At the beginning of my English Comp course, I had to set up this blog. I started out strong, responding to a couple of other students every week. At this point, I rarely respond to other students. I think that is due to the lack of responses on my own blog. Perhaps my attitude is all wrong. I have not received very much feedback on my blog, and often wonder if my professor is the only one reading. Hello, professor! In addition, the lack of comments makes me wonder if my writing is just too boring. I am not really sure what to write about most weeks, and I just write whatever comes to mind. It is always fun to see that someone replied to my blog so that I know people are actually reading it.
In spite of that, I think I will continue my blog. It is a great way to write about what is going on in my life, even if I am the only one who reads it. I enjoy the "journaling", and I enjoy looking at other people's blog as well. I will continue blogging, although I do not know for how long. I also am not sure how often I will write. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment and I will continue my blog, whether or not anyone reads it. It has become a journal just for me perhaps, but one that I will enjoy for years to come.
~ Cathi
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
WILL STARVE FOR FOOD!
At the end of February, I will be joining our youth group in a 30 hour famine to raise money for Haiti. All of the funds we raise will go to World Vision for their projects in Haiti. They had numerous child centers which have been damaged or destroyed, and they are estimating years of repair. You can sign up to sponsor me for my 30 hours of famine (no food at all!), and the money goes to children who need the help much more than I! Check it out here:
https://donate.30hourfamine.org/students/100597081-002/donations/new
Cathi
https://donate.30hourfamine.org/students/100597081-002/donations/new
Cathi
Friday, January 22, 2010
An easier week?
This week I am looking over my assignments and realizing that they seem fairly simple. This is great since I have to fly solo again this week. I will be a single mom from Sun-Fri next week. This is fairly typical for a military wife, but it is much more difficult when nearing the final term of school. I handled a month with my husband gone for last term, so I am sure that one week will be fine. I am just grateful to have a simpler week for school.
I have to say, I am grateful that God seemed to have worked this out this way. It seems that the weeks I need a break the most - that I am desperate for a break - I actually find one in some area. This week it will be in school. Previously I have found that break from youth work. Sometimes I have enjoyed a weekend or day away so that I have no "mommy responsibilities" to worry about. Regardless, I am enjoying whatever break I can find. For a mother of 4, and someone trying to do so much, breaks are always appreciated!
Speaking of breaks, I am going to go on a women's retreat at the ocean in North Carolina in March. The first weekend in March - it is a women's only weekend with plenty of time to relax, connect with friends, make new friends, and catch up on sleep! Feel free to ask me for more information - it is a nation-wide retreat, so everyone is invited! Maybe I will finally meet some of you there. = )
Cathi
I have to say, I am grateful that God seemed to have worked this out this way. It seems that the weeks I need a break the most - that I am desperate for a break - I actually find one in some area. This week it will be in school. Previously I have found that break from youth work. Sometimes I have enjoyed a weekend or day away so that I have no "mommy responsibilities" to worry about. Regardless, I am enjoying whatever break I can find. For a mother of 4, and someone trying to do so much, breaks are always appreciated!
Speaking of breaks, I am going to go on a women's retreat at the ocean in North Carolina in March. The first weekend in March - it is a women's only weekend with plenty of time to relax, connect with friends, make new friends, and catch up on sleep! Feel free to ask me for more information - it is a nation-wide retreat, so everyone is invited! Maybe I will finally meet some of you there. = )
Cathi
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
New week, fresh start
Today feels like Monday. With the holiday yesterday, I didn't stick to our typical schedule. The kids enjoyed learning about astronauts, and eating astronaut ice cream. So, today I am on official crunch time. I have a ridiculous amount of reading in one class, and have to take a quiz when I finish. Then I have to go over my first draft one last time and turn it in.
So far, I have not had a lot of feedback on my outline from my first draft. I hope that it is good the way I have it. It is worth a lot of points for this class and that is semi-stressful. However, I have done a thorough job I believe. I have a great starting point for my paper. I will be expanding on it throughout the next few weeks, and I will edit and revise according to my professor's recommendations. I think it will be a good paper.
Now I am off to put the babies to bed before I really get to work. Hoping you all have a blessed week!
So far, I have not had a lot of feedback on my outline from my first draft. I hope that it is good the way I have it. It is worth a lot of points for this class and that is semi-stressful. However, I have done a thorough job I believe. I have a great starting point for my paper. I will be expanding on it throughout the next few weeks, and I will edit and revise according to my professor's recommendations. I think it will be a good paper.
Now I am off to put the babies to bed before I really get to work. Hoping you all have a blessed week!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Mid-term week
So I finished our "midterm" week on Tuesday. However, I feel like I am still in midterms this week. My oldest child had his 8th birthday yesterday, which meant I did not get any school work done. I have a lot of major assignments due this week, so today I am trying to focus wholeheartedly to finish them all on time. Tomorrow I will prep for my son's sleep-over. Then Sunday is out as well since we have church and Bible study. That leaves me with Monday and Tuesday to finish it all. So, I feel like I am stuck in midterms still!
