My Chemistry Prayers Were Answered!

I found out today that I passed Chemistry with a B just like I thought I would yesterday!!! Wahoooooo! There is still a whole ordeal going on with the psych test. Hopefully things will work out. Hopefully and prayerfully in my favor.

Bittersweet

Well my semester is officially over. It has been a bittersweet journey. I had an online course that the whole grade was based on one test. Welp...I flunked it. I go in tomorrow to talk to the instructor. I did everything right but stink at testing apparantly. So now I must retake this course. I found it boring and interesting at the same time. Odd but true. So that is the bitter. The sweet is I believe I have passed my chem course with a B. I will know by the end of the day today. This is the sweet. I am confident in the test I took today for that course. I don't think I have ever prayed so much over a test in my life. Wait...the psych test that I flunked. Yep prayed earnestly before, during, and after both tests. Let's hope this one doesn't turn out like the other. I don't know if I can take another hit like that. It is hard to come from being on the Dean's list to this.

Next semester? Let's see...I will be mastering the classes of Anatomy and Physiology (one class) and Developmental Psychology. Let the praying begin!!! I will, as usual, put my everything into these classes. I take this stuff seriously. I am not in it to just get by. I want to do well.

So on to other topics I suppose. Hmmm...winter. It is also kinda bittersweet. I really do not like the cold. Not one bit. But with it comes some of the nicest things. To get out of this funk maybe I should list my top 10 likes and dislikes about winter. Let's take a lookee loo!

LIKES
10. It doesn't last all year!
9. I can wear some really snuggly sweaters.
8. There are plenty of opportunities to take cool snow pictures.
7. Spring is even closer than it was before (this is nice because after a while you get tired of wearing those sweaters).
6. Comfort foods.
5. The twinkle of snow is kinda pretty.
4. Christmas lights.
3. The fact I don't have to wear a bathing suit! Woohoo!
2. The quality time I get to spend with my husband. Yipeee!
1. The birth of our Saviour Jesus!

DISLIKES
10. It's cold.
9. The ice.
8. The dirt and salt that gets on everything!
7. It's cold.
6. I hate wearing the heavy parka.
5. The lack of sunshine.
4. It's cold.
3. Dry air.
2. It drags on for months and months.
1. Did I mention it's cold?!

Is it really that time again?

It appears that it is almost school time again. Wasn't it just a week or so ago I was saying that summer was going by too quickly? Now it is going even quicker! It is less than a month that not only do the kids start but I start back as well. So much I wanted to do this summer and it all seems to have to be crammed into one month. Nothing major, just little things like the zoo, more beach trips and various other summer like things. I suppose that I will be happy to see cooler weather. After all my favorite season is fall. I just wish that it lasted longer. Oh well. I think I am going to head over to Mountain Mama's blog and peek around. Have a fun time!

Yes I know I said I would keep this updated a lot more often and that I have failed to do so. Quite honestly I don't even know if anyone reads this anymore. I know I have one reader who is a wonderful woman (Mountain Mama) and who always has the nicest things to say. But I will still ramble on as if there were a whole bunch of people out there who still read this.

So far summer has been busy and I really wish it would slow down a bit. I am doing my best to make sure the kids have a good summer and that we all enjoy the hot weather the best way we can. So some days are beach days (not enough though), some are indoor days (either too hot or raining), some are errand days, some are backyard days, and hopefully we will have a zoo day and other surprise days.

School is a coming. Sooner than I'd like. I keep seeing the back to school stuff and I am so not ready to deal with that yet. All of us start back in September. I have only registered for 2 classes so that I don't put too much on my plate. Hopefully this fall semester goes as good as the spring one did.

Okay I think that is all I have in me to write at the moment. Have a blessed summer!

My Vacation.

For those who want to know how my vacation went, read on. For those who don't, STOP READING NOW!

Overall I would say the vacation went well. I have come back tired but it is a good tired. The kind where a few nights in your own bed will be all you need. The weather was good on all but one day and even when it rained we made the most of it.

Where did we go? We went so far north that there was no more of the great U.S.of A. to see. We stayed on a small lake in a modern cabin. By modern I mean it had 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, loft, kitchen (fridge, stove, sink, and pots and pans) and they newly added a microwave. But they do not have televisions, clocks, radios, or any modern stuff like that.

