I know it has been a while, but a lot has kept me busy.
My biggest reason for not keeping up is that I have injured my wrist somehow. At first the doctor thought it was Carpal Tunnel, now they are not so sure. Either way, I figured I should not be typing very much. It has been almost four months since it first started hurting, and it does not seem to be getting better.
Josie started Kindergarten. She did not like it at first, but she has warmed up to the fact that there are no toys to play with. She loves her teacher. Her favorite thing to do is go to gym.
Jakob is know in 4th grade. I can not believe how big he is getting. He will be 10 in one week!! I am the "room mom" for his class and am currently planning the big Halloween party for Friday.
United just merged with Continental and there have been many changes for Jeff because of it. We haven't found out the status of his position yet, but Jeff says that he isn't worried. He had a major move two weeks ago. He moved into the Willis Tower (better known as the Sear's Tower).
I am currently taking an English class at school. I absolutely hate it. My teacher is an idiot. But, I guess I can't like all my classes!
Ruby just had surgery on her leg. We hope that it is finally fixed (it better be for $3,000!, we could have bought 3 dogs for that money!)
October 25, 2010
May 13, 2010
Articles of a would-be reporter. Interview paper...
I have decided to post the articles that I wrote for my Journalism class. PLEASE remember that these are written for a class and the information MAY be wrong. While I tried to make these as truthful as possible, remember, to err is human.
My first paper was an interview of a fellow class member. Enjoy...
Interview Paper:
An instant friendship was formed as I sat across the table from Craig Munson. Conversation flowed and was easily maintained. We even had a few laughs at the "high school" feel that is Harper College.
Born and raised in Vermont, Craig lived an isolated life. When he was only 2, his father died of Leukemia. Left with a young toddler to care for, Craig's mother remarried and later had two other children. As describing his family life, Craig says, "I never felt like I was part of the second family."
Craig was raised in a small community that was predominantly Catholic. Because of the environment, Craig never felt that he could share his most intimate feelings with anyone. When he turned 18, Craig found the courage to approach his mother. "Coming out of the closet was hard. I knew I wouldn't be accepted." Unfortunately, he was right. To this day, Craig has little to no contact with his mother and her new family.
When Craig was in high school he had a job as a cook. When asked by people what he wanted to do when he grew up, he couldn't decide. "I didn't know what I wanted to do. Everyone else had a plan, but not me. I was already a cook, so, why not go to culinary school." Craig received his culinary degree, only to find that he hated to cook.
After realizing that his dream was not his dream after all, Craig decided to go back to school. Now, the 26 year old has almost completed his Associates degree and has applied to medical school. His most sought after school is in Florida so he can get away from the Chicago weather. "I hate Chicago," Craig says when referring to said weather.
Craig's ultimate goal, after receiving his medical degree, is to work with AIDS victims in Africa. He has already participated in fundraising and informational AIDS events here in the United States and hopes to be able to educate the people of Africa and to truly make a difference to their health.
When asked if he could sum up what he thinks of his life, Craig says, "People tell me I'm on the highway to hell, I like to think of it as the stairway to heaven." With an outlook like that, there is nothing standing in the way of Craig's dreams.
My first paper was an interview of a fellow class member. Enjoy...
Interview Paper:
An instant friendship was formed as I sat across the table from Craig Munson. Conversation flowed and was easily maintained. We even had a few laughs at the "high school" feel that is Harper College.
Born and raised in Vermont, Craig lived an isolated life. When he was only 2, his father died of Leukemia. Left with a young toddler to care for, Craig's mother remarried and later had two other children. As describing his family life, Craig says, "I never felt like I was part of the second family."
Craig was raised in a small community that was predominantly Catholic. Because of the environment, Craig never felt that he could share his most intimate feelings with anyone. When he turned 18, Craig found the courage to approach his mother. "Coming out of the closet was hard. I knew I wouldn't be accepted." Unfortunately, he was right. To this day, Craig has little to no contact with his mother and her new family.
When Craig was in high school he had a job as a cook. When asked by people what he wanted to do when he grew up, he couldn't decide. "I didn't know what I wanted to do. Everyone else had a plan, but not me. I was already a cook, so, why not go to culinary school." Craig received his culinary degree, only to find that he hated to cook.
After realizing that his dream was not his dream after all, Craig decided to go back to school. Now, the 26 year old has almost completed his Associates degree and has applied to medical school. His most sought after school is in Florida so he can get away from the Chicago weather. "I hate Chicago," Craig says when referring to said weather.
Craig's ultimate goal, after receiving his medical degree, is to work with AIDS victims in Africa. He has already participated in fundraising and informational AIDS events here in the United States and hopes to be able to educate the people of Africa and to truly make a difference to their health.
When asked if he could sum up what he thinks of his life, Craig says, "People tell me I'm on the highway to hell, I like to think of it as the stairway to heaven." With an outlook like that, there is nothing standing in the way of Craig's dreams.
March 3, 2010
The only kid who hates Disneyland...
We ruined her!
