1. Who was your first prom date?
I didn't go to prom, just wasn't my thing. I may have been at the races that weekend, I loved (and still love) being at the race track.

2. Do you still talk to your first love?
No, we still loosely hear about each other from other mutual friends, but we do not talk anymore.

3. What was your first alcoholic drink?
Hmmm, either baileys and coffee or hot chocolate with a shot of mint schnapps.

4. What was your first job?
I started babysitting really young, and even had an after school nanny position, but my first non childcare experience was Corning Revere at the local mall.

5. What was your first car?
1981 Subaru Wagon. It wasn't my favorite car, and I didn't take nearly as good of care of it as I should have. I drove it until the brain fried, then it was fixed and given to a family member who wrecked it. next it was given to a family friend with an auto repair shop, he used it as a shop vehicle and then ran it in a demolition derby. The car won and as far as we know is still being used as a shop car.

6. Who was the first person to text you today?
Lynessa.

7. Who was the first person you thought of this morning?
My husband.

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Bebe, she was french and we spoke primarily french in class (too bad I don't really remember the language anymore)we also had a blind lady bring her seeing eye dog to class to teach us about people with disabilities.

9. Where did you go on your first flight in a plane?
At a few months old my family moved from Alaska back to Washington, we took a small commuter plane for the first leg of our trip. My mom remembers being terrified, I remember nothing.

10. Who was your first best friend and do you still talk?
Tiffany, we lost touch shortly after I got married, though our fathers still talk frequently.

11. Where was your first sleepover?
I assume it was at my Grandma Coopers, but I don't remember for sure. First friend sleep over was probably in first grade at Angela's house.

12. Who was the first person you talked to today?
Hubby.

13. Whose wedding were you in for the first time?
I was suppose to be the flower girl at my mom's wedding when she remarried. I was 5 and very shy, so I ran away. I think the ceremony was over before my grandpa found me and brought me back. The only other wedding I've been in was my own.

14. What was the first thing you did this morning?
Signed the kids homework folders.

15. What was the first concert you went to?
I know my dad took me to Bumbershoot when I was a small child, but other than that it was Maneheim Steamroller a few years ago. Hubby got me the tickets as an early Christmas present.

16. First tattoo?
Tree of Life on my right calf, love it!

17. First piercing?
Ears at 5 years old.

18. First foreign country you went to?
Mexico, not very exciting.

19. First movie you remember seeing?
First movie I remember seeing in theaters was E.T., I remember several movies that we watched at home before that... Savannah Smiles, The Bears and I, Lobo, Benji.

20.What state (province) did you first live in?
Alaska

21. Who was your first room mate?
Laura.

22. When was your first detention?
Never had detention, not that I didn't do things that should have gotten me detention, I just never got caught.

23. When was your first kiss?
6th grade, I think.

24. What is one thing you would learn, given the chance?
Glass blowing!

25. Who will be the next person to post this?
Probably no one :)

Friday afternoon I sent my 5 year old down to the mailbox to see if there was any news from Pierce College. We had been told something was happening with the letters on the 18th, but it was unclear if the letters were being mailed on the 18th or if we should expect them in our mailboxes on the 18th. I held my breath as he ran down to the lower driveway and opened the mailbox, he peered in and then shut the door again. Drat! No mail. I put on a happy face and headed into the house to feed my hungry kindergartner. I was resigned to waiting until Saturday, maybe even Monday if the mail people were being slow. And, considering how much I wanted (And dreaded, if we're being honest) this letter I was sure mail would be slow.

After lunch I decided to check my e-mail and was surprised to see mail sitting on top of my laptop. My grandmothers caregiver must have gotten the mail while she was out. Flip, flip, flip. Something from the kids school, bills, and a letter from the Allied Health Department for my husband. I flipped through it all again. Nope, nothing for me. So I called my husband into the room and gave him the letter, figuring that if I didn't receive a letter and he did, I didn't make it to the next round.

As he turned the letter over to open from the back magic happened, one envelope became two! They must have been stuck together! We both tore into our envelopes and...

I couldn't figure out what my paper said. There was writing, and information, but at that moment with all the anticipation, my brain refused to decode the letters on the page.

