English Senior Survey Prospectus

Everyone will have the same feeling I do about this project. I hope to just GET DONE and get a decent grade on this project as it is the majority of my class grade. I have to do a 15-page research paper AND presentation on a topic relating to literature and Medieval Pilgrimage. YUCK!

So, without further ado, here's the prospectus I came up with for my research. I'm going to ask her Tuesday about the final product I wish to write, which is in a segmented, technical format. I think if I can THINK THIS WAY, I can write this information clearer. Right now, if I have to write 15 pages of prose (no section breaks and headers), I won't make it!

Prospectus: The correlation between fictional female pilgrims during Medieval England and actual accounts of female pilgrims during this time through the use of writing and religion.

Susan Signe Morrison has said in her writings that women were the reasons families were what they were during medieval times. Without a woman, a man would not have someone to marry; the woman was the one who gave birth to the children; and the woman cooked and cleaned the home. All of these items made up a “family” for which the woman was the central figure. If any of these items lacked, like woman not being able to have children because of being infertile to the woman having any ailment and not allowing her to manage the household, the “family” did not survive. This was a reason that a woman would go on a pilgrimage. There are also many other reasons a woman would go on a pilgrimage during the medieval times. Other writings have told how, even though women did go on pilgrimage, they were highly advised against travelling. During this time, travel was very dangerous, especially for women. Accounts have been written of women being raped and killed while on pilgrimage, not even arriving to their destinations. For all of the accounts of pilgrimage as a whole, more women did go on pilgrimage than was documented.

During this time, Chaucer wrote the book, The Canterbury Tales, of which a character, the Wife of Bath was one of the pilgrims. I intend to research more into her background. Based on what was written in the book about her and her tale, she was not portrayed as a typical woman of that time period, nor was she portrayed as a typical pilgrim. There was no presentation of children in this book. During this time in history, a woman’s primary role was to bear children. Being that the woman was the central figure in a family, why did she seem so out of place in this book? I intend to compare her character profile to accounts of real women pilgrims of that time period. I also intend to discuss how she used religion to support her claims and how religion was important to real women pilgrims of the time period.

Overall, I would like to research why women went on pilgrimage. Did women have limits to where they were allowed to go and where they did go? Many women were known pilgrimage to local religious sites. When a woman wanted to go on a pilgrimage, what issues surfaced? How did social order affect a woman’s desire for pilgrimage? Women often went on pilgrimage because of medical issues with them or their children. How did the family unit handle this desire?

I would also like to include research on The Book of Margery Kempe, however at this point, I do not know enough about the book or the character behind the book to give enough questions to answer.

That' s it! So exciting, eh?

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Threatened...

OK. Here we go again. Today, I was meeting with my career coordinator at school. She asked me how my day went at the career fair. For those of you reading who do not know, I went to a career fair my college put on Feb. 29. (I haven't told you about my experience there.)

But, today, I met with her. She is wonderful with pointing me where I need to go for a job.

I told her about this specific company, which will remain nameless as I would still like to consider the company for a job prospect. I told her how I talked with them at the fair and gave them my resume. They seemed eager for me to find out more about the company. The job that would be for me is called an Interactive Analyst. This job role does Internet marketing.

So, I went to the information session. First, to preface what I am about to say, I am not prejudiced. In the room, the candidates (those not presenting, worked for said company or CSU) were all but 4 of us NOT Caucasian. During the session, the main presenter explained the company, what they do, who they compare to in the area business-wise, and the 3 different roles people get hired into. He talked about how the professionals being hired need to be geared up quickly to be working for the clients quickly. There were questions regarding new hires and how long it takes to get into working with clients. He mentioned about "billable hours," but he didn't go into a further explanation of what "billable hours" was. One of the girls in the presentation I had had a class with a year ago, the news writing class. She looked VERY confused about this. She asked the presenter if she would be working for the company. What they failed to explain, that I explained to her after the presentation was, billable hours are simply this:

1. you work for said company
2. you do work for said client who is paying said company
3. said company bills said client a specific amount for the work you do for said client
4. you get paid by said company

It's as simple as this. I know MANY of the others in the presentation, being that they do not have work experience like I do, were just as confused as she was. I talked to said presenter and explained that and how I explained because I had consulting experience in the past. At the time, he was very appreciative of my explanation.

I explained to my coordinator the companies I spoke with and the results that happened (or didn't happen). Then, she told me she was COMPLETELY floored how the companies just haven't responded to me at all. I told her the story above.

She said to me that she believes these individuals are THREATENED by my level of knowledge and work. That, in some instances, either the person is "small," that I communicated not to their liking (even though I have all this knowledge), or that I'm far too overqualified for any of their jobs. I agree with the "small-thinking" mentality. I believe these reps are THREATENED by my level of knowledge, how I learn things quickly and use what I know EVERY DAY!

So, what she suggested was that I play "dumb" in interviews. I'm sorry. I can't do that! She said, because she and I are much alike how we like to help people; I like to FIX things, at home, at my school, at Cassi's school, etc. etc. But, I'm sorry. I don't think I should have to DUMB myself for anyone. I learned at Ernst & Young how to be mature and learn everything there is to know about EVERYTHING. AND, I learned to share what I know with anyone who asks.

One motto I've always said to people, "If I don't know the answer to what your question is, I'll find it."

So, in the past two years, I've now heard about being THREATENED. In this case, it deals with prospective co-workers who don't know how to be TEAM players, even though they boast how good they are at being TEAM players. She also said these people are probably seeing me as the competition to take their jobs, which is not what I would do at all and HAVE NEVER DONE SO!

