Merry Christmas! :)

I'm like a kid the first day of first grade

Next week school starts and I'm feeling quite nervous yet excited. I'm not sure why, because this is not my first year. I've been in college for a while now. However this semester will be a little different because of several reasons:

1. I'm taking classes that I picked out myself instead of only classes off the degree plan

2. My classes are all online and I've always wanted to take an online class.

Next Monday I'll be able to access my classes on the website and I'll attend the orientation and we'll meet the first day. After that everything is online except for the proctored tests in one of the classes.

I'm super excited!

I'll be taking three classes: Maritial and Sexual Lifestyles, Developmental Psychology, and Introduction to M.I.S. (Computer class). It's incredibly liberating to have picked out something that I just saw and thought would be interesting.

Anyone else excited about this next semester? What classes are you taking?


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Summer is Almost Over

Next week school is back in session and I'm actually excited. I've been really missing the routine and surprisingly I've also missed the academic rigor. I'm sure half-way through the semester when I'm surrounded by piles of note cards and textbooks I'll just be praying for finals to come. However at the moment I can't wait for next week to come.

To sum up whats happened this summer....work, work, work!

But in the midst of all that work some great things have happened and I've had quite a few adventures: 

• My sister graduated high school. 
• I went to A-Kon in Dallas. 
• Attended various (inexpensive) sporting events. 
• Hung out with friends and made merry ; )

Also, my car broke down about a month ago and stranded my in Belton, Texas. BF and I were driving down for a wedding and when we got to town we were an hour and a half early so we just drove around town looking for something to occupy ourselves. As we drove down a residential street trying to get turned around so we could head to Walmart we hit a bump. No big deal right? There are bumpy roads everywhere. When we got to the stop sign BF put his foot on the gas to accelerate after stopping and the engine revved. I hoped that it had just shifted to neutral, but alas the car was in drive. Reverse still worked so he backed into a nearby parking lot.so we were out of the road. After looking under the hood and deciding that we were pretty much screwed three hours away from anyone that could help us, I get a phone call from a friend who was also going to the wedding asking if we're there yet. (What a Godsend!) After telling her what's happened they came and picked us up and we went to the wedding. 

Afterwards we returned to my poor car that wouldn't go forward to gather up any valuables and then we headed out. They dropped my off at the Walmart in Hillsboro so I could meet my folks who were going to help me tow it back home and I bought a change of clothes so that I wasn't stuck in my dress. I went back to the farm with my parents and BF went home with our friends because he had to Guard Duty at 7AM the next day. 

We woke up and I helped take care of the goats and then we started getting my Dad's 16' flatbed trailer ready for the long ride to Belton. We arrived back at my car around noon and after poking around for a little while seeing if there was anything we could do, we loaded it up. Being a small town we accumulated quite an audience and several people were nice enough to help us as we backed it off a small retaining wall, that was just right height, and onto the trailer. 

My poor car!

It was dark by the time we got back to the farm so I didn't get back home until Sunday. On Tuesday we pulled it to the transmission shop and they set to work. I had to have my transmission rebuilt which was very expensive. But I picked it up that Friday and it goes forward now. I'm glad I didn't have to buy a new car, but my savings account makes sad faces at me when I log in to my online banking. 

But all turned out well and thanks to good friends and my parents I made it home safe. 

This summer has been pretty good even so. It even rained this last Saturday! Now we just need about 20 more inches of rain so that the land will come back to life! : )

Any one else have some adventures this summer? 

It's raining!!!

Underrated Movie

Last night after Yoga class I came home sweaty and happy only to find that when I walked in the door that someone had left the television turned on. When I looked at it I realized that a movie was about to start so I sat down to see what it was. When I realized that it was Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, which is a movie I've had on my "movies to watch" list since it came out I naturally had to stay and watch.

I don't think that people gave this movie enough credit. It was a pretty good movie. Now granted I never read the books so I don't know how it measures up to the original story, but I thought the story line was good and that the actors did a good job telling the story and keeping me interested. 

Of course it could have just been all the feel good endorphines running through my body from just exercising, but I don't think so. 

What did you think of Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief? 

The Yoga Project

A few years ago I took a yoga class at UT Arlington and I absolutely loved to practice. Since then I have discovered that my cable provider has free ExerciseTV yoga videos that you can download so I've been doing those every once in a while, when I had the house to myself (which is next to never). I like practicing in a group setting where we are all flexing and bending towards our own inner peace. However, I don't like having me inner peace intruded upon by staring roommates that can't seem to make themselves scarce for an hour and insist on sitting on the couch to watch me stretch and contort myself while I try to balance on one foot as if their piercing eyes and the confounded looks on their faces aren't invading my practice. I've asked several times for them to join me but they refuse, so then I ask them to go somewhere else and stop staring. But the next time it's the same story over again so I eventually stopped practicing at home which meant I had stopped altogether.

Until I heard about The Yoga Project, a studio in Arlington that practices Baptiste Power Yoga done in a room heated to 95 degrees. It sounds pretty intimidating when you read the description, but they offer a $3 Basics Class on Saturdays that sounded like a good way to check it out. I invited a couple of friends to check it out with me that were also excited about trying a yoga class. If it was terrible and we hated it then we only lost an hour and $3 so we set out not really knowing what to expect.

When we got there we filled out the waivers, paid the $3, and went inside to lay out our mats. When we got inside we noticed that people had their mats laid out but on top of their mats they had long towels that covered the mat and a hand towel and water bottle sitting next to their props. When we asked what was up with the mat towel the lady in front of us told us how much we would be sweating and that they mats can get slippery. So we followed their lead and laid out towels as well.

During the class we did sweat! But it was absolutely incredible I left the class feeling detoxified and like I had a great work out. I've been back twice so far and I really kick myself that I didn't sign up for the $39 unlimited classes for a month offer that you can only get your first time. But since I'm still a student its only $10 a class for the regular classes and I have my eye on a class tonight that I would like to attend.

Practicing Yoga really does wonders for my health, happiness, and sanity. I am so glad that I have once again found a way to practice and I highly recommend stepping onto the mat to anyone.

Namaste

My New Little Garden

After going to the grocery store and getting remarkably little for $52.76 I have decided that there are a few things that I can do to alleviate the strain on my little paycheck: 

1. Check the store circulars to see if any stores have what I need on sale
2. Check for coupons before I head to the store
3. Grow some of my own food

Now do not worry, I'm not about to go coupon mom on this page. : )

I have however begun what I hope will become a prosperous garden. Today I planted two tomato plants in my little patio. Even though there is not a whole lot of space in my back yard there is enough for a few extra plants. If this goes well there is one particular bush that I would not mind putting out of its misery in order to reclaim some extra garden space. 

I went to Ace Hardware today and picked up two little tomato plants, some fertilizer, a soaker hose, and 2 tomato cages.  When I got home I cleaned up the little planter, trimmed the bush that is already there, and planted my two little seedlings. Then I wrapped the soaker hose around the cages so that I just have to turn the faucet on and they'll get a nice big drink. 

If this works out, I plan on also planting potatoes, peppers, and strawberries. I thought about corn, but they get a little to big and you have to plant corn early in the spring around Valentine's Day. 

I also rescued this little guy from sure demise since it was right were my tomatoes were going to go. I figured I'd grow it like a bonsai, and it will have a nice indoor air conditioned life.  

I'm not sure what kind of tree it is, but its a cute little one and has nice leaves. I really hope it survives the transplant.