Friday, August 17, 2012

Pre-application transcript evaluation...

The nursing school that I want to apply to has a pre-application transcript evaluation service that you can use.  It is great because they will evaluate all previous classes as well as ongoing and planned pre-requisite classes to ensure that they meet their criteria for acceptance purposes.

Well - I got my response letter back today and it is sitting unopened on the bed next to me.  I am nervous about opening it.  One of my issues is that I have schooling from Denmark and I am unable to get an "official" transcript from that school in the format that is typically used in the US educational system.  This presents some difficulty as I may need to use an international transcript service to have another evaluation done and this is quite pricy.  The funny things is, that I never needed that for my initial enrollment or acceptance at Southern Illinois University or for acceptance into the nursing school back in Illinois.  Furthermore, I have met all my education requirements for my bachelor's degree in the US and the credits that are reflected from Denmark were not used to fulfill any of my previous degree requirements nor pre-requisite requirements for nursing school.  So it is a little frustrating that these may now inhibit my ability to go back to school .. hopefully they will not.

Anyways I am nervous about opening this letter ... it may be silly really, but truly I really want a shot at going back to school.  The excitement I feel everything I think about going back is just very fulfilling....ok now on to read!!!

I opened it - no reason to fret!  It was just a standard form letter reply attached to the specific pre-requisite evaluation that I had filled out.  All my planned pre-reqs are good to go, but they did not answer my questions about admissions and acceptance of what I have already provided from my school in Denmark.  Hmmm what to do, what to do...thankfully I still have plenty of time to figure it out as the application widow does close until January 5th.

For now I am going to enjoy being done for this term and the rest of my vacation planning for next week.  I tried to get tickets to Alcatraz but they are all sold out :-( bummer but I am sure we will find plenty of other fun stuff to do.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Another term is over...

And I am now two pre-requisites closer to being able to apply to nursing school....I am so excited!  Next up is my Anatomy & Physiology classes and I am really looking forward to these.

My finals for summer term are officially over tomorrow.  My nutrition class was super and I really learned so much useful stuff.  I finished up all my requirements for that class last week and I already have my grade ~ I am a happy girl :-)

I am so happy that I got it done last week because my psychology class has been hectic this week.  We have to work in a group and do lots of online blackboard discussion.  Along with specific requirements for each day this week, we also have to develop a group paper and turn it in as one single document.  That is a bit challenging as we are all on different schedules and making sure that everyone has input and get an opportunity to participate is difficult.  I have really enjoyed the subject matter in this class as well but there were so many more areas that I would have liked to explore... I guess another class for another time ;-)

With school over, I can fully concentrate on our upcoming vacation.  I am so excited to get time away with Rio and the kiddos.  We have lots of fun stuff planned ... now my challenge for that is to get everything to fit in the car...yikes! 

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Ouch...

I barely ate dinner today ... and not for the lack of hunger ~ insert big pout here!!!

As of this afternoon, I am re-living my early teens....I had braces put back on my teeth.  When I was a kid I had them on my top teeth only - but this time, I am adorned on both the top and bottom.

I have been wanting to get braces for a long time now.  Ever since I had my wisdom teeth (yes maybe my wisdom went out the door back then too) removed back in my early 20's, this has been something I wanted to do.  Once my wisdom teeth were gone, all the work done in my early teens, just vanished resulting in a nice big gap in my smile.  I am so excited that it is finally time to do something about it. 

Our new dental coverage is great so I am all over it :-)  I was hoping that invisalign braces would have been an option .. but unfortunately my gap is too wide.  So on went the traditional good old brace brackets.  Thankfully the top ones are clear, still I feel like I am wearing a grill! 

To beautify my smile and entice Olivia into just a little excitement about having her braces put on, I had them give me a rainbow from different colored rubber bands...I am a sight for sore eyes that is for sure but I am all rainbow smiles :-)


Thursday, August 2, 2012

August...

Last year on August 1st I started running.  Slow running and not very far at all...but I started and getting of the couch was a great thing.

This last year has been filled with a lot of moving ~ in more ways that one!!!  We just loaded a little moving truck again the other day.  Rio found some temporary housing in Portland to stay at for a little while as we continue to look for something that can accommodate all of us plus doggies when we go up there.  So we loaded up a little truck with necessities for now.

On the more physical side, I am still running (well ok small confession to be inserted here: for the last month it has been very minimal ... can I blame Rio coming home and bringing bad influence ... LOL!!!) but I am still working out almost on a daily basis.  I have prioritized getting some type of physical activity into my day every day.  We have been surfing, biking and jumping alot and it is all making a big difference in how I feel....now if those stubborn jelly rolls on my belly would melt away that would really make my day! 

I am also moving forward on school stuff...I am almost done with two more classes.  I am actually really enjoying both of my summer classes.  The nutrition class is fabulous and giving me lots of good stuff to think about with respect to our daily dietary habits.  While I think we eat pretty healthy, there is always room for improvement (.....eating at Olive Garden last night is probably not part of that improvement plan - but it was ooohhh so yummy :-)

Now I am off for a run ... my doggies are happily wagging their tails in anticipation.  I need to get back into the running habit so I can be ready for the Warrior Dash in September ... just a month away - I am so excited for that run ... just can't wait to get dirty!