That being said, I am still keeping my grades up. I have not yet turned anything in late, and I am confident that I can continue in that way. I am focused and driven. Are condensed classes more difficult? Absolutely! I have to finish everything for a typical semester in just 10 weeks. In addition, I need to maintain my priorities - and school is number 4 or 5. However, this keeps me going. I know that in just a few weeks I will be done with these classes and onto something new. I will take my week off and enjoy it to the fullest while I prep for the next class. I will continue with that term as I have this term - focused and driven. Knowing that I will finish a class in just over 2 months helps me keep my focus because I feel like I am moving ahead on my degree completion even faster than a typical semester. Really, this isn't true - but it provides the illusion of moving ahead quicker. This is fine by me, since I need all the encouragement I can get.
So, off I head to work on research and continue with homework. Sleep, shower, food - that can wait! Homework, here I come!
That being said, I am still keeping my grades up. I have not yet turned anything in late, and I am confident that I can continue in that way. I am focused and driven. Are condensed classes more difficult? Absolutely! I have to finish everything for a typical semester in just 10 weeks. In addition, I need to maintain my priorities - and school is number 4 or 5. However, this keeps me going. I know that in just a few weeks I will be done with these classes and onto something new. I will take my week off and enjoy it to the fullest while I prep for the next class. I will continue with that term as I have this term - focused and driven. Knowing that I will finish a class in just over 2 months helps me keep my focus because I feel like I am moving ahead on my degree completion even faster than a typical semester. Really, this isn't true - but it provides the illusion of moving ahead quicker. This is fine by me, since I need all the encouragement I can get.
So, off I head to work on research and continue with homework. Sleep, shower, food - that can wait! Homework, here I come!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Fitting School In
I have watned to finish my bachelor's degree ever since 2001, when I initially dropped out of college. I started out as a music major, mainly because I love music and love to sing. I didn't have a whole lot of interest in anything else at the time. Now here I am, 9 years later (I almost said 8!), and I am at the grind again. I have changed my direction completely and studying nutrition science. This is something I am passionate about. I have witnessed what happens to a person when they neglect nutrition, and it is something I want to avoid altogether. I hope to help other people avoid the pain I have seen by educating them on nutrition and healthy lifestyles as well.
This has not been an easy task. I home-school my own children, 2 of which are currently in school. I have a baby and toddler also. I co-run a youth group with my husband. Literally, I am just "fitting school in". I do not have the time to devote to it that I wish I had. It is often an added stress and time crunch. I am cutting back on my sleep in order to get everything accomplished in the hours I have in a day. This is a struggle, because I love to sleep.
However, in the past week I have seen how extreme things can become with a person who just doesn't care about nutrition. I have watched and prayed that ________ would not choose food over health. I leave that blank there because I do not wish to share who this person is. Still, I think this person will be choosing food, and continue to shorten their life and lower their quality of life. They are already so ill, and I wonder if they even think that it could change. I know it could, but it would take some drastic measures - ones I am not sure they are willing to take. So, I press on in my studies, hoping that I will be able to lead other people down a healthier path. I hope to use what I have seen to educate other people and warn them. Regardless of how difficult school is to finish right now, I will not quit because I want to make a difference for people in their long-term health.
This has not been an easy task. I home-school my own children, 2 of which are currently in school. I have a baby and toddler also. I co-run a youth group with my husband. Literally, I am just "fitting school in". I do not have the time to devote to it that I wish I had. It is often an added stress and time crunch. I am cutting back on my sleep in order to get everything accomplished in the hours I have in a day. This is a struggle, because I love to sleep.
However, in the past week I have seen how extreme things can become with a person who just doesn't care about nutrition. I have watched and prayed that ________ would not choose food over health. I leave that blank there because I do not wish to share who this person is. Still, I think this person will be choosing food, and continue to shorten their life and lower their quality of life. They are already so ill, and I wonder if they even think that it could change. I know it could, but it would take some drastic measures - ones I am not sure they are willing to take. So, I press on in my studies, hoping that I will be able to lead other people down a healthier path. I hope to use what I have seen to educate other people and warn them. Regardless of how difficult school is to finish right now, I will not quit because I want to make a difference for people in their long-term health.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Here is our family! This will be our Christmas/New Years picture to send out to friends and family. Somehow I missed the Christmas cards this year, so I am behind. I do not think people will care too much anyway.
Miguel is our oldest, on the left. He will be 8 next week! I can not believe he is already 8 years old; time sure does fly!
I am holding our youngest - Isaac. He will turn one on the 25th. My husband, Gami, is holding Kassandra who just turned 4 at the beginning of December. Next to her is Kayla, who is 6 1/2 years old. We have taken family pictures similar to this every year for Christmas. It is fun to look back and see how much the kids have grown, and we all have changed. Last year I was almost 9 months pregnant in our photo! This is one of my favorite family photos to take every year and I am grateful this one turned out so nice!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Kicking off 2010 with a BANG!
