Welcome Back, Autumn!

Words cannot express how thrilled I am that autumn has finally showed her beautiful face! The sky is crisp and clear for the first time in a month, the air is clean and cool, and the breeze is positively delightful. I can wear winter clothes again (I love sweatshirt weather!), and it's not unbearable to simply be outdoors. The windows are open - well, at least until the skunk visited last night - and I can hear the birds and the wind and I am just plain happy.

Some people experience depression when the cold air returns. Not me - I thrive on it. I feel lighter and happier and alive.

So far it's been a good week. I turned down fast food and made generally good choices (though I need to work a little harder at getting enough water). I've stayed entirely too busy to exercise, though, between class, a project, studying for a test, and year-end inventory at work. Lots of overtime and long, late nights are the norm this week. Saturday I'm having a yard sale (if the weather continues to cooperate). One entire room of the old house is packed with junk to get rid of. Here's to hoping someone finds treasure in my trash!

Hellooooooooooooo, fall!

Just because I'm not a Democrat...

...it does not mean that I am illiterate.

Neither am I uneducated. I hold a bachelor's degree in business and am working toward a nursing degree. I know many more who think like me and hold doctorate degrees in a variety of fields.

I am not a racist because I disagree with the President. I do not care that he is biracial - that makes no difference in my opinion of his time in office.

Owning guns does not make me a violent person.

Just because I express my opinion - sometimes emphatically - it does not mean I am a hate-mongering, un-American, riotous person who does not deserve to be a citizen.

I watch Glenn Beck's show on FOX. That does not make me one of the "sheeple." I am inundated with liberal media everywhere I go - media that shows only one side of the story. To be entirely fair in my assessment, I need both sides of the issue.

I do not believe global warming is the issue the media has made it out to be. That does not mean that I am careless with my resources or that I am unwilling to treat the planet and its inhabitants responsibly.

I believe the best way to "fix" the ails of our society is for government to get its nose out of every single aspect of our lives. This includes health care reform - if you want to improve it, keep the government out. This does not mean I am above caring that people do not have insurance.

I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. That does not mean I am homophobic.

I am tired of being singled out by the media and other liberal Democrats. I am tired of being called illiterate, inconsiderate, un-American, ultra-right-wing, and terroristic. I am tired of constantly being accosted for daring to speak up in favor of less government and a closer adherence the Constitution.

Enough is enough! If you can't find anything better to do than call me names, then shut up! For eight years I have listened to the media and Democrats rant and rave about how awful President Bush was. Yes, he made mistakes. No, I did not agree with everything he did. But he was never afforded the respect his office demanded. Now the tables have turned, and President Obama can apparently do no wrong. To dare to call him out is be deemed a racist pig. When conservatives stand up and refute the ideas and laws and bills that are being shoved down our throats, the best the liberal media can do is call us names and make fun of us! There is no honest debate; no refutation of our arguments. It's nothing more than belittlement and name-calling.

And I'm sick of it.

Just Gotta Share

I gave my friends the files for the photos from the engagement shoot... and they had trouble getting them printed. Wal-Mart said the pictures looked professional and thought they had scanned them or something.

Hee hee... they thought the pictures looked professional!

Weekend Recap

I wanna scrapbook!!!

No time. Must do homework. :) This weekend was soooo busy! Both of the photo sessions went beautifully. Pics of the first are already up on my photo blog, but it will be a couple of days before I get to start processing the second session. I also baked cookies (yum!), and managed to get most of the data for the medical interview entered into the form. A few finishing touches and it will be ready to turn in - five days early, I might add! lol

Tonight is my first clinical skills test. I have to prove I can wash my hands. It's not difficult, but it definitely isn't as obvious as you might think. Pretty sure I can pass, though. (wink, wink)

Gotta go now. It's time to wake up my boys for the day. Maybe I'll get to scrapbook later this week. Cross your fingers for me!

Thirsty Cat

Some things are oh-so-tempting....

It's here, it's here!!

I have a new camera... woot!

Check out my photo blog for some pics: First Photos. We're going to the fair tonight, and I'm looking forward to playing there, too. (Assuming, of course, that it does not rain.)

Itchy, Excited, and a Wee Bit Tired

Ever had a bug bite the inside of your nose? Seriously... how do you politely scratch that?

...

The weekend wasn't terrible, though the kids fought a good bit and were, on schedule, up at the very crack of dawn each morning. Gabe & Katie were beside themselves with excitement that their Aunt Amanda was coming for a visit. I let them wear their pajamas all day Saturday, which won me the Cool Aunt of the Year award. (Or is that big sister?)

While I was there, my scrapbook order from Scrapbook Pictures came in. They are hands-down the best developer on the web. I'd been accumulating digital pages for more than a year, b/c I usually wait for a sale to place an order. Mom usually likes duplicates of anything with Gabe & Katie, so I just had the order shipped to her house. Right on cue, it arrived Saturday afternoon. I love seeing my pages printed... it's so different from looking at them on the computer.

Oh, and guess what? Jeff & I got an early Christmas present - a really nice Brinkmann gas grill! Woot! It's one of those things we have been putting off for years... at the beginning of every summer, we swear we'll get one, but there never seems to be money for it. Since Mom & Dad are coming to my house for Christmas this year, and it would not be Christmas without grilled filet mignon, they just had to get us a grill that would do the steak justice. :)

Got lots done today - worked at the old house for a while, got grocery shopping done, and am slowly catching up on laundry. Going to try to pick up this evening before bedtime.

One more guess what? - Thursday I get my new Nikon D90!!!! WOOOT!!!! And - I have an engagement photo shoot on Saturday and a family shoot on Sunday. (I might be the slightest bit crazy for doing those with a camera I've had for 24 hours, but I'm crossing my fingers there time Friday to practice with it.) I am really excited at the prospect of taking pictures again. I've missed having the camera be a permanent extension of my right arm. :)

Okay, gotta go. Much left to do before bedtime. Hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend!

Seriously Questioning My Sanity

I. Am. So. Tired.

Class days absolutely wear me out! My workday starts at 6am, and I have to rush from here straight to class. It's 10:30 or later before I get home, and I still have to do my nightly posting before I can go to bed. That much thinking is utterly exhausting!

This weekend, instead of resting, what am I doing? I'm going to watch my niece/sister & nephew/brother so my parents can have a break. Thing is, those two heathens are up at the butt-crack of dawn - and worse, they're an hour ahead of me! So instead of sleeping in, I can look forward to being out of bed by 5am my time.

There is no rest in sight for today, either. I have assignments to turn in (since internet access is iffy at Mom's), grocery shopping, laundry, and packing - not to mention that Jeff will almost certainly ask me to clean the house before I leave.

I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open!!!

Okay... enough complaining. I have my coffee, after all. [insert weak smile here]

School is interesting. I am not as socially challenged as I thought I might be. I like the instructors, and there are several of my classmates I find quite agreeable. So far the homework isn't difficult, just time-consuming. The amount of reading required in a 48-hour period is almost unbelievable, and so far the topics are not overwhelmingly fascinating - but give it time and I think it will be. I really enjoy seeing Jeff during my breaks, even if it is just briefly.

Braeden seems to be adjusting well to school and the new routine. I do think we are going to have to correct some attitude problems, though. He was a bit of a monster when I talked to him on the phone last night. I'm not sure what's going on with him, exactly, but it's going to have to be curbed quickly!

I must go now. It's shaping up to be a horrendous day of work, and I have much to do.