Monday, August 30, 2010

Week 2...

And thus my 2nd week of school begins, so far it looks like I aced my first 2 quizzes in my Drug Use & Abuse class.  My Records Keeping class seems to be ok thus far...still a little dubious about how its going to go once we get past learning the whys to accounting and start learning the maths to accounting. (YIKES) And tomorrow is my first quiz in Editing & Proofreading, English is my thing, so hopefully this class will be easy for me.  And then we start our small group project in Communications tomorrow as well.

Also I have to find out where the ARC center is, I'm meeting an old friend there between my 1st and 3rd class (yup there's a hole in my 2nd class til Sept. 28, that's when my power point class starts)

So wish me luck on my quiz, and as my work load gets harder this year, I may not be on here quite as much, and I apologize in advance for that.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Hmmm...

So, I wound up ordering an older version of Gregg Reference Manual from amazon.com, along with a really awesome dictionary.  It is The American Heritage College Dictionary.  And oddly enough I also ordered a shower head, since mine had sprouted a leak.  The dictionary and shower head arrived yesterday.  So I decided to do some work in my shower (naturally).

So this morning was my first time actually showering with this thing.  Well, while the water was warming up I realized that there was a gust of air coming from within my shower...that is how hard the water is pounding out of this shower head.  And on my back the water pressure felt AWESOME.  Then...I turned around; My nips are still sore from the pounding water.  So I think this afternoon I am changing the washer inside the head to a water restrictor.

Also for those of you have still not checked it out.  I have made the goodsearch.com page my homepage on Firefox.  Yup, its that good.  I really like it anyway.  Try it out.

Today's first Dropper:


Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Went on a Book Hunt...

So for my editing & proofreading class, our teacher recommended us getting the Gregg Reference Manual so The Boy and I went to Barnes & Noble today to see if they had it, ha ha. Yeah they do...but for $70.  As much as I love books, and as much as I would probably use that book, I had to say NO.  I've found several copies on Amazon though for $50 and under, so I think I might go that route.  And since I'm a student they have this thing you can sign up for and get FREE 2 day shipping.  :)  And free shipping always makes Raen happy!!!

On a different note, I did pic up a Self Magazine while there (love their articles) and there is an article in this month's issue about Women Doing Good and one woman, JJ Ramberg has helped create a search engine that raises money for a nonprofit of your choice every time you use it to search.  It is called GoodSearch.com I haven't checked it out yet, but I have a feeling that page is going to get bookmarked as soon as I get a second to check it out.  What better way to help out a good cause?  You are going to be searching online at some point anyway (or if your me, several times a day).  If you do check out that search site, let me know what you think about it, I'm always curious about other's opinions! 

Well I am out, but before I go check out today's first dropper's blog:


Tuesday, August 24, 2010

First Day

Yesterday was my first day of online classes, and today was my first of actually going up to the campus.  I was so nervous the whole ride there, stomach in knots and all.  But so far so good I think I'm really going to enjoy this semester.  In case anyone is curious here's a look at the classes I'm taking:

AST 107 Editing/Proof Reading
AST 136 Record Keeping
AST 260 Pres Software (PowerPoint)
CST 110 Intro to Communications
HLT 121 Drug Use & Abuse

So far my hardest classes seem like Record Keeping (Accounting) and Communications.  Wish me luck!

Also for Record Keeping, we had to do an introductory thing and include a pic of ourselves.  So I figured I'd share my pic w/ya'll since the one I have on here is a bit vague:



Today's first Dropper:
  

Sunday, August 22, 2010

New Treasury, New Week

I have a Woodsy Themed Treasury at this link.  A few of the items featured are below:



Forested Away Unexpectedly

Tomorrow is my first day of online classes, I'm getting uber nervous.  Then Tuesday will be the nerve wracking experience of setting foot into a classroom again.  I'm mainly scared b/c I was an honor roll, national honor society, government school going, AIM Scholar, Advanced Studies Diploma type student, and here I am 7 years later, scared that maybe I won't be good at it anymore.  I don't know that I could handle failing.  I'll just have to make that NOT AN OPTION.