Go figure. How do I feel about all this? Mad because someone would be so petty not to consider me as a candidate on the fact that they are jealous of my knowledge. Sad because I have so much to share but walls are being put up in front of me. A feeling of HA because "I know more than you do."

My coordinator said how she sees how much I've done, how much I want to do, I'm very knowledgeable but very down to Earth because of what I've done and who I've helped. She really sees me as a teacher. But, to do that, I need further education that I just can't afford now, even if ever. But, I can do "career" type training.

But, one of the things I'm working on right now (and believe me more writing is EXACTLY what I don't need), I'm prepping myself to start doing freelance writing. There's a Web site, called

www.elance.com

This is a site that's like a middle-man for freelance jobs of ALL kinds. VP - this might be a good idea for you to look at. Once I'm finished and ready, I'll start working on creating proposals for writing opportunities. Even if I get a contract job somewhere or a full-time job, I'll still work on freelance writing as it will only help add to my writing portfolio.

But, I've gone through 2 nights now of my magazine article being reviewed by my classmates. The first night, I got some good ideas of things to add. Some of the costs associated with my purchase of the pellet stove was not included. But, some of the suggestions, things like "How do I maintain the system?"; "How do I store the fuel?" would be questions that I would add in a side-bar smaller story, or even a larger feature story. Tonight, my reader, one of the older ladies, was completely floored at all of the highly technical information included in my story. For someone in her knowledge range, this story would be above her. After, she asked me who I was targeting to send this story to. I told her I was looking at construction-type trade journal. With this reply, she agreed the level of information would be good for that type of publication. Also, I think I floorer her with all the different types of quoting and stories and overall length. I think my professor really enjoyed my story. I know he's read my first draft already. Each day now until the end of the semester, we'll be making SOME type of change to prepare it for publication.

OK. I'm going to elance.com to get my registration finished.

Wish me luck! This weekend, I've got:

1. internship tomorrow
2. pick up vacuum cleaner from annual tune up
3. help Rob get his paper 2b ready for rough draft (paper also based on alternative heating)
4. research and write prospectus for senior survey due Monday at 3pm
5. meeting with Professor Singer Tuesday morning
6. watch movies for film class discussions next week
7. Easter on Sunday
8. Cassi's off next week (no internship and no day classes)

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

I'm IN!

At 5:17 pm, I received the email. Now at school, I've gotten my email open.

I'm IN!

This means, if you've got a LinkedIn account and are linked to me, you can now be linked to Barack Obama.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )


P.S. Got another story to tell. Someone else has said how someone (or companies at large) feel threatened because of the knowledge I own.

2 Degrees of Separation

Some of you, who read here, know that I have an account on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a professional networking site, much like myspace is personal (don't like, don't get me started).

Anyway, I added onto my profile where I went to high school at. Then, I searched for a few people from my high school. Someone who graduated a few years before me was there. I invited him to join my network. He accepted. I took at look at who's on his network.

This is cool...





Politically or not....






I am...

2 Degrees...

From Barrack Obama's LinkedIn Network!

Not sure how he's related professionally to Obama, but I'm going to ask him (or whoever is managing his network) to join my network.

I'll update and let everyone know!

That was my COOL moment for the day (before the CRAP IT'S SNOWING AGAIN! moment)

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Brain-Tied

Have you ever had one of those "brain fart" moments? Well, I seem to be having them more and more lately. I think it's because of ALL the different types of writing I'm doing. Currently, for my own course-load, I'm doing 4 different types of writing: magazine, research and newsletters, and 2 different research. Then, with helping Rob, there's one more. Thank GOD Cassi isn't writing stories and things yet. She is writing short-answer "what comes first, next, etc" summaries about books she's reading. I mean SHORT-SHORT, one sentence.

Anyway, car skidded a little on the ice. So I could explain it correctly, I said to myself how I wanted to say it. Then, I forgot the word.

Have you ever done that? Well, it was 7 pm. I'd been working at my internship since 10 and class since 4 (no break but to move my car).

Let me just say, I CAN'T WAIT TIL MAY 10!

51 days left!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Magazine Article

Yeah! My first draft of my article is DONE! And, it's more than 2500 words to boot. On paper, it's over 9 pages long. But with all the information I found and the people I talked to about the project, I could have easily gone twice as long.

Can you imagine?

Want to read it?

Sorry, not posting the article now. If you would like to see the article, by all means, email me at henneca@hotmail.com. I would be more than happy to supply you with a copy of the first draft. I don't want to post it here because:

1. it's WAY too long;
2. I'm try to get it published and make some cash;
3. this is my story and this is how I want it.

Also, I'll have a few revisions over the next few weeks. Not ready to share it with the public just yet.

Now, I've only got BUTT-LOADS of reading to do for this week, along with 2 research papers to be researching for.

ONLY 56 days until graduation!

Lot of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Gas Prices Increase!

This news story was shared with me by my internship boss. It comes from "Crain's Cleveland Business:"

Read in this morning's Crain's: (the gas prices prediction drew my eye)
www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=framelink&link=www.vindy.com%2fnews%2f2008%2fmar%2f11%2fa-jump-at-the-pump-sflb%2f&oas=www.vindy.com_news_2008_mar_11_a-jump-at-the-pump-sflb_

A Jump at the Pump
Published:Tuesday, March 11, 2008 By Don Shilling
A jump at the pump

If gas doesn’t hit $4 a gallon this year, expect it by next year, an official says. Sandy Greathouse isn’t overly concerned that local gasoline prices set a record Monday. The Poland retiree drives a Toyota Prius hybrid that gets 60 mpg around town. “It just sips gas,” she said. By switching to a car that’s powered partly by an electric motor, Greathouse, 62, has changed her driving habits — all due to $3-a-gallon gas. She’s not alone. Experts say this year will mark the first time that gas prices will change how some people go about their daily business. Sensing high prices are here to stay, drivers are beginning to look for fuel-efficient vehicles or combining trips.

