Class Update

Well, the trend did not continue and there were three people who did not bother to turn in their assignment from Friday. One states that she dropping the course and the other two, who knows? I am suspecting that at least one of them will be dropping as well since he has not posted other assignments. Still overall, much better activity than my last class. They have their first written assignment due this week so we will see how that goes.

I am getting smarter about posting all the requirements (Yes, they should already know.) such as the paper has to be in APA format, you have to write in Word, you can't use Wikipidia or Ask.com for a source, and you have to use information from human services organizations since this is a human services course. (I know I am a mean old witch with a hat . . . . . ) This way when they don't do these things, I can just tell them to please reread the post rather than get in a big argument. Plus if they file a complaint, Academic Affairs will see my post and tell them, "Hey stupid! Read the information regarding the assignment." and I get left alone. Basically, if they were warned, they have no legitimate reason to complain, even though I know some will try. This is something that I have learned from other faculty members that save a lot of headaches from "problem" children who like to find any reason at all to file complaints to get faculty in trouble when they don't get an "A" just because they are who they are and so what if they turned in a crappy assignment. I'm learning!

I also read the student's survey results regarding my last class. All of the comments were positive, which is kind of funny since they have to fill them out before their final grades are posted. I wonder if the results would have been different if they were able to fill these out after they received their final grades? Granted only 7 out of the 14 completed the surveys, but hey I will take what I can get! It's kind of funny since one student accused me of being prejudice against here after she found out she got an "F" for the course. She even went so far to say that her getting an "F" couldn't possibly have anything to do with her not turning in her final. Ummmmm . . . . guess what?! This is also the same student who turned in a paper that was taken word for word from another website, but I wasn't able to turn her in for plagiarism since she had referenced where she had obtained the information. (I have since found out that I should have turned her in and she would have been suspended.) At least I know I am not alone. I have read what other teacher's have gone through and know that every teacher gets at least one. It definitely keeps life entertaining!

SALSA!!!!

And there are 1 Doz. Pints for Christmas Presents, too!

(All of the veggies, except jalapenos and garlic were from our garden, and we are still not done with tomatoes!)

A Night of Laughter!

My poor husband is married to a musical theatre freak, so he gets to be dragged to various musical events. This time it was to see Nunsense, starring Sally Strothers as the Reverend Mother. I had seen this play on television and have a recorded version of Nunsense II with Rue McLelahan as the Reverend Mother. They are both hilarious. Even Jim, after the show ended, stated that it was hilarious. I know that a lot of the "Mormons" were scared off from attending, fearing that it was a Catholic only show, but honestly it is not. The author and director isn't even Catholic. If you get a chance, try to see it. Sometimes it just feels good to laugh.

Hmmmmmmm . . ..

Well, my class had their first assignment due last night and everyone turned them in on time! That is such a change from the last time I taught during my student teaching. I even have a full 20 member class. Hopefully, this keeps up.

Ha! Finally, I Got My Way!

Finally, after a year of begging and pleading my husband is getting a physical this Friday for the first time in over 5 years! I don't think there is anything wrong with him. I just want him to get a physical to make me feel better. After the history with my family and the "surprises" that have been life-saving discoveries during physicals, I am a big believer in them.

And The Fun Begins Again

I have a class that begins tomorrow and one that is scheduled to start 10/20/08. It will be interesting having 2 classes simultaniously but at differant stages. Oh well. That also means more money and being that much closer to teaching other classes. (After I teach these 2, I will be eligible to teach all 4 of the classes I am approved for.) Stay tuned as the fun begins!

Need a Wedding Dress?

Anybody need a wedding dress? It's been heirloomed.

Note to Self

Note to Self: Wear gloves when cutting over 20 jalepenos for salsa, especially if you haven't put in your contacts yet.

AAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!!

I am in the process of trying to clean out my craft room. During this hideous process one of the things I have had to do is go through the boxes I was "gifted" from my mother in exchange for her serger. Since the foot was not with it, I have had to go through the boxes that she gave me. I have found 11 boxes of fabric. YES, 11 FULL boxes!

Now this may seem like a great find, but a lot of it is fabric from the 80s and 70s and is greatly outdated. (i.e. 3 boxes of valour) Since she didn't know what to do with it, she gave it all to me. AAAAAAGGGHHH!!! Does any one know of any charitable organizations that would accept fabric? I want to keep some of the fabric, but all of it? . . . No way, especially the valour.

By the way . . . I still haven't found the foot! ggggrrrrr

It's a Good Thing . . . .

It's a good thing that right now I'm not rich. I would hire an organizing guru/interior decorator to "just make it functional and look nice" in regards to my craft room. I can't stand it anymore!

Go Bailey!

It's volleyball season, so that means traveling to see Bailey in action. We just went to a game this past week in Pocatello where her team played Highland. They played a best 3 out of 5 round and Bailey's team won the first 3 games. She is really getting quite good and at one point even served at least 10 times in a row! Go B!