We returned home on Thursday from our travels to see family for Christmas. We finished wrapping presents so we could have our own family Christmas celebration on Jan. 1st, Friday morning. We started out like a typical Christmas morning, enjoying breakfast together and reading Luke chapter 2 together before opening presents. We had an enjoyable morning, even with a sick 11 month old!
Around noon I had a friend call me to ask for help. She is a runner, and was running through our neighborhood. She had a "friendly" rottweiler following her. He wasn't bothering her, but she is terrified of dogs. She walked up to a door to see if someone might know whose dog it was, but the rot tried to get through their door to attack their small dogs. She wondered if my husband or I could try to look to see if the dog had any tags so we could call someone. I ran outside to get my 6-year old into the house, who was in the front yard with our small dog. She got in, but the dog slipped back out as she tried to close the door. He ran up to play with the rottweiler, and quickly noticed his folly. He assumed the submissive display: ears down, head lowered, and very still and quiet. Then, it happened....the rottweiler attacked. He grabbed our dog by the rear and flipped him over. Thankfully I had been able to grab our dog's leash, so I was trying to pull him out from under the rot while kicking the rottweiler in the head as hard as I could. My friend was screaming "NO!" and yelled for my husband, who thought our daughter was still outside. He knew I was going out to help with a rot, and his heart sank. He rushed out, and passed our daughter on the way. He saw me fighting the dog, and knew the dog could turn and tear my leg off if he chose to. He came down and grabbed the dog's choke collar and started to pull him back. I grabbed our dog and ran him into the house. We all calmed down, and started to make phone calls. We monitored the dog, and kept all children and small pets indoors, warning our neighbors to do the same. The dog showed an aggressive behavior - this wasn't a "snap", he was just out for blood all the time! We called animal control, who informed us that it was a holiday and they couldn't come pick up the dog unless he'd attacked a human. Since we didn't want to traverse that road in order to get them to pick up the dog (duh!), we called the police. They made animal control drive out and pick up the dog.
All this excitement, you could say, and we are all still doing great. It was an interesting way to spend New Years Day, and our family Christmas. We were just so grateful that nobody was hurt, and our children didn't watch their new dog (that was a Christmas gift) be killed by another dog. Our dog, Razzle, made it through with one puncture wound, and multiple scrapes. He is on antibiotics and will pull through just fine, though he is traumatized and afraid of all dogs now. We will have to call upon some good friends to reintroduce him to dogs after he heals. Any takers? Let's just say that if you want to keep us away, owning a rottweiler is the way to do it!
Around noon I had a friend call me to ask for help. She is a runner, and was running through our neighborhood. She had a "friendly" rottweiler following her. He wasn't bothering her, but she is terrified of dogs. She walked up to a door to see if someone might know whose dog it was, but the rot tried to get through their door to attack their small dogs. She wondered if my husband or I could try to look to see if the dog had any tags so we could call someone. I ran outside to get my 6-year old into the house, who was in the front yard with our small dog. She got in, but the dog slipped back out as she tried to close the door. He ran up to play with the rottweiler, and quickly noticed his folly. He assumed the submissive display: ears down, head lowered, and very still and quiet. Then, it happened....the rottweiler attacked. He grabbed our dog by the rear and flipped him over. Thankfully I had been able to grab our dog's leash, so I was trying to pull him out from under the rot while kicking the rottweiler in the head as hard as I could. My friend was screaming "NO!" and yelled for my husband, who thought our daughter was still outside. He knew I was going out to help with a rot, and his heart sank. He rushed out, and passed our daughter on the way. He saw me fighting the dog, and knew the dog could turn and tear my leg off if he chose to. He came down and grabbed the dog's choke collar and started to pull him back. I grabbed our dog and ran him into the house. We all calmed down, and started to make phone calls. We monitored the dog, and kept all children and small pets indoors, warning our neighbors to do the same. The dog showed an aggressive behavior - this wasn't a "snap", he was just out for blood all the time! We called animal control, who informed us that it was a holiday and they couldn't come pick up the dog unless he'd attacked a human. Since we didn't want to traverse that road in order to get them to pick up the dog (duh!), we called the police. They made animal control drive out and pick up the dog.
All this excitement, you could say, and we are all still doing great. It was an interesting way to spend New Years Day, and our family Christmas. We were just so grateful that nobody was hurt, and our children didn't watch their new dog (that was a Christmas gift) be killed by another dog. Our dog, Razzle, made it through with one puncture wound, and multiple scrapes. He is on antibiotics and will pull through just fine, though he is traumatized and afraid of all dogs now. We will have to call upon some good friends to reintroduce him to dogs after he heals. Any takers? Let's just say that if you want to keep us away, owning a rottweiler is the way to do it!
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