“The customer has started to acknowledge that he’s paying a high price for gasoline, and it’s cutting into his budget,” said Ed Weglarz, executive vice president of the Association of Food and Petroleum Dealers. Wait until gas prices really get high. Weglarz said he expects gas prices to continue to rise, with the national average hitting $4 a gallon by spring 2009. Some have said it could happen this year. Some places already are getting close. San Francisco, for example, has an average price of $3.71.

Today, the U.S. Energy Information Administration is to release its forecast for gas prices this spring. A month ago, it predicted that the national average would peak at $3.40 in May or June, topping last spring’s record of $3.21. But Todd MacIntyre, senior agency analyst, said the new forecast would be higher than $3.40 because crude oil prices have set records since then. Bevi Powell, a AAA spokeswoman, said the big jump in gas prices last spring is a warning for this year. The average price in the Mahoning Valley soared from $2.47 last March to $3.20 last May.

“That shows you what can happen between this time of year and Memorial Day. It doesn’t bode very well for drivers,” she said. AAA reported Monday that gasoline prices set a record in the Mahoning Valley at $3.219, topping the previous record by more than a penny. If prices increase by 73 cents a gallon this spring as they did last year, the local average would reach nearly $3.95. Prices spike in the spring because more people are driving and refiners are producing a more expensive summer blend of gasoline that has fewer pollutants, Powell said. A variety of global supply and demand factors also impact the price.

Some statistics show that perhaps American drivers have accepted prices will stay high and are cutting back on driving. Gasoline consumption in the past six weeks fell about 1 percent from last year’s levels. The Wall Street Journal said that was the biggest drop in 16 years, except for the declines after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Weglarz said fuel haulers in Ohio and Michigan are reporting a slightly larger drop. They are delivering between 1.5 percent and 2 percent less fuel to gas stations this year. As high prices linger, Americans will make bigger changes than just running two errands at a time instead of one, he said. “We’re going to see a return of people living closer to their jobs,” he said.

Steve Wellman, 42, of New Waterford already has made some concessions to high gas prices, but he doesn’t plan on giving up his long commute. He drives 65 minutes one way to his job as a stationary engineer in Pittsburgh. He spends about $10 a day on gas to fuel his Ford Focus for the 105-mile round trip.

Wellman said his family has combined trips when making errands and uses the Focus instead of the larger car and pickup truck when they can. But moving? “That’s not an option,” he said.

Wellman loves his house that he’s had for 12 years, and he figures that any job in his field would be a long way from New Waterford.

Weglarz said the other change Americans will be making is opting for fuel-efficient small cars and hybrids, which save on gas because they run some of the time on an electric motor. So many Americans have long-term leases, however, that it will take some time for the switch to occur, he said.

It may have already started, however. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all reported drops in sales of trucks and sport-utility vehicles last month that ranged from 5 percent to 22 percent.

Doug Wilt, a salesman at Toyota of Boardman, said the dealership sells all of the 50 or 60 Priuses it receives each year. Usually, they are sold before they arrive. The dealership had three in stock last week, however, which Wilt attributed to a typical sales slowdown during the winter and a stagnant economy. The cars typically sell for about $23,500, he said. Other automakers have been adding hybrid engines to vehicles big and small. GM, for example, will have eight hybrid models this year. Greathouse said people often are jealous of her Prius’ gas mileage but say they don’t want to drive a small car. She said, however, that her car can fit five comfortably. Her friends have figured that out. She said that when she and her friends are going somewhere together, they will say, “Let’s let Sandy drive.”
shilling@vindy.com

Just so everyone knows, gas prices here in Ohio jumped to $3.459 ($3.46) a gallon. Because of being tight on money, Cassi will end up going with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays to school. My classes in the evening are only 20 minutes away (CSU has a campus closer than downtown Cleveland). Because I took her once, I'll probably end up taking her with me to these classes. Because Pa is farther than my class building, Tuesdays and Thursdays, when I've taken her to Pa's at night, I have, in essence, been taking 3 round trips from Elyria to Cleveland (yep, that's twice a week). Rob is also going to now step up to the plate. On the Monday's and Wednesday's that he has to work, he'll be getting up earlier to get her from school. Then, he'll either take her to Pa's house for me or meet me to get her. Most likely the latter. This way, if she wants to go on weekends and Pa wants her she can have weekends with him so I can focus on my dozens of pages in research and writing.

But, as I feared, the natural gas prices are also on the increase. It was a good thing we switched off our furnace. Remember, I think I said in an earlier post how natural gas increased 7% from December to March. Well, in one month, April's bill, it's suggested that the price will increase 8% more. We got our mailing about how we should "lock in" our gas rate. So, for the rest of the year, we've spent $430 total for heating, versus almost another grand. And, once the temperature starts to rise, like this week, we can cut back on the stove's use.

Want more info about our stove? The stove is made by a company, QuadraFire at http://www.quadrafire.com. I know JellyBean said she wanted one. Well, this company also makes fireplace inserts that are pellet burners. Couldn't tell you how well they work, by my assumption is that they work very well.