What did we do? Well the little ones (8 & 10) did a lot of playing outside in the sand and stuff. I'm not sure what they did really. They played until they were told to come inside. I do know that they had fun. They went fishing a little. We gave them a bobber and they each caught some bluegills. The oldest of my offspring (13) did a lot of fishing. He didn't catch anything until the last day. Then he caught a 17 inch northern pike. He was so excited. He thought he was going to come home having caught nothing. Other than that he played outside with the little ones some. As for us adults we relaxed. I did some fishing, helped the little ones fish, took pictures, and sometimes just sat around and did nothing. Hubby also did some fishing both off the docks (like the rest of us) and a little in the rowboat (provided by the lodge). He tried taking the oldest out with him in the boat a couple of times. Well needless to say, the two of them in a boat don't mix. Too much testosterone in one boat. As a family we would go out daily for a drive into some of the nearby towns and grab lunch. We also went for a hike in the woods which I have no idea how long it was. One night we even made a campfire and it lasted through the rain!

The bad stuff? Well the mosquito were ravenous and decided to feast on us. I received some nice bites right on my face (one even on the edge of the lip). OW!! There were also some nasty flies that seemed to be everywhere. Yes we did use spray but that didn't work. We all look like we were test subjects on a mosquito farm. Oh...I almost forgot. TICKS!! We were test subjects at a tick farm as well.

Unforgetable moments? Oh there are so many. The bug bites will certainly be on our minds for the near future. The smell of my hair the day after the campfire (I never knew hair could hold so much smoke scent!). My husband getting the nickname of "turtle killer" due to the fact he didn't see a small turtle in the road and accidentally ran it over (a sound I will never forget). My oldest son's first freshwater fish. It was certainly a priceless moment. My poor daughter recovering from her first encounter with a tick (after removing all of them from the clothes there was still one left on her back that needed to be carefully removed from her skin). My youngest son earning the nickname "skeeter" (they followed him everywhere!). But I guess what I will remember the most is really the whole trip. It was wonderful.

My Condolences.

One of my alltime favorite Christian singers is Steven Curtis Chapman. His music has blessed me for what seems like a lifetime. I was first introduced to his music at a youth camp called Centrifuge and the song The Great Adventure. Yesterday Steven and his family lost someone precious to them. Steven and Mary Beth's adopted daughter Maria has gone to be with the Lord. My heart ached when I heard the news. Please lift this family up in prayer. You can find their story here.

It's party time!!

This semester is officially over and I have managed to squeak out a 4.0 gpa! I am so excited. I have never had a 4.0 so this is a first for me. Okay I just thought I'd share that little bit of info. Enjoy your day. :D

Pull up a seat. It's gonna be a long one.

It has been a long time since I last posted something. For this I apologize. So if you are ready for a nice long read that may or may not bore the snot outta you, continue on.

As most of you know last July I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. At the time my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was a little over 7. The range for normal is .3 to 3.0. My endocronologist told me our goal was to get it to 1.0 or slightly lower. Well as of this week we have completed that goal. I am now officially at .75. I am feeling better as far as this goes. I will be returning to this doc in 3 months to check and make sure I am still at or close to this number. I am so excited that I have reached this point. I am told it could take several months after you get to this point for your body to fully feel better and to notice some positive changes. I would think so! This poor body has taken almost a year to get here. Every couple months I would go in for a blood test, wait a day, get the results, and then be prescribed a higher dosage of Synthroid. So the fact I am at this goal is a relief for me.

I think I mentioned that back in February of this year I had been diagnosed with PCOS with Insulin Resistance. Well the first month on the medication (Metformin ER) I was so very nausous. Even the thought of food made my stomach churn. It has gotten better. I was told to follow an eating plan (South Beach phase 2) to help with the weight and that would help the meds do what they are supposed to do. Okay so I haven't been able to do that. I am currently experimenting with different foods to see what my body likes and dislikes. This can be an unpleasant thing. Some foods have you in the restroom within an hour or so. I try to do all my experimenting at home. Now I love salads. Absolutely love them. But I have found out that I can not eat the big ones like I used to. Too much roughage. I have also lost the ability to enjoy some of my faves like pizza, some pastas, and fast food. So it may be a while before I will be able to figure out all of the food stuff. I admit at first I tried it full force. All that did was discourage me and quite honestly made me mad. So this way I learn what my body likes. Every body is different.

