survey says.....

the verdict is in..... i have passed this semester with flying colors. i was so worried about my history class, i even told my professor early in the term that i would be ecstatic if i passed with a c. well, my ecstatic-ness is on high right now. i was able to view my grades this morning.... (drumroll please)

GCom B+
GHist A-
GWRTC A-
Psych C

which gives me a 3.215 for the term and a 3.362 cumulative. i told my brother about my grades and he said "this is what happens when you're older and goin back". i have NEVER EVER gotten better than a C in any history class, so i was jumpin up and down when my mom just happened to stop by. i really want to see my final exam though, curiosity is kickin in. i had already figured out what i was getting in my other classes, it was just confirmed. my GCom and GWRTC professors used the 'blackboard' feature so it was easy for me to figure out my grade without waiting.
so here's to next semester! i have math, biology, and another writing course. i am so gonna rock the semester!

i be done!

at least for the semester. with end of the term projects and studying for finals i have seriously neglected cleaning my home until today. well, i just cleaned a bathroom that was going to be used by guests. so now that i have time....

anyways, my communications class was just so much fun. i got a B on my last speech, totally earned it. i forgot a few key elements and that cost me some serious points. but overall, i did great. the final was practically a no brainer, had i gotten an A it would have been a complete no brainer. i didn't stress over it and just went over the study guide. i had two hours to complete it and i was done in 45 minutes.... gotta love computer lab tests. i got an 83, which gives me a B, and that pretty much secures me in the B department for my final grade. i'll know for sure in a couple of days or so.

my writing class had no final!!! we did have a grammar test which i got a C on, out of ten problems i got seven right. better than i thought i would do! i'm still waiting about my revision paper, i tweaked my 'david' paper because i had no desire to delve further into christopher columbus' past. i got an A- on my digital story, the one about my grandparents, only because a few spots the pictures didn't match the narration. it was hard to find enough pictures that worked perfectly with the story.

as for my history.... i will miss that class and the awesome professor. have to admit, little crush on the guy, but that already went away. the class was tough, the tests insane, but overall i had a blast in the class. the final was on a saturday morning and i was very prepped. the only problem was having two hours to write a ton of information. i spent an hour and a half on the first question (the 50 pointer). all during the test the professor and his teaching assistant would make comments and get us all laughing. made the test itself a bit less intense. also, the punk that he can be, the prof decided to announce to the whole class that i was having bathroom issues the day before since i was carrying around a roll of toilet paper.... i had allergies and i ran out of my regular tissue. ten minutes after the announcement, he place an immodium cap on my desk. i gave it back to him and wished i had said the great line i came up with after the fact. oh well, i hope to know my grade before new years... he's slow with the grading.

next semester i have decided, by force, to take it easy. i have three classes, one is an online math class. i was aiming for 4 classes, but that fourth was proving to be difficult to get in. figured i would wait until next semester to take it. but i will have a biology, math, and a higher level writing class. mom is happy that my classes are only three days a week and starting later in the day. i'll still be spending hours in the library in between class time, but two days off is gonna be great. maybe now i'll get some more pictures of my kids up.

one week to go!

i got my history exam back on tuesday.... totally passed!!! a 92.5 to be exact. when i saw my test the professor actually said "terri, you're not gonna pass out on me are you". i have never gotten a B in any history class. i was thrilled! anyways, two more lectures then my final exam. not thrilled about it being the first one on saturday morning. well, i'll just do what i did for the last one, read my notes every day and pray to remember it all.

my communications class is still fantastic. i was the first speech on the first day back from thanksgiving break. i think it went over well. mom was a bit miffed that only 12 of the mini pies we made were gone. those that had them said "oh, they're so cute" and one guy looked at me with his mouth full of one and gave me a thumbs up. now all i have left for that project is the critique and then a grade. we had our third test yesterday and i got a (sniff sniff) C. i should have known the test was gonna be right after thanksgiving, but i was still surprised when the teacher announced it on wednesday. that only gave me two days to study. at least i passed. a week worth of speeches left and the next week to study for the final on friday the 16.