OK. Gotta go for now. Wanted to share this story above. I've got some dishes to put in dishwasher and get over to pick up Cassi from her play date.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day (March 11)

This was taken directly from About.com:

Celebrate the anniversary of the death of John Chapman a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed on March 18th, 1845 in Fort Wayne, Indiana after more than 50 years of travel.

The following information comes from Wikipedia.org:

This article is about the historical figure. For the film, see Johnny Appleseed (film).

Image from Howe's Historical Collection

Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman (September 26, 1774–February 18, 1847), was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced the apple to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He became an American legend while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways, his great leadership in conservation, and the symbolic importance of apples.

He was also a missionary for the Church of the New Jerusalem, or Swedenborgian Church, so named because it teaches the theological doctrines contained in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.^[1]

No matter how you celebrate, everyone should at least eat an apple Tuesday! Since I directly copied from Wikipedia, the links should all work!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Stove Pictures

OK. Here are the first photos of the stove, right after it was put in. Rob and I built the hearth pad on the bottom. This was our first tile job. This project changed Rob's mind about tiling in the bathroom once we get to gutting and rehabing it. This stove burns dried and shelled corn and wood pellets. We use them in a 50/50 mix. It has the look of an old wood-burning fireplace. Yes, if you notice, the curtains are directly behind the stove. But, all of the heat is in the front. Where the curtains are are all the mechanical and computer components. It's completely cool there. The out pipe is located on the left side of the unit. This stove heats up to 2500 square feet. The first floor of our house (ranch-style house) stays between 70 and 73 degress, which is even warmer than the central furnace, using Natural Gas. And, the basement still stays 58-60 degrees. When the furnace ran, the basement was still at that same temperature, even though the furnace was in the basement.


This is the picture of the stove when it starts burning. We don't have it, but for the front of the unit, there is a fake wood kit. This would sit right in the front glass, in front of the burn pot. You can't see it here, but right in the center, where the you see the flame, is the round, about 2 inches diameter in the center of the pot, sized burn pot.

It does get a little louder in the living room when the stove runs, but overall, it's fine with us. This stove burns with an alternative heating source, also called biomass fuels. Some of these stoves even burn cherry pits, sunflower seeds, soy beans (dried), etc.

I'll start posting my journal for my magazine article here tomorrow. It's getting late and don't forget, tonight the clock jumps ahead an hour.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

WOW! What a Week!

OK! For all of you NOT in the Cleveland, OH area, the weather up here SUCKS! Yesterday, with only 3 hours into the snow storm, I drove home from my internship. A typical 30-40 minute trip home, took an hour. To top it off, Rob had to work last night. He ended up getting up at 2:30 pm because he had to "go." He checked to see where I was, which happened to be almost home, but REALLY slow. He ended up staying up. Good thing because I would have gotten him up by 4pm anyway.

Drove down the street to get Cassi.

We came home and I made din din. I made Chicken Alfredo, with my favorite recipe for sauce. Rob ate and took a shower. He ended up leaving by 5:30. Luckily, he was able to get to work in a little over an hour.

While he was gone last night, Cassi and cleaned and removed extra toys from her room to the basement. We also rearranged her bedroom. With us not using the central furnace, this allowed us to put her bed in front of her heating vent. This allows her to have an ENORMOUS amount of space in the middle of her bedroom for playing and having friends over for sleepover. We'll be able to put an air mattress in her room so her friends can stay in the room with her. Also, because the closet is on the wall that flanks the garage, the closet tends to ALWAYS be cold. She will be away from the closet and the cold.

Come summer we'll be able to go through her toys in the basement. I think we'll look at taking all her toys out to Jamie's Flea Market to try to sell them. If we can sell them, I'm thinking about giving her part of the money for Christmas presents for her to buy.

Today, Rob came home and snow blowed out the drive and sidewalk before he went to bed. Come the afternoon, the snow blowed back up onto the walkway and in front of the door. I've got pictures from inside the house and out the front door (like I did about this time last year). I'll try to get them posted tomorrow. Sadly, the camera I've got now has a CF card. My laptop has an opening for an SD card. Eh!

But, I've been working on a journal the past week to keep track of what we've been doing with the stove. I'll start posting information about the stove here this week as my rough draft of my magazine article is due this week. But, I won't post the full article until after I've sent it to a magazine for possible publishing.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

20 Hours!

Can you believe that?!

From midnight Saturday night until midnight last night, I slept, yes, SLEPT 20 out of the 24 hours. Luckily enough for me, Rob was working the weekend and Cassi was at Pa's until Sunday evening.

Finally got to bed at midnight after getting my car back from Dan. We swapped car/truck because we used his truck to get shelled corn for our pellet stove on Saturday.

I slept until Rob came home. I know he was tired and exhausted from working. He got into bed at 8:30 am Sunday. I got up, pottied and fell asleep on the couch until 1:30 pm. Got up, at a bagel, cleaned out the pellet stove and fell back to sleep til 4pm.

Got up, heated up din din for Rob. Cassi got home. I took another nap from 6:3o til 8. Got up, got her ready for bed, had to sleep with me. I was up til 10:30-ish. Was back asleep by 11 pm until 7:30 am this morning.

Could REALLY go back to sleep now. But, I'm downtown until 6pm. Oh, well. And, maybe I can get a paper out this evening for my film class. We'll see.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. I have had to drink 1 can of soda today. Rob thought it was my wanting to "kick" the habit that caused me to sleep so long. I say nay because I drink decaf soda. But, maybe something secret is inside, causing me to want to drink more. Now that I'm getting off soda completely, it's rearing its ugly head. I'm still working on the "kicking" the habit.

