Evening update

Last paper is still a very slow work in progress. I will buckle down and finish it tomorrow.

I got feedback on 2 more today. 3.85 and 3.95. I feel smart for the first time in a long time :)

Another update and discovery the undiscovered

OK, first the update. I should finish the last paper tonight. Tomorrow, I should be back on schedule. I'm still waiting on feedback from the last two law papers and the first ethics paper. Should hear something today about the law stuff and early this week on the Ethics work.

Now, for undiscovered talent. Her name is Melanie fudge and she is AWESOME! Take a listen.

quick update

Paper 4 is done. Waiting on my proof reader, then I will turn it in. I'll do number 5 tonight and tomorrow then I'll have 3 exams to take during Feb and I'm done.

Catching up

I have been bit by the homework bug. I apologize but I have work coming out my ears. I'm 3 papers down, 2 more to go. I have feedback on 1. 3.8/4.0 so pretty good :) Waiting for feedback on the other two. Should hear something by Monday. I will finish the other two hopefully this weekend. After that, I will get back on schedule. Bear with me,

My bad...

So, I already screwed up the schedule. OOOOPS! Yesterday should have been what's happening with school here. Today should have been green cleaning. I blame my nonworking brain from these papers (which are coming. I am finally making good progress). So, lets switch it and reverse it this week.

Since we finished 1st grade just before Christmas, we are taking it easy in January. We still have some history to cover (Ancient times are SO fun but its so easy to go on a tangent and stay in Ancient Greece or Ancient China for WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too long!) and we are doing a ton of reading. But, the best part of this week is a Christmas present we got. Admittedly, the wicked witch of the west sent it (AKA, my Mother In Law) but its a HUGE box of art supplies. I love a brand new box of crayolas! She sent a big bag of these things called nuudles. They are biodegradable and environmentally friendly. Somehow, they make them from corn starch. you moisten them and they stick together. Its so much fun. This week is lots of art!

Green Cleaning tip: Vinegar

Short post today, still up to my eyeballs in school work :)

Vinegar has got to be the most versitile cleaning supply I use. I use it on my windows and mirrors, counter tops, in mop water, add it to the rinse cycle in my diapers for extra softness and many, many other things. Here is a good link with a lot of uses: http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html

Have fun :)

I am thankful for...

To all my friends out there, I have a little gift. I stumbled across this on someone's blog and I thought it suited all of you (especially you, Rae and you too Kimmy.)

Typically, this will be a list of things I am thankful for. Today, I have one major gratitude. This is going to be a short post because I have 5 papers to write...by the 15th. I know, I should have started sooner. I'll get there, in time :)

I am thankful for my amazing online friends. Melissa, Ryan, Mikey, Rae, Krausie, Kim, Jaw and others. You guys know who you are. I don't express it enough. Having you guys to make me giggle when I need it is priceless. Being able to let my hair down and just be me is so special. That is something I have never had before. I love that you don't care how much I weigh or how I look, you just love me. I love that you know I have faults and you don't care.

I often act tough to keep people out. I am so glad you saw through that. Thank you for all of the times that you have been there to help me crash with style. Thank you for wading through the gibberish when my thoughts move faster than my hands and I'm missing every third word. Thank you for being patient with me when I'm snappy and grouchy. Thank you for understanding when I am short with you.

And I don't want to forget my blogging buddies. Thank you for putting up with my disappearing acts and coming back again, and again, and again. Especially, thanks to my dad who gave me a really cool award today.

And, I especially want to say thank you to Suzanne. I know she isn't reading this because she left this world on Christmas Eve. She was a very special blogger to me, made me feel welcome and always had very kind words to say when I needed them most. As one said, when it rains the liquid from the sky will forever remind me of my liquid. I loved you Suzanne. I hope you knew that. The fact that you have my daddy's feathers with you brings me much peace. Thank you for being my friend!

If you read this and you consider me a friend, please throw a comment me way :) They are moderated but I will get to them soon!

Saturday update

My area of the assylum is quiet today. After a week of the flu, I am now well on my way to recovery. I am still exhausted and sore but I'm getting there. I am also hitting crunch time. I have 5 essays due by the 15th of January. So, I am crazy busy.

The kids are doing great. Growing like really bad weeds. Silas will be 2 on the 25th. He's had a rough winter, spent most of it in a cast on his leg. The cast should be removed in the next week and all will be well. Makenna is just loving preschool. And, Ben, well what can I say. He's my spunky, funny creative waaaaay too smart for his own good kid. We have actually finished the first grade work and we will be starting second grade math shortly. For the rest of his subjects, we will be spending time doing some extra projects, fun reading etc.

Life here has a lot of bumps and I'll probably go crazy in the process but we are making it work together :).

More On Beauty

I am having a very positive day today. My beast is stuffed where she should be, down deep where she can't whisper uglies at me. I am wearing sweats, I never did manage make-up today but I feel amazing. Right now, I feel beautiful and smart, ready to take on the world.

Society doesn't want me to feel that way. They want to sell me the next fad diet, the next big make-up product, hair care item or acne medicine. They want me to fit a label, a definition. I don't need any of that. Emma, the girl inside me, needs to feel loved. She needs to feel smart and empowered.

Sometimes she feels like this:


Other times its more like this:


I want to be told I am gorgeous but I want to not need other people's opinions. I want to be powerful but I want to have safe places to fall apart. I want to be beautiful but I'll decide what that beauty is. Mostly, I want to define me. Not society.

Friday Free For all- Beauty Within

These videos speak volumes to me on my bad days. When I am fighting the beast, I have been known to watch these over and over and over. It reminds me that real beauty is not what we see in movies and on TV, that's make-up and airbrush. Beauty is everyday people with their flaws. Beauty is whats within.

It reminds me that my outer shell is not me. Emma is not defined by that. I am defined by the person inside me. I'm still working on figuring out who she is but I know she is beautiful. If society doesn't see that, it isn't my fault.

My hope is all the little girls who are out there, headed down the road I travel, would stop and see that freckles and pimples and bad hair are part of you. I would hope that, before it is ingrained in them, they could see that people come in all shapes and sizes. I would hope that they could know that they are beautiful regardless.

I leave you today with a video that is my mantra of late. Now and then, I get insecure from all the pain, I'm so ashamed but I am beautiful, no matter what say. Words can't bring me down! I am beautiful in every single way, words can't bring me down. So Don't you bring me down today.

Discovering Your Boundaries

OK, this week my take on this: Boundaries

Boundaries between couples. My husband and I don't have many. The only hang-up I personally have is people seeing me get sick. But, of course, everyone has their own things. I think the most important thing to making a relationship work is to respect each other and the boundaries that the other person sets. :)