. In fact, extra happy, because Jeff let me warm up on the elliptical machine instead of doing jumping jacks! I got there early, so I did 15 minutes on the elliptical instead of 2 minutes of jumping jacks, but it was worth it. I have blisters on my feet from a pair of evil sandals I wore yesterday and I don't want to jump on them.
I'm a little worried about this week's weigh in even though I'm only shooting for a pound. My eating has been off for the last few days and I desperately need to go grocery shopping, so I'm still not back on track. I didn't have anything for breakfast today, but I picked up a salad for lunch and sardines for a snack. I have food for dinner, but I don't know what I'll eat tomorrow if I don't get to the store.
I don't know if I'll have time to go to the store tonight, though, because I need to swing by my school after work. Classes start next week and I need to order my books and get a form signed for my student loan deferment. I tried to look for my books online, but the college is listing some cryptic ISBN number that isn't showing up in any searches. I have a feeling it doesn't match what's actually on the book. Since I need to get my deferment form signed in person, I'm going to do some detective work at the bookstore while I'm on campus.
As excited as I am about all of my new endeavors, I'm getting nervous about my soon to be packed schedule. Really I'll only be utilizing time formerly wasted in front of the TV, but it's still scary. At least the summer classes are only five weeks long.
Does hyperventilating burn calories?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Money-It's a Drag
Blah. Money. Ptooey. I transferred $2,000 out of our savings account to pay for my and my husband's summer classes. I thought it would be more than enough when combined with my checking account balance-wrong! I suppose it would have been if the mechanic hadn't called yesterday to say my car was finally ready after over a month in the shop. Once I paid the $500 insurance deductible, I was short on money for the classes. I only had enough to pay for my husband's and two of mine. I still need to come up with the money for my third class (which we're taking together) before next Thursday. It should be doable if I don't spend anything before then, but being this close to broke stresses me out. Enough so that I bought a scratch-off ticket from the sketchy liquor store down the street. I only won a dollar.
The good news is that I get to put my student loan into deferred payment status once the semester starts. The other good news is that I'm finally prioritizing my life over money. I screwed up my college career from the beginning by letting my initial enrollment decision be based on money-this must be part of my proving to the universe that I've learned my lesson. It should also help me stick with the classes to completion. I'll be much more averse to throwing my money down the toilet than I was with scholarship money from a school I hated. Maybe it's time to stop being like *this* and be more like the real little engine that could. My problem has never been that I don't try, I just always give up.
I can stick with it, I can stick with it, I can stick with it.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Money-Boo! Hiss!
The summer tuition payments for my husband and I are due this week. Unfortunately we can't get any financial aid or loans for the summer term so this is all coming out of our pockets. The problem is that there is no money in our pockets, so the money is actually coming out of our savings. That money was earmarked for replacement windows for our house, but we've survived a year without them, we can wait a little longer. I'm still waiting for my wealthy benefactor to appear, a la Great Expectations. Winning a thousand dollars in the weight loss competition would help right about now.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
That School Thing
Ladies & gentlemen, hold on to your hats! I am going back to college. This wouldn't seem shocking to anyone who doesn't know me, but if you do you're probably gasping for air right about now. Sorry for the heart attack. A brief summary for those of you who are still breathing: I was in the top of my high school class, had near perfect SATs, a full scholarship to college, and still managed to drop out of college 5 times from 3 different schools within a few years.
I headed off to college in the fall of 1998 with a full scholarship and in the top of my high school class despite my growing slackerness. I found just what I was looking for, which was freedom (being 360 miles from my family provided that). It's too bad that I wasn't looking for an education, because I very quickly watched all of my past academic success go down the toilet, washed down by beer and cable and coffee and late night talks (and boys). Oh and don't forget the severe depression. That spring, I didn't even notice that I had pneumonia because I was so used to spending half the day in bed.
All of my incomplete and failed classes from that first year set off the chain of events that left me where I am now: 26 years old with only 2 years of college under my belt while the rest of my classmates are planning their five year reunions. I'm done with being ashamed about that though. It hasn't gotten me anywhere, which is why I'm sucking it up and finishing school. One of my big problems has always been finding motivation when there wasn't a clear end result. If I wasn't sure what career path I wanted to follow when I graduated, I wouldn't finish my homework. The end result is now clear though. I am going back to school to finish my degree so that I can close the door on the last 10 years and move on with the rest of my life.
So here we go. I'm registered for 3 classes this summer at the community college to take care of some gen. ed. requirements and get some current, high grades on my record. I'll be applying to transfer to Towson University in the Spring and will continue to take classes at the community college in the mean time. This Summer I'm taking Ceramics, Accounting I (small business accounting), and US History II (Civil War to current). Classes start June 5th. More updates will follow then. Wish me luck persistence.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Welcome to the Danger Zone
Uh oh. It's happening. I'm slowly succumbing to the the interwebs. It's a blog with my name on it. OMG. GTFO. ...sigh. At least I have still managed to resist signing up for theirspace.
As those in the know know, I am about to start a weight loss competition at work AND go back to school (*cough* finally). Both of these endeavors are huge changes for me and I thought they warranted some documentation other than my traditional 10,000 word emails. This is where y'all can keep tabs on my progress and keep me accountable. Shaka gow, shaka gow wow.
(Don't you love my blog title? Me so corny.)
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