On the Wagon...

Yep, guys! I'm trying it again. I'm on the wagon for soda (or for those of you out there, pop). This is the first day that I've gone without it! Yesterday, I had 1 (one) 20 oz Dr. Pepper. Had to have it as I needed to be up until 12:30 am doing homework.

So, keep encouraging me. I know I'll "fall off the wagon" here and there. But, my goal is to drop soda like a bad habit!

And, I've lost another pound. Yeah for me!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. Tomorrow if my career fair. Wish me luck! Yes, Marie, I've got that good paper going into the printer tonight to print my resumes. It's off-white and will be 1 (one) page.

Major Changes to Blog

OK. Sorry guys! I had to do this. Got blog-spammed again today. This time, someone with a blog whose sending out viruses on their blog!

I had to enable the registered user only for comments and word security. I know this will be a pain, but as VP said, it took her 3 years for someone to stop trying to blog spam her. I will also be moderating the comments as this last comment was from a "blogger" account. It may take a day or so to have comments posted, but in the positive, it will force me to go to my blog more often (like daily)!

Sorry, but it was necessary! More to post soon!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

"Holey" Cassi

I've been asked by a few friends to show a current photo of Cassi. You may have to click on the photo to make it larger to see what I am speaking of. Last weekend and the week before, Cassi lost 2 teeth. On the second occasion, specifically, she lost the tooth while Aunt Marie was here, and it happened while they were out. Cassi, sadly, lost her fallen tooth. She was so distraught that I couldn't even cheer her up when we called, and I told her of my purchase of a new toothbrush and her new favorite toothpaste. She was so concerned that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't know that she lost her tooth to get her money. She had Aunt Marie write a letter to the Tooth Fairy, explaining the situation. Cassi was in good luck; she got her money. $2

But, the photo above was taken this past Thursday. She has 3 holes where teeth have been lost recently.

So, for those of you interested, this is "Holey."

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Lost Weight and Other Things

Well, I've lost weight not only because I got sick and didn't eat for 3 days straight, but also because I've been so busy with my school work, Rob's school work, and Cassi's school work.

As it stands, here's what I've done this week and will do next week:

1. 5-page research paper for Senior Survey on The Canterbury Tales. I wish I remembered more about the book. But, it was 1986 when I read it last. Most of the kids in my class were at least babies when I read it last. Done
2. Take Home Exam #1 for film class. As it stands, I've still got 3 essay questions left and it's due Monday. I'll be taking Cassi roller skating tomorrow and will complete the exam then. So far, the exam is 5 pages typed. I believe my exam will be 10 pages once it's done. Done
3. Rob's English Comp 2. He has a rough draft of an argumentative paper due Friday. (and a quiz that we're waiting to find out why it hasn't posted to the Web site.) Quiz cancelled but got full points for technical difficulties!
4. Rob's Intro to Sociology where he just finished his first exam, which was a couple typed pages. I checked his answers before he submitted the exam. He's also got his usually weekly reading and essay exercises that's due Monday. He will also have me read it to edit it and make sure it sounds ok. Done
5. Reading for Senior Survey for Thursday. Because of the Clinton/Obama debate happening at the college I attend (yes, I attend Cleveland State University), school is closed all day for students. As a matter of fact, downtown Cleveland will be HELL Tuesday. Anyway, I have one tale and the ending of The Canterbury Tales to read for Thursday. Not Going to Be Done. I've got 65 pages yet to read for TOMORROW morning!
6. I have to watch Hotel Rwanda for Wednesday's discussion time on Wednesday in Film class. Done
7. I have 2 chapters to read and exercises to complete for Thursday's Magazine Writing class. Exercises Done
8. I have to finalize my resume, print it, and go to the Career Fair Friday. Edited and Ready to Print!
9. I'm cooking Swedish Meatballs for Rob's Lodge Meeting on Tuesday. Done (EXCELLENT!)
10. Cassi will have homework Monday through Thursday night. She's been getting more independent doing her homework, but I have to review it and sign off everything for her teachers. Done Monday. She's been off the last 2 days! ACK!
11. Housework NEVER Done!
12. Scheduling for 3 people. Rob works Wed & Thurs night. Work in Progress!
13. Keeping the pellet stove stocked with feed and pellets to heat the house. Yes, we haven't had the furnace on now since Tuesday (that's 2/19) at 5pm. The gas company is going to hate us. Work in Progress!

But, right now, I'm watching a little TV. And, Dina (my LARGE kitty) is sitting next to me, sleeping, and getting some "mommy" time. It's Wednesday night and Dina's still with me!

So, I'll close this for now.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. I've also got to finish Marie's aprons that were for Xmas and mail them to her and VP's gifts. Yes I've remembered, but haven't had the money!

76 Days til Graduation Day!

GREAT News!

I've lost 6 pounds since I was sick on Jan 25!

Whoo! Hoo!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. Can't talk much. Have a take home test, journaling, reading, and an English paper over the next week.

If you gotta be warm...

...here's a good place to do it!

This little one knows how to live the "warm" life!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Hog Dogs for Lunch...

Last night, with the MASSIVE, nasty storm that came to us, I decided to cook up some hot dogs for dinner. At the time, Cassi's friend, Alexis, was over. I had to run to the store to pick up hot dog buns to go with as I had none.

Anyway, there were leftovers. Rob got some today as he's home and I brought some to work. (Rob believes my internship isn't work because I'm not getting paid. He says it's school. I say work because I don't get homework here. But, that's another story.)

