New Semester, Same people

I had sooooo many things to post about my first couple of nights of class this semester. I had a LOT of frustrations to vent about. THEN, I read my "Best friend that lives far away"'s blog, and realized - "If you don't have anything nice to say...." and decided that, like her, I should ZIP IT.

SO, I'll say JUST THIS: If I make it through this semester without losing my ever-loving mind, it will be a small miracle. :]

I'm taking my first 'criminal justice' classes this semester. It's totally different from my social work and psychology stuff I've been taking, and I'm really excited about it. In my "Intro to Criminology" class, he has assigned us the "Key Terms" at the end of each chapter. There are between 10-50 words in every chapter, and 19 chapters. They aren't due until the end of the semester - in May. I have all the terms typed, and the definitions for chapter one, and part of chapter two finished already. YES - this doesn't seem like 'homework', it is FUN. I know, I know, I'm a freak. BUT - Just think about it - when you find a topic you really like to learn about, and you get to learn MORE about it - why stop?? I have two friends who are taking the same class, with a different professor - who has NOT assigned the key terms - and they are going to type up the terms just for their own personal use. SO, see!!! I'm not crazy. At least I'm going to get a grade for it! ;)

I have my favorite professor this semester again! I think I like him best b/c he doesn't put up with any 'excuses' or 'carp' from anyone. He tells you the rules, and what he expects from you - and doesn't let you get away with being a lazy, white trash, whiney idiot. (shoot - I'm starting to slip into the 'not nice' thing....) BUT - he likes me, and my friends - mostly b/c we COME TO CLASS, DO THE WORK, and DO NOT COMPLAIN. Afterall, this is college. And we're "grown-ups". Not too difficult. Well, if you care about your grades anyway.

We got a new dog this last year. Char-Lay is half St. Bernard, and half Bernese Mountain dog. She is the CUTEST baby in the world. Well, I use the word 'baby' loosely. She only weighs 100 pounds, and is 8 months old. HA! Here is Charlie trying to get her 'rightful spot' on the couch.

Alright, heading to bed. Trying to think of a good story to share - need to be 'funny' for you guys! Will write more later!

~ Misty

My apologies...

My most sincerest apologies for not posting since....*gulp*.....June of 2010. I'd make a lot of excuses, but it just boils down to not wanting to write what was in my head. Being lazy. Being busy. The usual.

SO - I finished my summer classes with an A in my online class and a B in algebra. Funny thing is, I heard that she flunked me b/c I stood up and told her off in class! HA! That's not quite how it happened, but she did NOT flunk me. THIS is the algebra story. I have to write this down, b/c it needs to be remembered for future generations! :)

First, let me say that professors at colleges (unless they are TEACHING politics) are ethically not allowed to stand in front of your class and tell you how you should vote, or question WHY you voted (or will vote) the way you do/have. Second, it is the most annoying thing in the world to listen to people bitch about every single thing going on in the world - their local government, the state, national. Yes, you don't like it - I can't fix it - move on. TEACH THE CLASS!!! WELL - On August 2nd, we were in Branson for our normal summer, week-long, vacation. It was Tristan's birthday. It was also the last night of class before our final in algebra, and we were going to review for the final. SO - in the middle of vacation, and my son's birthday, I made the 2 1/2 hour trip home JUST for class. THEN - our professor - idiot that she is - stood in front of the class and told us that OUR President is going to have us thrown in jail if we don't have insurance. Now, you can argue all you want - but that is NOT what the outcome is going to be - and I think having health insurance is WAY more important than CAR insurance (and that is mandatory to have a car!) ANYWHO - this young, impressionable, 18 year old girl says, "OMG - I don't want to go to jail, what will I do!!??" I had already listened to about 15 minutes of political trash talk already and was a tad annoyed. HA! I said, "Oh, for the love of GOD - you will NOT get arrested! That is ridiculous scare tactics! I paid $700 for this class to learn ALGEBRA, I left my family on my son's birthday, and our vacation in Branson to come and review for this final! PLEASE, for the love of everything holy, shut up about your politics and TEACH ALGEBRA!!"

After a moment of stunned silence, she went back to teaching class. And I got a B on my final. So - don't listen to the rumors. She didn't flunk me - and if she had - it wouldn't have been pretty.

Vacation ended up being pretty great. The kids got to go to Silver Dollar City for the first time - I went out to eat with my Bestie Kelly. Had a great Italian meal in Branson, and then hung out until Kent and the kids got back. We did our usual Swimming, reading, games, shopping, go-Karts, etc. It was a productive Summer vacation!

The fall semester for school was pretty good. No really exciting stories - just the normal class stuff. ALTHOUGH - I did have a new professor - who is pretty cool. It was her first semester teaching. She was teaching "Family Therapy" and I really enjoyed and learned a lot in her class! Had to do some writings about our life - another reason I didn't blog. I had to write for classes! Also had to create our 'Genogram'. Made up our family tree and marked those with addictive behaviors, mental illness, and any criminal history. It was interesting.

For the first year in 5 years - I had a good Thanksgiving. No earth-shattering news/happenings in the month of November, so I finally felt like I could breath after dinner. Now, Christmas on the other hand - that sucked.

All in all - this year has been up and down - stressful, crazy, fun, horrible, and 'normal' for our family. Looking forward to the next year and what it holds. My Resolution for the year is to try to blog at least once a week - and happy things. Funny things. "NORMAL" things. HA!

Oh - and that reminds me - did I mention we got a new dog? And two birds. Yeah, it's still a zoo here.

More later!

~ Misty