LOL.  Wish me luck!

Also here is today's first dropper:

   
Go support their blog!  Thanks!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Friday was a BUSY day...

Ever have one of those days where you are so busy that it just flies by in the blink of an eye?  Yesterday was like that for me.  Me and The Boy went to the college so that I could get my books, figure out where my classes are at etc.  Then we went to Wal-mart so that I could get some notebooks, pens, etc.  We ran into my aunt and uncle while there, so I had to introduce them.  That went better than expected tho.  Then The Boy and I went and ate at this little diner at Flying J's on the way back home.  The food was awesome.  Made a few stops on the rest of the way home: Library, Yard Sales, Thrift Shop.  At said thrift shop I bought the neatest Suitcase, it looks like its from the 40's and it was only $2 since it doesn't have a key.  It is Fam-Line. 

Anyway the rest of my day continued at a very harried pace.  Then as I'm getting ready to go to bed and get some much needed sleep.  I get a text from my sister:

A woman died on me.

That is all it said.  So naturally I text back: WHAT?!?

So she called me and told me about her first day at her new job being a clerk at a local motel.  Apparently, a man came running into the office demanding a room so that he could get his wife in there and wake her up.  She'd passed out 30 minutes prior to his arrival and she was diabetic so she'd done it before.  He told them not to call 911 that he'd woken her up before when she was like this. 

Kace and her manager quickly got things ready for him and handed over the key, he rushed out of the office.  Just a few moments after, a woman comes in and says to them:

"There's a man outside slapping some woman repeatedly while screaming WAKE UP LAURELL.  Just thought ya'll might want to do something about it."

The woman then walks back out of the office.  And Kace's manager sends her to the front lines. 

Kace approaches the man, asking him if he wants her to call 911 or what she can do to help him.  He tells her to NOT call 911, and he needs a man to help him carry his wife to the bed in the motel room.

Kace goes inside to tell her manager what he said, and she gives Kace permission to go to the rooms that are being used to see if there is a man in any of them willing to help.  Kace's search for a man doesn't go well, but when she is returning to the scene of mayhem a man just pulled in who is talking on his cell phone.

Kace runs up to him, asks him if he will help the other man with his wife, and if he can talk him into calling 911.  The man agrees, and while he and Laurell's husband try to carry her into the hotel she starts having convulsions.  At this point Kace decides that not calling 911 is no longer an option and runs into the office and tells her boss to call 911 RIGHT NOW. 

The boss calls and comes out to the parking lot, at this point the woman has stopped breathing.  Her husband begins CPR on her and Kace and her manager start looking for a pulse.  The cannot find one.  The husband continues to alternate between administering CPR and slapping his wife yelling at her to wake up. 

Kace said at this point the woman takes what sounds like 3 big gasping breaths.  "And Cris I cannot even begin to replicate the noise she made after that.  Then everything was still."

So I'm thinking that Kace heard the death rattle up close and personal.  Gives me chills just to think about it. 

The ambulance finally arrived, they tried oxygen on Laurell, but to no avail.  Kace said when the loaded her up they pulled a blanket over her and rode away.  No lights or siren.

I believe that after that being her first day at work, she needs a raise.  That is above and beyond minimum wage pay.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Forest of Hands and Teeth

Another crazy hectic day at work.  But I finished the best book ever on my last smoke break.  The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.  It is oddly reminiscent of the movie The Village but instead of there being no reason for the fence...there is a VERY big reason for the fence, the Unconsecrated.  This book is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where this one village has managed to survive for several generations.  The Unconsecrated are a daily threat, but that isn't the only threat, there are secrets that are kept from the regular people by The Sisterhood and The Guardians.  Secrets that Mary begins to unravel and it makes her crave knowledge of the outside world, especially when she finds that there is a cruel heart that beats within the reasoning behind keeping the secrets.  This book is quick to read, and impossible to put down.  I was nearly late to work this morning because of it.  LOL.  I cannot wait to buy and read the next in this series, The Dead-Tossed Waves.