I'm sitting here eating the hot dogs. I am reminded of when I was a kid and mom went to the farmer's market, where she would grocery shop. She had a friendly relationship with the meat man. He always let us come behind the meat counter and get samples of bologna, etc. My favorite was getting the hot dogs. They were "home made" hot dogs. And, in case you're wondering, they were cold, uncooked. But, if you think about it, bologna is just a LARGE hot dog.

So, as I am sitting here eating, I am reminded by the smell and taste of my hot dog back to when I was a kid.

Cool how something so small brings back such good memories.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

My Decision...

OK. I've made my decision. After a MONSTER text fest back and forth with Marie, I decided I'm going to write my magazine article/news feature about alternative heating options.

I started so far with the email to Marie. Sorry, can't divulge my information just yet. All I can say is that it deals with heating a home with something other than natural gas (or propane or electric). That's why it's called alternative.

We'll leave it at that for now. I know in the next few weeks, I've got to have my first draft (entire story) done.

Lots of love for now,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. Got lots of reading to do for tomorrow.

AND, I LOVE my internship boss. I wasn't able to get to work today because Cassi was home from school and I didn't have anyone for her till the afternoon. No problem. It happens. I'll see you Wednesday.

AWESOME! Wish all jobs were this understanding.

Cassi Cried...

Rob called me about 10 pm. He told me to put on Channel 5 (that's our ABC Affiliate). Look at the scroll at the bottom. Whether I wanted to know it or not, Cassi is off school tomorrow.

Well, just before he called, Cassi got up, said she had had a nightmare and couldn't sleep. "Can I watch some TV?"

"No, go back to bed."

After he called, I looked it up on their Web site. Lo and behold, she's off. Should have realized this was going to happen when the outside temp (before the wind chill) was below 7 degrees. For some reason, and I think this is a state requirement, when the air temp reaches 7 degrees or lower, they close the schools.

So, she got up and cried. She couldn't understand why she can't go to school.

Then, she stopped.

And asked if she could watch TV. OK. She's still up now but watching TV in bed.

So sad. But, for me, I don't get to go to my internship. On the bright side, I get to finish some homework for class tomorrow.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Pray for me to have patience.

Video Share...

For all you moms out there (or those counciled by moms). My best sister by proxy posted this to her site and I'm posting it to mine:

The Mom Song

This song was done to the William Tell Overture. Excellent! If you're a mom, you've probably said this to your child(ren). If you are not a mom, you've probably heard all of this FROM your mom (and those who are moms heard these famous lines from their moms).

8^ )

OOOH, AWESOME Thought!

Just commented on a comment from my sister in my last post. Just

3 (three)

Months

From this Sunday

is my graduation day!

Whoo! Hoo!

8^ )

My Magazine Writing Class...

Magazine Writing class is going VERY well. I had to write four news articles this past week, two were make-ups from when I was sick, one was from Tuesday, and one as a quiz on Thursday.

So, yesterday, he gave us this exercise in class. The first thing it reminded me of was a meme that gets shot around on the blogs. As he explained, because we are working on where we find ideas, as a writer, you can find ideas just about anywhere. So, here it is:

Full Name: Cathy (leaving out) - Cathryn A. (leaving out)
Birthday: June 19, 1971
Birthplace: Mt. Holly, NJ
Current Location: Elyria, OH - Home
Heritage: Heinz 57 mix, Hispanic, French, Irish, Dutch, English, German
Eye Color/Hair Color: brown/brown
Right or Left Handed: Right
Major Strength: Writing - about anything
Major Weakness: Can't say no when someone asks for help
Fears: My husband will get tired of me, I don't get a job when I'm done school.
Life Goal: To go back to work
Dream Profession: Technical Writer, Grant/Proposal Writer, Editor
Actual Profession: Full-Time Student; Mother; Wife
Favorite Meal: Anything Mexican
Coffee Drinker: When I'm in the Mood
Favorite (non)Alcoholic Drink: Root Beer
Has Character Been in Love: Yes - Married 11 Years
Healthy Habits: Love fresh veggies
Unhealthy Habits: Don't exercise enough
Favorite Movie: ALL Star Wars
Vices: Very controlling
Tattoo(s) / Piercing(s): ears pierced
Number One Regret: I didn't finish my college degree sooner.

Then, we talked about how, even with this information, how we could come up with ideas for magazine stories. For me, my first name is Cathryn. Now for a story, I could come up with stuff about why this isn't a normal spelling for the name, why I was named that way, how people get named the way they do, etc. Then, the professor suggested getting a book about the history of the year I was born. There are TONS of ideas for stories in these kind of books.

Then, before we left, we had to write for 10 minutes. We couldn't put the pen down for any length of time. First, he wanted us to write about something that was in the room. If we didn't want to do that, whatever we wanted to write about. I started to write about what happened Wednesday night, then ended up talking about heating alternatives for the house. Never did talk about why Thursday was crazy because I started talking about Wednesday night, but really about alternative heating options.

So, for next week, here's what I've got going on. By Thursday, I have to have my idea pinned down for my magazine article (or newspaper feature). This will be the project for the rest of the semester. The goal is to write an article good enough to be published.

Here are the items needed:

1. Query Letter
2. Writing guidelines from 12 publications - at least 2500 word articles accepted
3. 400 word description of your article, beginning with: "I propose..."

So, what topics do I have an interest in?