My husband was smiling and asking if I made it. "I don't know, what does your letter look like?" He held his letter up... it looked to be in the same format as mine. So did I make it? Another agonizing 10 seconds and my brain decided to cooperate.

I've made it to the interviews!

At that moment I don't think I would have been more excited if it was my acceptance letter. To me, it was the acceptance letter. October 20th, 7:30 am I will be going to the most important interview of my life thus far. I will not vomit (at least I'm telling myself I wont) and I will dazzle the judges. I WILL get into this nursing program.

Please send positive thoughts!

There are days that I believe the Financial Aid department is on a mission to make my head explode in frustration. Yesterday was one of those days.

I was happy as a clam as I walked out to check the mail. Then nervous when I saw the letter from Pierce College. We are still waiting to hear if we have made it to the second step in the nursing application process, so there was a quick hope that the letter had finally come. Then I saw that the return address was actually from the Pierce College Financial Aid department. Hmm, ok. I opened it and was shocked to see a letter stating that after review they had determined I was no longer eligible for financial aid.

WHAT???

So I grabbed the phone and dialed the number for the Puyallup office. Despite being well within the regular business hours, by call went straight to voice mail. I pondered leaving a message so they could call me back as their message promised. Except, I spent nearly a month calling and leaving message on that system and have yet to receive one call back. Instead I opted to call the sometimes less friendly Ft. Steilacom office.

After waiting on hold I was connected with a nice gentleman and we got down to work to try to figure out why my account had this suspension placed on it. I attempted 12 credits last quarter. I did not pass Sociology. To be fair, this was a somewhat planned failing of Sociology. But to go from having straight 4.0's to not passing one class and being removed from financial aid? That wasn't right.

The long and short of it was that someone had gone into my file and manually placed a suspension on my financial aid. I met none of the requirements for the computer system to automatically suspend my aid, and he could see where someone had gone in and placed the suspension. What he could not say (and may or may not have been able to see) was who had done this. I have my suspicions, based on a bitter battle with one person in financial aid over my husbands financial aid that I have been attempting to straighten out. The timing is nearly perfect and she has the access to do so. But, I'll never know, so I'll just be relieved that I was able to get it quickly straightened out.

No word yet on if I will be called for the second step in the application process for the nursing program. I think we should know by the end of the month. I hope so anyway, the interviews are in the middle of October. I've started having nightmares about the letter coming in the mail, always a letter of rejection for me and acceptance for my husband. And, though I know I will be happy for my husband, I will be sad for myself if I am not accepted with him.

I don't think I have appreciated a break from schooling so much as I am these few weeks in between summer and fall quarter. I have taken 2 road trips with my best girlfriend, cleaned the house, and read Twilight (all 4 books) again. Want to see a couple pics from the road trips?

Here is a beach pic from the first trip:



We enjoyed a full day at Ocean Shores, just the two of us. She is the only other person I know who is happy to sit quietly on the jetty and watch the waves break across the rocks.

Next we loaded up the car again, and brought along one of her 16 year old daughters and headed to Forks, Wa. The drive was breath taking! I have sadly, much fewer pictures from this trip, as I forgot to charge the camera batteries the night before.

Here is one from the road:



Although our destination was Forks, Wa, in reality it was just a road trip around the Hwy 101 loop. We spent just as much time in other stops as we did in Forks. Next time we are taking both the twins and will plan a Forks, La Push event.

This trip was good for my soul. We all laughed so hard our stomachs hurt, we forgot to breath and we still all break out in giggles at the mention of certain subjects. I so needed the time away from reality to de-stress. It was the best birthday present my husband could have given me.

Summer quarter has been over for a couple weeks now, and there is not one cell in my body that has missed school. I don't wanna go back! I have to go fall quarter in order to keep my scholarship, and I just don't have the motivation. Plus, I'm going to have to take classes I'm not excited about, so I don't even have cool classes to look forward to.

What do you do to get your motivation back?

Looking forward to Winter quarter... assuming I will be in the nursing program. But fall quarter just seems like icky tediousness that I have to drag myself through.