Well off to Wal-mart with The Boy to get one of those fan thingy's for my laptop.  He's helping me get it all jazzed back up before school starts next week.  While I'm gone please check out today's first Dropper's blog:



Sunday, August 15, 2010

Nice Day...

Today was a nice leisurely day, went to church w/The Boy, his church was celebrating their 100th anniversary.  Which was cool, lots of fun activities :) Then lots and lots of really yummy food. 



I also have a new listing in my shop:
                                                                          See it here

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Foggy Saturday

This week was insane at work.  I've never been so busy, and my feet STILL hurt. 

School is nearing, and as it gets closer, I keep getting more and more nervous about how capable I'll be of pulling through and making it to the end.  Everyone seems to have faith in me so why can't I have that faith in myself.  *sigh* 

I went to see my grandfather this morning.  He seems to be very depressed, and me and the rest of the family are still all very worried about him.  We keep hoping that maybe his new meds will kick in and help.  I try to visit him a min. of once or twice a week, and call him every day.  But he still accuses me of not making any time for him and not caring.  I don't know how to get through to him.  :(

I have been working on some jewelry ideas, and playing around with different thoughts that I've been having on things to make and how to make more quickly, etc.  Hopefully I'll also get better at taking pictures. 

Time to get some housework done

Here's today's first dropper:

  

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Taking advice to heart...

Not going to be a long blog, I've got a lot to do tonight.  I got critiqued yesterday, and I've changed my avatar and banner on my site (please check them out here and let me know what you think) And now I need to make 40+ items, take pictures and list, not that I could do all that tonight, but I can get a start on it.  :P wish me luck!

Today's first dropper

  

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Hoping to get Critiqued.

I posted in the Etsy Forums to get a critique on my shop, if you are on Etsy please visit this link and help me out: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6597599 I would sooooo greatly appreciate it!

I am hoping to get my shop as flawless as possible before I start going to school in 2 weeks, so that I can use my spare time for making jewelry and listing it (and hopefully shipping it) instead of trying to work out kinks in the store.  That would be a great help to me.  And since my hours have been cut at work I could definitely use some extra income if I could get this thing up and going.  Everyone has said this summer has been slow on Etsy, so hopefully I'll start seeing some more action as we move towards the holidays.

Well I am off to clean, organize, and make some jewelry.

Today's first dropper:


Sunday, August 8, 2010

Crazy Day

I drove home from work in tears over something that I saw.  Can't go into anymore detail, all I can say is that there are some sick evil people out there who deserve only the worst that prison has to offer.  My heart was absolutely broken.

So between that and the other people that are irritatingly getting under my skin like the trashy disillusioned scum they are I am starting to doubt my faith in humanity.  But karma is a bitch and they'll get theirs.  I just wish that I felt better emotionally, I'm stuck when it comes to my novel and to jewelry designs.  Grrrr.  I can't wait til school starts so that I can switch gears on everything, that is one of the few things that I'm still looking forward to.  There are a few others but more on those later.

On a brighter note here's my latest treasury items:

Love me always

Friday, August 6, 2010

Birds inspire music


Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Came across this video on this site: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1212468/Birds-wire-song-strikes-chord-listeners.html#ixzz0tWJsrP8q it is so soothing and such a neat story to go with it.  Amazing that someone transition the position of those birds on the power line into such a beautiful piece.  It inspires me to look for the little things of beauty that exist around us.



Today's first dropper: http://www.cravingtech.com/

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Busy Day

Work was swamped today, my legs still ache from my walk Tuesday lol. What a day. I've made some new jewelry pics will come later :) The Boy and I are going to watch a movie tomorrow and do a little shopping. Can't wait. Despicable Me here we come LOL.