1. I am Step-Mom
2. Non-Traditional Students (actually written before but I'm taking a different path this time)
3. Cell Phones Schools (don't want to get further specific on this topic as others may want to try to use it)
4. Alternative Heating Options (wanted to write this as a blog, but I'll defer to my magazine article) - this is alternate ways of heating your home versus just natural gas
5. Maintenance of roads

Definitely #3 and #5 would work well as a local news feature article for the local newspapers. But, I need to decide which one to do and get 12 publications writing guidelines for freelancers.

So, think I'm busy? This isn't the half of what I've got to do this weekend.

Imaging Africa: watch 3 movies a second time and write up their journal entries, watch 1 movie for the first time and write up its journal entry, then read 2 chapters and 1 handout.

Senior Survey: Read the General Prologue for The Wife of Bath (piece of story from The Canterbury Tales) and start researching and writing my 5-page paper on The Canterbury Tales that's due on 2/21.

Magazine Class: what's above plus read chapter 4

Internship: (not really homework but can be done at the office) finish up newsletter to give to Tina by Wednesday for final review so it can be published on 2/19. Almost done, just a few more topics to add.

Plus, Cassi goes to Pa's on Monday and Tuesday this week, along with making sure her homework is done. Oh, and by the way, I've also got a Valentine's party to prepare for on Thursday with school. I'll probably be the one going out and buying the goodies for the school on Wednesday night and bringing them in Thursday. And, I've got my share of the goods to buy for her class. Sunday night, we'll be getting the cards together. Thursday, I'll pick up candy so she can hand them out to her class.

Plus, I'm helping Rob this weekend with his English quiz and Sociology assignment. AND, tomorrow night, we're going to a dinner with one of his lodges (he's in 2).

So, when people talk to me, understand I'm tired for a reason. But, good thing is, last week I got my HAIR CUT! All the curl is gone (well 99% of it anyway). I'll be working to get the rest cut out as my hair grows again. One of the parents from PTO who works at the school during lunch says Cassi and I look like twins. We'll have to get a picture of us together now that both of us have short hair.

Gotta go. I'm reading some sociology on deviants tonight to help Rob come up with his answers for tomorrow. Gotta love that web-based class!

Lots of love for now,
Cathy
8^ )

291 Miles....

That's how many miles my car went from the last fill up until yesterday.

I try to track my mileage on my car. I like to know how efficient the gas is by how many miles I get before having to fill it because I live a half hour from downtown Cleveland, and the drive can be from a half hour to 40 minutes to get to school (or work when I'm done school).

Over the past couple months, Rob mentioned how he thought someone was siphoning the gas out of his tank. Well, about three weeks ago, I finally noticed it on my car. The door to my gas opening, the outside door, not the gas cap, was just slightly open. If you weren't looking, you wouldn't realize the tank door was actually open, not closed. Well, I'm anal about seeing things when they are out of place.

About two weeks ago, not this past week, the week before, we had to get gas for my car. I drive a 2004 Ford Focus. It was due for a refill. When I filled it, the gas cap was VERY difficult to open. This was because it was almost on empty. Just 2 days later, yep, 2 days after Rob drove the car to work, I drove it to school 3 times, I needed to fill it again on Thursday. It was in about the same position as Tuesday as far as where the gas gauge was. However, two things were different than when I got it Tuesday night. First, I was almost 40-50 miles short on the amount of gas I used on the tank, and second, the gas cap came right off. For that many miles, the amount of gas taken would have been about 2 gallons. So, I told this to Rob. He agreed that all of a sudden his gas mileage went back to normal.

Now, we both know that when it's time for an oil change, the gas mileage goes south, but this was even worse because my car is in need for an oil change but the weather has been too bad to do it. Rob does it himself.

Friday, we went and purchased 2 locking gas caps. I filled up my tank this past Sunday. It was at half a tank, but I had bonus money from a local grocery store. When you purchase from the grocery store, you get money off to purchase their gas. The regular price was $2.97, but I had 60 cents off a gallon. So, it behooved me to filler up. This was Sunday afternoon. I drove 5 round trips to Cleveland this week.

The total miles before filling up? 291. But, I also knew I could have gotten 20-30 miles more on that tank had I REALLY pushed it. But, I was satisfied that my gas cap is working to keep the area criminals out of my gas tank.

KMA (Kiss My Ass!)

Ok. Just wanted to share. With the economy the way it is, it's REALLY worth looking at, if the outer door of your gas tank doesn't lock. We'll definitely look at that for our next car.

Lots of love for now,
Cathy
8^ )

National Pancake Day

Happy National Pancake Day!

Make sure you go out and eat a pancake today!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Fun Weekend...

Cassi is definitely enjoying herself this weekend. Not because she's at Pa's like usual. She's with me.

Yesterday, I took her to the roll arena. I have LOTS of reading to finish this weekend for next week that I got a good chunk done. I read most of my magazine writing textbook. Today, on Sunday, as I write this, I am working on the written portions of my homework for Tuesday.

But, while we were at the rink, Cassi spent some time practicing skating backwards. And, they have lessons on Saturdays. She wants to try some lessons. We'll see. She does a wonderful job now. I know the lessons would be good for the harder stuff. She got to see 2 girls who were skate-dancing, like an ice skater would do.

Before skating, we went to Grandpa Dave's to look at his anti-virus. Turns out he really doesn't have an anti-virus program on his computer. He's been using the one that comes with AOL. I loaded an older one that I'll have to go back to remove because the definitions subscription expired. I'll remove it and see what happens. I'll do that Tuesday because Cassi is going to Pa's while I go to class.