Josie's first time to Disneyland was two weeks ago. She was so excited! As we walked to the "happiest place on earth" she was skipping and singing with an ear to ear smile on her cherub face. We bought our tickets and entered the park; her eyes were huge with awe. Then, we took her on her first rides. Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Cruise, Nemo's Submarine Adventure; she seemed to be doing fine, only slightly scared.
Then, we took her on the ride that she was most excited about. Excited because her big brother was talking about it non-stop; about how much he loved it, how fun it was. As we made our way through the "fast pass" line, Josie started to get a little nervous. You can't really hide the giant waterfall on Splash Mountain, can you?
The ride. We made our way in our "log" boat, Jeff in the front, followed by Jakob, my nephew Kade, my sister, and finally Josie and I sharing the seat in the back. During the entire ride through "zip-a-die-do-da" magic, Josie huddled next to me with her tiny fingers gripping the seat in front of us so tight that they were ghostly white.
The plummet. As we ascended the "vulture-talking" end, I whispered to Josie, "It's just a little tummy tickle." Then, over the edge, straight down, free fall. Josie screamed. I don't mean the we're having fun on a roller coaster scream, I am talking about an ear curdling, "I'm going to die" scream. After the horrific event (how dare I try to call it "fun"), I tried to pry Josie's fingers from the now indented seat and watched as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her whole body was shaking like a scared puppy, and continued to shake for the fifteen minutes after we exited the ride.
We decided that in order to get our Josie to find joy in this "happiest of all places", that we needed a new strategy. I got Jeff to bite the bullet, and we took her on "It's A Small World". As we made our way in our new boat, the light in Josie's eyes started to return. Towards the end (to Jeff's dismay) she started singing the song that gets on nerves everywhere. She was our Josie again. We did not make anymore mistakes, we took her to only rides with a mellow, kid-like atmosphere. She was cured!
Two weeks later... "Mom, can I go to Disney World for my birthday." Who knows, maybe "World" will be different.
Josie's first time to Disneyland was two weeks ago. She was so excited! As we walked to the "happiest place on earth" she was skipping and singing with an ear to ear smile on her cherub face. We bought our tickets and entered the park; her eyes were huge with awe. Then, we took her on her first rides. Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Cruise, Nemo's Submarine Adventure; she seemed to be doing fine, only slightly scared.
Then, we took her on the ride that she was most excited about. Excited because her big brother was talking about it non-stop; about how much he loved it, how fun it was. As we made our way through the "fast pass" line, Josie started to get a little nervous. You can't really hide the giant waterfall on Splash Mountain, can you?
The ride. We made our way in our "log" boat, Jeff in the front, followed by Jakob, my nephew Kade, my sister, and finally Josie and I sharing the seat in the back. During the entire ride through "zip-a-die-do-da" magic, Josie huddled next to me with her tiny fingers gripping the seat in front of us so tight that they were ghostly white.
The plummet. As we ascended the "vulture-talking" end, I whispered to Josie, "It's just a little tummy tickle." Then, over the edge, straight down, free fall. Josie screamed. I don't mean the we're having fun on a roller coaster scream, I am talking about an ear curdling, "I'm going to die" scream. After the horrific event (how dare I try to call it "fun"), I tried to pry Josie's fingers from the now indented seat and watched as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her whole body was shaking like a scared puppy, and continued to shake for the fifteen minutes after we exited the ride.
We decided that in order to get our Josie to find joy in this "happiest of all places", that we needed a new strategy. I got Jeff to bite the bullet, and we took her on "It's A Small World". As we made our way in our new boat, the light in Josie's eyes started to return. Towards the end (to Jeff's dismay) she started singing the song that gets on nerves everywhere. She was our Josie again. We did not make anymore mistakes, we took her to only rides with a mellow, kid-like atmosphere. She was cured!
Two weeks later... "Mom, can I go to Disney World for my birthday." Who knows, maybe "World" will be different.
January 6, 2010
New Year Resolutions...
I love watching all of the "what happened in '09" shows. It's good to remember the good and the bad.
For the first time ever, my New Year's Resolution is to lose weight. Okay, I know I'm not "over" weight, but I am starting to get some rolls that I would love to stop in their tracks. I plan to go to the gym 3 times a week. We'll see how that goes.
I am also going back to school. I have been enrolled in Harper Community College since August. I am, however, scared out of my mind to start taking classes. But, I am enrolled in one Internet course; starting small. I don't know why starting this time is harder than when I started 6 years ago, but, it is. I hope the transition won't be as bad as I am fearing it will be.
For the first time ever, my New Year's Resolution is to lose weight. Okay, I know I'm not "over" weight, but I am starting to get some rolls that I would love to stop in their tracks. I plan to go to the gym 3 times a week. We'll see how that goes.
I am also going back to school. I have been enrolled in Harper Community College since August. I am, however, scared out of my mind to start taking classes. But, I am enrolled in one Internet course; starting small. I don't know why starting this time is harder than when I started 6 years ago, but, it is. I hope the transition won't be as bad as I am fearing it will be.
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