On a more interesting not, our local Wal-Mart was witness to a robbery of its bank inside:

UPDATE: Robbery at Woodforest National Bank located in the Wal-Mart on East Stuart Drive

A spokesperson for Galax Police Chief Rick Clark advised that on August 4, 2010 shortly after 2:00 P.M. that Galax Police responded to a reported armed robbery at the Woodforest National Bank located in the Wal-Mart store located on East Stuart Drive in Galax.

Employees of the bank told responding officers that a W/F approached the tellers and produced a robbery note. The note alleged that there was a second suspect who was armed and would start shooting if they did not comply. The suspect was given the amount of money specified in the note.

The female suspect is described as:

White
5’4”
Blonde hair
Scar on left arm
Slender build 140-150 lbs
Black tee shirt
Blue jeans
Approximately mid to late 40’s

At the time of the robbery the suspect had her hair pulled up into a black ball cap, she is seen exiting the store after having removed the cap. Her hair in that photo is described as blonde and long pulled into a pony tail.

Police have not verified that a second suspect is involved.

Anyone who thinks that they may have seen the suspect is asked to contact Galax Police 276-236-8101.




First Dropper: http://spinpic.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Monday, August 2, 2010

Package in the Mail

Got my beads in the mail today, just the thing to cheer me up a little.  :)  Hoping I feel better tomorrow, this headache, and now full body ache is really getting to me.  So I'm gonna focus on my beads, and try to keep my mind off of it.  Hopefully I'll be posting some new jewelry that I've made by the end of the day.

First Dropper today:
BeThere2Day: http://bethere2day.com/
Show their site some love!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Looking Back

Yesterday I was going through some of my old blogs at my writing myspace.  While many of them were "fictional" I could still see the resemblances they held to my life at that time.  It makes me so sad to realize how truly unhappy I was and how I felt that there was no way out of my situation.  It took me a few years to finally gather the strength to leave, to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.  Its been over a year since I left, and to this day I still feel angry with myself.  Angry for not leaving sooner, angry for not being able to fix it, and angry that I still cannot let all that pain and self-hate go.

There are days where I am genuinely ok with things where I don't look back, but those days are getting farther and farther apart.  I am in a wonderful relationship with The Boy, and he treats me better than I had ever expected to be treated, yet this little voice in the back of my head keeps telling me that I'm not deserving of kindness.  My whole view of things was warped in that 7 years I spent with my ex and its getting hard for me to see an end to the way that it has affected me.  I'm not entirely sure which way is up any longer. 

I still hear from people that know him, and the lies that he's been telling about what happened just really get to me.  He has people convinced that I am a cold hearted bitch.  I can just sit here and shake my head in disbelief.  I stayed for a long time trying to help him with his problems.  Problems that were too big for me to deal with.  Problems that a person can only change if they want to.  And at that time he did not want to change.  He wanted to continue the cycle, and the cycle was making him more quick tempered than he'd ever been.  He scared me.  At the end he scared me so bad, that I knew there was only one option for me.  And that option was to leave.

I guess in some ways I just want closure, I just want him to own up to the things that he did, to the things that he put me through, to the lies that he told me during the time we were together, and to the lies he spread after I left.  Perhaps once the divorce is final and I'm not legally still his wife things will feel better for me emotionally, as those invisible ties will be cut.  I'm not entirely sure if that will help or if I'm permanently screwed up in the head from all those years.  I'm going to do my best to hang in there tho.

Top Droppers in July:

Show these guys some love, they've def. shown my blog some :)



Dropper # of drops
AsTheCrackerheadCrumbles 30
Frugal Healthy Choices 25
Simply Shiny Life 19
the crazy suburban mom 18
on the verge 17
Photography by KML 16
Teeming With Stupidity And Weirdness 15
Primarily Symphonic Rock 15
Meow Diaries 14
Three Fates Design 14


First Dropper today:
Zezebel: http://zezebel.blogspot.com/