my writing class has finally eased! i properly stressed over my digital story and got it uploaded to youtube. you can watch it, but please keep in mind that i had a lack of pictures. i know, shocking considering how many pictures my grandparents actually have. but usable ones for my project.... slim indeed. well, it's done and i should expect a grade by monday. all that's left for this class is a grammer gram test (yes, a test on grammer) and a revision of one of my papers. the revision won't take long... just adding a little bit more to my 'masterpiece to master joke' paper on the david sculptures. no final for this class!!!

so, only two finals, a week apart, then three weeks off before the chaos starts again. love it!

my break so far

so this week i had off from school. but i was still doing school work for the day i go back. i have a speech about how to make apple pies to write up and finish the power point portion. it's mostly pictures, but the outline has to be full and complete sentences. FUN! the other project is a 'digital story' that i'm doing on my grandparents. i have 5 out of 9 paragraphs done, well narration with pictures, which is amazing since i didn't get started (really get started) until last night.
monday was spent watching a friends little angel then takin my kids over to my grandparents to clean their house.
tuesday was my shopping day this week, i was able to get the narration recorded that night (thank you jeppson family for the use of your microphone!).
wednesday was spent getting pictures of my grandparents for my project, figuring out if i was going to take my kids up north, then actually going. jeff wanted the kids with him this year because all of his family was going to be present. i had no problems with that. so, since wednesday night i have been kid free.... NICE!!!
thanksgiving day was spent cleaning my house for a few hours then heading over to my grandparents for turkey. it was nice to only need my phone, license, and what i needed for the food i was in charge of (mashed potatoes). i didn't have to worry about what sofia was getting in to and possibly breaking, didn't have to hear any whining or fighting.... just some fun visits with my family. i was proud of myself for not stuffing myself silly with food. i had one!!! plate full and was done. after everyone went home i helped my aunt janet a little with the fake tree at grandma's. but i wanted to work more on my narration project so i could go out on black friday without guilt.
so this morning i worked some more on my projects. at 9:45 my mom picked me up and aunt janet, mom and i went out. i did pretty good, two of my kids chirstmas shopping is done. i just got home a half hour ago (6:30). now i'm gonna watch a christmas movie while i get the tree put up. i told the kids that we would decorate it for sofia's birthday....

a week of nothing to come

this is my last week before a nice week off for thanksgiving. i can't wait, but it won't be totally school work free. with two projects due right after the break.... i'll be gettin a bit chummy with my computer.

my communications class is one of my projects. i just finished up my 'this i believe' speech, got a big fat A on the paper part and waiting on the speech grade. my professor suggested i submit my speech to the 'this i believe' website, which i just did, and i'll hear in about six weeks whether they will accept it. i don't know if he made that suggestion to anyone else, but i like to think i was just special enough. next up is the informative speech. when i asked if we could be funny he said "oh please, yes!" so mine is going to be on 'how to make an apple pie'. not many college freshman know how to bake much, let alone a pie. this needs to be a power point, so i have some pictures to take, an outline to write and a lot of practice ahead of me. i have two weeks. oh, just took my second test on friday, got another B... i'm happy with that.

my writing class is the other project. for our third paper we need to write a short narrative. then we need to add pictures to it then upload to youtube. i have the narrative part done and will have the conference on it tuesday. this whole week class is canceled for the conferences and because no one will be here friday before the break. so i have two weeks for this project as well. my only problem is that the program i need to it isn't working right. it's a sound thing. but i'll get my computer-geek husband to help me out and see what we can do. after that, a revision for one of my projects and we can call this class done!

history is just peachy. no word on my test results yet, i'm starting to get paranoid about it. i know i answered the questions pretty thorough, but i'm not sure it's what he wanted. the unknown is awful!!! so far we have talked about FDR and the new deal, all the different groups that fought in WWII and the boarder crossings in arizona (the discussion section). i only have the final left... on a saturday! how did we luck out with that?! anywho...