Orange Juice Emergency!!! - Calling all cooks!

A friend of mine had her children leave the freezer open and she needs to use a bunch of orange juice in the next three weeks. If you have any tried and true recipes using orange juice, could you please email them to me at lynne52573 at peoplepc dot com? Please ask friends, neighbors, bloggers, whomever you can think of. I know that we could probably find some on the internet, but it would be nice to have some that people have used and know they are good. Thanks so much!

Latest Creation

To thank our neighbor for helping me with the digital editing for our pictures, I originally was going to make a fondant camera cake but decided it was too ambitious since Jim is not available to help due to being crazy, busy at work. Instead I decided to make her a "fall" theme cake. It was a spice cake with buttercream frosting and fondant leaves and apples. I wish I would have been thinking because I could probably have done a cream cheese frosting for the basket weave, instead of the buttercream. (Cream cheese just goes much better with spice cake.) I was really pleased with how the leaves turned out since I experiemented with the colors and used a new fondont press. They apples were all done freehand, and I was pretty impressed with how those turned out as well. I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think?

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Since it has been officially a year since I quit being a mental health counselor, I have been thinking a lot of the changes that have occurred in the past year. I think one of the biggest changes in my life is how my focus and what I consider important has changed. No longer am I so career-oriented and solely relying on myself for all of my needs. I now work as a team with someone else and have a bigger picture in mind, such as family and home. It is all so surreal since for so long I wondered if I would ever be happily married, let alone content with being at home.

Only a couple of months ago I was offered what used to be the dream job and I turned it down, since I now consider home and family more important. I was even offered another job again today, and again turned it down. It's such a weird paradigm shift.

Don't get me wrong. I still miss my job as a social worker for the PD's office in Las Vegas. I don't think I can ever get the forensic social worker in me to ever completely go away, which is why I volunteer doing status offender mediations and am on the Juvenile Justice Council for my judicial district. It allows me to still be a part of the system without being "in" the system. I get to watch the players tear each other apart and I get to walk away unscathed for once. Instead I get to volunteer for only the things I want to do and do only the work that I love.

Not such a bad life. It's definately a more content and happy life. More than I ever thought it could be, but always hoped for.

Look . . . I can be a Barbie Doll, too!

My neighbor down the street, who is a professional photographer, was generous enough to edit a photo I wanted to put in a shadow box with our leis from our temple sealing. She even gave me perfect skin and liposuction! Now if it was only this easy in real life.

This is the first time I have ever liked a picture of myself and am willing to place it on a wall in my home. Another reason why she is the only one who will be allowed to take family pictures.

Can you tell which one has been retouched?

Scary!!!

Aaaaaaaaaawwwwwww!

Yeah!

It is case lot sale time and I have stocked up for the winter. I even updated my storage room food list. Woohoo!! The only thing I have left is wheat, which should be on sale at the end of the month!

My goal is to have to go out in the cold and yuck to go to the grocery store as little as possible. It so sucks to try and push a grocery cart through snow and ice.

Gender Role Rant!

When I was in high school, I was a huge, vocal advocate of gender equality, especially since I went to a school with a bunch of redneck, sexist pigs who felt that all women were good for was staying home and "birthin' babies". To be smart and successfully as a female was not only frowned upon, but could cause you to be ostracised. (For example, when I visited my parents after graduating from USU and beginning to work at LDS Church Headquarters, my business teacher told me he was disappointed in me and thought I would have done more with my life since I wasn't married or even dating at the time.)

While I have grown older and wiser, I still believe in equality, to a degree, and don't feel that there should be hard drawn out lines as to what a "woman's" job vs. a "man's" job in the home should be. Why am I ranting about this?

Earlier today I was talking to a friend on the phone who was in the midst of an argument with her oldest boy regarding mowing the lawn. He was frustrated because he did not feel it was fair that he always had to mow the lawn and his older sister did not, just because she is a girl. My friend told me that none of her daughters (she has 3) would ever mow the lawn, because it's too dirty and is a "boy's" job. I did everything to bite my tongue and quickly got off the phone.

What I wanted to say was, "GIVE ME A BREAK!" And what happens when your daughter grows up and doesn't get married right away, if ever? (I know it is shocking but there are several strong, active, LDS women that this happens to. I am one of those.) So while she is in her "singleblessedness" and decides to buy her own home, because she needs the tax deduction and it makes more sense financially, who is going to take care of her lawn since she never learned how to run a lawn mower, let alone care for a lawn? Or if what if her husband becomes incapacitated in some way or has to be gone for a lengthy time for work and can't mow the lawn? Neighbors get a little testy if you never mow, water, or weed your lawn. And the cost of someone else to do it is outrageous! (Our neighbor told me his son is getting paid $25/lawn each time he mows.) Not preparing your daughter to be self-sufficient, if needed, is doing her such a disservice! The same is true for not teaching your sons to do housework and cook. And with both genders, teaching them about finances such as savings, checking accounts, and interest!