In this journey with all of this I have also learned the importance of taking vitamins. When taking the Metformin, your body doesn't absorb enough b vitamins. This then makes me tired. So lately I have been feeling really tired. When it dawned on me the problem I started taking more vitamins. Not just b but all of them. This has started to make a difference. It is so important for all of us to make sure we get the right amount of vitamins and minerals every day.

School is finally over for the semester. Now I am just waiting for the instructors to grace me with the grades. I am confident I have made an A in all three classes. For the fall I have chosen chemistry and psychology. I hope they go as smoothly as these 3 have. I have found out that just because I used to stink at something doesn't mean I stink at it now. That being said, there is a reason why I didn't take chem in high school. I stunk at science type stuff. Ha! And here I am going to be a nurse. Yeah! That's a surprise to me too.

Okay now that you are almost asleep I will stop. I don't want to be responsible for any of you banging your heads cuz you're nodding off. I will do my best to post more often and hopefully not just about my medical woes.

Doing Better

Well the cold has officially been kicked. Finally! But at the same time I had started a new medication for the P.C.O.S. named Metformin. This stuff made me really nausous. Thankfully today I feel much better and the nausea seems to be gone. I am so glad that this seems to be helping me feel better.

School is still going good. Currently I am on spring break. Oh boy! For me this means I have a week to catch up on some studying and some research work. I remember spring break as a kid meant time to not worry about school and just have fun and sometimes a vacation if your parents so felt the urge. Well apparantly when you get older and go to school all that fun just goes out the window. Oh well. It is nice not having to go to class for a week.

Mountain Mama thank you for all your kind words. You have no idea what they truly mean. You are such a wonderfully sweet woman.

Yes I am still here.

So much time has gone by since I last posted. OOPS!

Well so far school is going pretty well. I am getting an A in my math class, a who knows what in my medical terminology class, and a guess what your grade is in my written communication class. The last two are kind of hard to figure since the instructors have given assignments and haven't really given a grade on some of it. So I plug along and do my best. I have learned my lesson though. I can only take 2 classes at a time. Three just seems to put too much stress on me.

Home life is okay. Somebody gave me a nasty cold and it is kicking my behind. I don't like to take cold medicine because it makes me drowsy and I am tired enough as it is.

Recently I was diagnosed with P.C.O.S. on top of already having Hashimoto's. I have been on a roller coaster ride trying to get all of my medications adjusted so that I can feel better. I have a good endocrinologist who is helping me with this. I was told to go eat a low carb diet. Well diet isn't the term I suppose I want to use. It is a way of eating for life. He suggested that I do South Beach phase 2. So there goes all of my yummy cookies, cakes, pastas, and a lot of other things that I have grown to enjoy eating. But for my health I will do it. One of the symptoms of these is being tired. Hence why I don't like to take cold medicine. How nice it will be when one day I can make it through the day without wanting to take a nap every 10 minutes. But I know God is in control so I don't worry. I just plug along.

Ahhh....plugging along. Anybody want a nasty cold? I am giving it away for free. Just kidding. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

I cut back on work. I now only work on Saturdays. I couldn't hack 2 days of work, 2 days of actual classes, plus housework, homework, and taking care of my lovely family. It was just too much. Thankfully I have a wonderful boss and she completely understands.

Is it spring yet? Seriously I cannot wait for this winter to be over. I am so very sick and tired of it. I haven't bothered to clean my car in several months because I know the minute I do it will look the same way in a day or so. I don't know if I have said this before but winter is my least favorite season. I don't like the cold. So please spring, come quick!!!

And so a new chapter begins.

Today I start my first class. A little bit nervous but I am sure I'll be fine. I have 3 courses this semester. I have a college math course (have I said that I am terrible at higher levels of math and that I hate it?), a written communication class (can anyone say EASY!?), and medical terminology (which I think I will truly enjoy). The bad news is I am told I will have to take chemistry next because I didn't take it in high school. I don't look forward to this one. I don't know how long it is going to take to finish all courses in this nursing program. Thankfully I can take it at my own pace.