so i have two of my classes for next semester lined up. a biology class and an online math class. my brain is not really on the smarty-pants side so i went with the 'dumb peoples' math and science. i know where my limits are, so no correction needed for my 'dumb people' remark. i need to get an override for my next writing class and photography because i'm not on the list for the specific majors that these classes go with. those people get first priority and i have to wait, but since i'm not a 'traditional' student i may get a little help. i tried to be nice with my schedule for my mom's sake, all my classes are on MWF and none at night. she should be happy about that.

another week bites the dust

oh, i have been one busy bee. lots of studying (yes, i do that sometimes) and papers to write. and i finally have an advisor! adult degree program people have to find our own advisors because we are non-traditional students. well, after many "i'm not right for you, try...." i finally have one. she's the ADP liaison and is still baffled as to why i wasn't sent to her from the start. oh well. so my concentration is "archival photographs and historical processes". don't worry, she told me that this can guarantee me a job because some of the classes and internship i would take works with someone with power... she knows people. i am really excited about what i get to do and so is my advisor. now, hopefully this will enable me to get financial aid through jmu!

gcom, communications class, has been fun. we have been working on our 'this i believe' essay, which will be turned into a speech for next week. monday i left early,wednesday and today we haven't had class. my poor professor has damaged his hip (i think) and had to cancel classes. but, no matter what, we will start our speeches on monday! by the way, due to 10 bonus points (taking a test that needed to be taken and the practice before) i now have an A in the class.

gwrtc, my writing class, is becoming intense. mostly cause of the work load, it's not really that bad, it just seems like a lot. we finished up our second paper (still waiting for grades) and we jumped right into our next assignment. this one can be one anything, but it requires pictures and narration. i voiced my "but i can't do this if it requires programs that i don't have" issues, the professor said that i was not to worry. i can download the needed program for free... but that still leaves me with a need for a microphone. details that i can work out later. so it needs to be 5-6 minutes in length and the transcript is due just before thanksgiving break.

ghis, history of course, has been kickin my tail. did i tell you that 70% of the class failed the first exam? yeah, that's right! and i was among the 70%... a big whoppin 47! it soothed erica's hatred of math to know that even mommy fails sometimes. anyways, i was determined NOT to get another F. i studied my notes everyday for two weeks, i even took the notes with me on my shopping days. i was worried that the 50pt question would be on WWI or the new deal, the more recent lectures, which i hadn't been able to study as much. well, the 50 pointer was on the various people in the west... NAILED IT! i wrote so many facts on each group he asked about my hand is still hurting. i spent about 30 - 40 minutes on that question alone. we had 5 10 point questions to answer and i got those too... one or two may have not been answered as fully as he wanted, but i think i got enough down on paper that i will get most points. here's to the power of prayer and preparation!!!! i'll let ya know what i got in like three weeks... yes, he takes that long to grade them.

my kids

i just love this picture. so, as promised, here are some pictures of my children... yes, they are still around. it hasn't been a particularly busy time, i just have been guilty of a lack of picture taking. i promise to get better, but i'm not sure we're gonna have many picture opportunities until christmas. i do have some on my phone, maybe i'll post those. but until then, you'll have to do with my late-in-posting halloween pictures (and that random snow we got right before it).







my little brother and his wife got these pumpkins for my kids. wasn't that so nice of them? i thought so. apparently there was a huge sale where they went. anyways, i wouldn't let the kids carve the pumpkins three weeks early, so they drew the faces. two pumpkins met an untimely demise by mold within a week or two. aidan's is still kickin though, but still not carved.




my little witchy-poo.... literally! oh, she wanted to dress up as the witch, she just had that attitude everyday for about a week. this was erica's costume when she was 4, best $16 spent! three days later and she's still asking where here "coseum" is.













the hit of the ward halloween party and trick-or-treating the following monday! this was my little brother's costume when he was 4. so it's about 23 years old. it even had working lights on it. sooooo, DON'T THROW AWAY the good costumes. my little brother is expecting candy royalties since he made this cute first (ummmm, nope!)











cap hooooook! well, that's what sofia said she was. the shirt was my mother's, the vest was my grandma's, the gold thing on her head was fabric from a roadshow production of annie.... recycling at it's best baby!












erica was the supervisor while aidan attempted to clear our sidewalk












sofia had to have a turn shoveling the slushy snow... she gave up after one push