I realize I am not a parent, but good grief! It's not going to kill a girl to learn to mow a lawn or a boy to cook and clean. Their future roommates and spouses will thank you for it, and so will they when they are able to do things on their own and save money by not having to pay others for things they can do on their own. Also if they are to get married, this is a great way for spouses to help one another out and serve one another. For example, my husband is having work 12 days straight right now and mowing the lawn is the last thing he wants to do when he gets home. Me mowing the lawn this week is just a small way to help him out and show my appreciation for him being able and willing to work so hard.

Plus what a great bonding time and teaching moment! Sometimes working on my car together was the only time my father and I could be in the same vicinity with each other and have a pleasant conversation.

Taking out the trash and mowing the lawn is too dirty and should only be a "man's" job? Have you cleaned a toilet that boys used or changed a dirty diaper lately? Talk about dirty!

Okay, I've had my rant now, so now I'll take a deep breath and go make pizza dough for dinner.

Things You May or May Not Know About Me

1. I hate my red hair. I always wanted to be a blond.

2. I hate casseroles. (I know. That almost is blasphemy in the Mormon culture.)

3. I love to cook, especially baking. There is something about making things from scratch and knowing what is actually in what you are eating.

4. I love gardening. Every year I try at least one new type of flower to grow, but I think next year I am going to add more roses and stick with Gerber daises. I know what to expect and I am getting really good at caring for roses.

5. I love working with kids, but the thought of being a mom terrifies me. Hazards of the job of being a social worker. I've met a lot of parents who just plain suck and are clueless.

6. I love to sing, but hate to perform. (Too many bad memories from "friends" and studying with Michael Ballam or as I call him "the devil in carnate.)

7. Crocheting and knitting bores me, but I will do it. If you ever get a completed project from me, I must really like you.

8. I love to learn new things all of the time. I don't know if I could ever get sick of learning. I would like to learn more about photography and cutting hair.

9. My biggest fear . . . . being homeless.

10. My biggest dream . . . swim with dolphins, have a huge, fully stocked kitchen with the latest appliances, and be completely debt free.

11. My greatest regret . . . not taking ballroom dance classes when I was at BYU. Being on the dance team would have been a BLAST!

12. I am PAINFULLY shy. Meeting new people is not a good time for me at all. However, I would like more close friends, not just acquaintances.

13. One of my greatest memories . . . getting to go to President Hinckley's office and spend as much time there as I wanted. It was so cool to go to the security desk, give them my name, and have them tell me to go right in.

14. I am terrified of needles, but think autopsies are cool. The human body is fascinating.

15. I hate flying, but would love to fly in a fighter jet. (I mean, seriously, how cool would that be.)

16. I have no aspirations to be rich. I just want to be "comfortable." (Debt free, solid retirement saved, a year's worth of emergency savings, and still have the income that we currently have.) We're getting there, slowly, but still making progress.

17. I've never wanted a flashy sports car. I've always wanted a Toyota Camry, midnight green with tan interior.

18. I love going to the temple, and always have. Getting my endowments when I did, I have never regretted.

19. One talent I wish I had . . . . organization. I do okay, but I really could use someone with some strong organization skills help me tackle my craft room. I get so overwhelmed that after 10 minutes I just walk away and shut the door.

20. I am a hot chocolate addict. Stephen's Gourmet is what I have to have in the winter. It's my comfort food. I especially love the ones with mint or hazelnut.

The Decision Has Been Made

I just received an email from the University of Phoenix notifying me that I have been accepted as a permanent faculty member! I am really excited and am interested to see where this new occupational path will take me. Stay tuned!

Final Evaluation!

Well, I received my final evaluation last night and everything was positive and my mentor stated he would recommend that I be hired permanently. So now I am in waiting mode, and should hear sometime in the next 2 weeks whether I will be offered a permanent job or not.

The only concern I have is the grades that were given in my class. My class average was an F, but there was nothing I could do since almost half of the class did not turn in their final. Still I am not sure how the deciding committee will take that. I did get an email from one of my students yesterday thanking me for the help that I gave her, so I guess at least one student was happy.

Please keep your fingers crossed and me in your prayers for the next couple of weeks.

Final Grading . . . . DONE!

7 hours later and all of my finals are graded. Only 10 bothered to turn in the final project. One of those was after the last day of class, so I can't accept it and another was submitted by someone other than the student so I can't accept that one either. So there were 8 total. I am a little annoyed since one of the ones that didn't bother to turn in her final I helped on numerous occasions, including over the phone and gave lengthy details on how to complete the assignment.

My class average is now a whopping F, so I am a little nervous of how that will impact the committee's decision if I am hired or not. (Like I can help the fact that people decide not to turn in assignments.)

All I have left is to post their final grades, which shouldn't take more than 3 minutes at most.

I am glad to be done, but am feeling a little defeated that the grades weren't higher. Oh well. There's nothing I can do about it now.