I Got a ___________ in Human Anatomy

I got an A in Human Anatomy!  I am so excited, grades were finally posted and I am so excited.  I guess it really isn't too big of a surprise since my grades going into the final exam were 94, 94, 100, and 97, but to see that 4.0 on the screen is exciting!  Though I have only taken 2 classes my grade point average is a 4.0, I love it, never had that good of a grade point average as an undergraduate, I don't know where this perfectionism is coming from and I hope that I won't be too disappointed if I get a B.  Anyways I am celebrating the fact that I made an A, survived a tough, intense class, overcame my fear of cadavers and dissections,, and learned a whole lot about the human body. 

1 years anniversary

Last night was the one year anniversary of the fire that destroyed our business.
I never thought we would be here one year later.
This past year has been rough and I am totally amazed that we are still here, hanging on somehow.
We have reopened in a new location, started working on bicycles again (which has kept us treading water), learned that God is good and totally in control even though it may not feel  like it.
A lot has happened as a result of the fire:
I am now in graduate school in hopes of getting a better, more flexible job and have financial aid due to our loss from the fire
Jeff is now in school working on his undergraduate in graphic design so he will have something to fall back and help bring in income, once again with great financial aid due to our losses from the fire
thanks to Obama's stay in your home program and the fire our mortgage is ridiculously low so we will never move, ever, yet we still can't pay on the bills, but hopefully one day
I found a job I can do from home and though it is sporadic, hopefully it will help us to get ahead during the slow times
our marriage has made it through one of the roughest periods of our life and if we can survive this, I would like to think we can make it through anything
So a year ago it seemed as though our life was destroyed, but it didn't kill us, hopefully it did make us stronger and it is only up from here
A year later there is still an ache when I think about how everything went up from one careless cigarette, though it wasn't our home, it was our "second home," and there were lots of personal things and memories there and we can never get them back.
But it is only up and out from here

trapped in the woods

Before kids I use to mountain bike on a regular basis, I even competed in a race, but since having kids I think I have only been 2-3 times.  A friend was starting a beginner's woman's bike ride and since I was ready to get back into riding I jumped at the opportunity to ride with others.   The ride was suppose to be the first Wednesday of the month and due to the threat of rain, 90% (though it never did rain) last week, it was moved to the second Wednesday, this week.  So at 6pm 5 of us met at a park and headed towards the trails.  Right as we arrived at the trail head we heard a rumble of thunder.  Instead of working skills we decided to head into the woods and ride the trails before it stormed.  We rode for awhile and when we were near another trail head we had to decide whether to leave or to keep riding (riding would be headed in the direction of the car it just would take longer).  Well we decided to keep riding, severe thunderstorms hadn't been forecasted and when I had checked the weather before leaving there was no rain let alone storms anywhere close, keep riding was probably not a good choice, but hindsight is 20/20.  Well at some point it started to rain and the thunder started to get worse, I was starting to get a little scared and was riding as fast as I could.  As we continued to head towards the direction of the car the rain got worse, so much so I could barely see because of all the water in my eyes and I felt like I was in the shower.  The trails at this point were becoming mini creeks and there seemed to be so much water everywhere and the storm was getting really bad.  We finally made it to a trail head, but at this point the lightening was intense and it was too dangerous to head towards the cars since it would require us to ride in a large open space.  So we left our bikes on the trail, walked up a little hill and squatted down underneath a sapling and waited for the storm to pass.  It was quite scary, we were stuck out in the woods, soaking wet, freezing cold, there was no cell phone service, we couldn't get back to the car, couldn't do anything but listen to the thunder that seemed to be getting louder and closer and pray that we would stay safe and make it out unharmed.  When it seemed like an eternity had passed it became brighter and the thunder seemed to be going away from us we started making it back to the car.  The field right before the parking lot was flooded and looked like a river, I know understand how a flash flood can suddenly appear and sweep everyone and everything away.  I finally made it back to the car and called Jeff and my mom to tell them I was okay.  As I was driving home and seeing all the trees that had fallen and discovering we were out of power I realized how bad of a storm it was, so bad that a tree fell in my mom's neighborhood and she had no electricity for 24 hours, we didn't have power ourselves for almost 12 hours, which is a long time, I don't think we have ever been out of power for that long.  There were tons of trees down on our side of town and some areas look like a war zone and just thinking about how I was outside during this makes me so thankful I am safe.  Lesson learned: at the first sign of a storm, seek shelter the quickest way possible!  So my first mountain bike ride in 3 years was very memorable, one I will probably never forget, it was nice being out in the woods on a bike again and I hope to do it again soon, just with better weather.

balance

I having a hard time finding balance and haven't had time for anything lately.
After a month of nothing I have been getting project after project for the job I accepted in April, the work is great because we really really need the income right now it is just a lot of work and every available Lily free moment has been spent working on it.  I also had an anatomy exam last Tuesday so every other available second was studying and trying to learn all of the origins, inserts, innervations, and actions of all the muscles of the back, trunk, abdomen, and arm, well not all, 53 give or take.  So if every Lily free moment has been spent on work or studying the laundry has not been folded, the floors have not been moped, the rugs have not been vacuumed, the bathroom hasn't been cleaned and the list goes on and on.  So by this weekend the house was a disaster especially since the kitchen got a bit behind in cleanliness since I am in class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a certain male figure lacks the ability to clean up after dinner and watch the kids.  I keep telling myself that this busyness is just a short situation, especially since Anatomy will be over in a week and every project for work could be the last one for awhile, but in the moment it is hard to find balance and the whole process has got me thinking about how time management is so important and I have got to figure out how to best manage my time so that I can get things done but also be there for the kids not just there in the physical sense, but there mentally.  Kind of ironic, you always want what you can't have, I wanted projects for work and wanted to take graduate school classes, but now that I have and am, I don't really, well at least not at the same time.  Why is it that life seems to be all or nothing sometimes?  Oh and did I mention my goal of waking up early has failed to help me get on track because the kids are now getting up early?   In fact, right now Lance is calling for me from the other room, no rest for the weary, 18 more days till our week at the beach, after the chaos of life right now I can't wait, especially if I will have my work paycheck by then.