Anyway, we went grocery shopping before skating. We REALLY needed meat for the next week or so. Plus, I needed something to cook for din din. Rob asked for flank steak. A really good, cheaper piece of meat. I bought a whole one and had it cut in half. Turns out I got two good size steaks for the three of us. But, I also picked up some fish, another steak, and sausage (for spaghetti).

Then, she skated and I read. It was hilarious. I took a photo of her and sent it to Marie. A little hard to pick out because she was so far away, but you can tell it's her by her white t-shirt.

In the evening, I cooked din din and we all ate. She ate eight pieces of steak and a whole baked potato. She's eating more of the foods we eat now, but in portions. In the evening, we watched one of the movies Marie sent Cassi, "Meet the Robinsons." Since we went to Pa's, we picked up the movies, iPod money, and Christmas ornament Marie sent. Luck dog that Cassi is, Aunt Marie sends her money for being good at school. For December, she got $10. This money is being saved by Pa for her to get Christmas gifts at the end of the year. Very good idea.

So, we watched the movie twice. The second time, she fell asleep. I let her sleep with me again as Rob is working this weekend.

Today, we planned on bowling. Cassi only bowled one game. The lanes Rob and I use send us coupons in the mail. Today, for the super bowl, the coupon was for 42 cents a game a person. To rent shoes for her, it was $2.75. Since she only wanted to play one game cause I offered her a better option, bowling was only a buck. I've got my own shoes and ball. Rob and I played more before I had Cassi.

Now, we're at McDonald's. She's playing with the kids. This McD's is pretty good in that they have wi-fi access. I've got my laptop and am working on homework (when not writing this post). She's having a good time. I'm keeping her out of the house so Rob can sleep. He's got to work again tonight.

In a while, we'll go to the grocery store. They're having a pot luck at his work tonight. He asked if I could pick up lunch meat and goodies for his offering. So, a small lunch meat tray it is, with lettuce, tomatoes, maybe some pickles, and toppings (small containers) and a loaf of bread.

OK. Gotta get some more work done.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

School = Ideas

I can't believe the amount of "stuff" that's coming out of my brain. I think it's because of the fact that I'm back in school. But it's also because of the fact that I've got to come up with ideas for topics for my two major projects. I've got a group paper for my Imaging Africa class. The paper is to be 25 pages long. Plus, we have to put together a presentation. No sweat. Last semester, I put together a 20-page paper by myself.

Now, I've also got a 15-page paper and presentation for my Senior Survey. For those of you who know education, this class is called a CAPSTONE class, meaning that you are doing profession-level stuff. Again, ok. Good for me. I can handle it!

But, it was like the floodgates have opened to overall ideas. When I drive, I think of topics to write here. The downside is that if I don't get them down on paper, I'll forget them because when I start thinking about a topic, I immediately mentally start writing it. So, satire and wit are "out the window" so to say as this happens mostly when I'm driving my car.

My brain is all aflutter!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Feeling Sorry...

I almost felt sorry.

Then reality set in.

I don't feel sorry anymore, just very upset. This person is getting away with far too much CRAP and putting my husband in the middle. I don't want him to get into trouble because of this person.

That's all I can say right now. There's bad feelings floating around right now. Saying more will just make it worse.

Feel for me!

Cathy
8^ (

The Sickness Has Passed (almost)

The update from the doctor's appt Friday and the weekend I lost.

Thursday. I ended up staying home because I just wasn't "feeling right." All afternoon, I needed to take a nap because I was so tired. And couldn't do it. So, Thursday's night class was out too. Good thing because I was slowly going downhill and couldn't fight it.

Friday. I woke up with a sore throat, itchy ears, cough that would wake the dead, and headache. At that point, I hadn't really checked my temp but knew I was running a fever. Cassi was still coughing but much better than you bought with the 102 fevers. We went to the doctor in the afternoon. This also meant no internship on Friday. I couldn't move and couldn't speak.

Bottom line. We both have a virus. Pretty much. Keep giving Cassi the Motrin for fever and the cough syrup to help supress the cough. The assistant checked my temp. I was 102.7 and she stopped. I even told her that I haven't had a fever like that in YEARS. Actually, when I get sick, even this sick, my temperature always goes down. The doctor could tell how I was hurting when I coughed. She gave me cough syrup with codeine. We went and filled it and went home.

Let me just say, Dad ROCKS! I called Rob to tell him what happened. I had all I could do to get us home; I felt to bad. Rob had to work and couldn't take us. I called Dad when I got home. He first said he would come get Cassi Saturday morning for sleep over. Then, he called back and said he could come get her Friday night.

As they were leaving, I asked them to lock the door on the way out. (forgot) I was unable to get up from the recliner to lock the door. All the lights were on in my living room. The front door was unlocked. I don't like the doors to be unlocked, especially when I'm alone.

I didn't get up to turn off lights and lock the door until 11pm. And, I slept pretty much from 6:30 Friday night until Sunday morning. In the recliner.

By Sunday morning, my fever finally broke. I started to feel better, just mainly stuffed and coughing. The first things I did Sunday morning (and does this sound familiar) dishes, laundry, garbage.

Cassi was off Monday and Rob kept her as he was off work. I went to my internship and class. I was so glad to be out of the house and feeling SO MUCH BETTER.

But, now, I'm still dealing with a sore throat, coughing, and a stuff nose.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. Cassi is still coughing too but better.

Small Blog Entries

OK. Because so much is going on in my life (and our lives) right now, I'm working to write smaller blog entries. I want you to be able to read what you want (even parts of everything). Sometimes the posts can be long. Right now, I've got 6 other entries that will go in below this entry.

Note to self: make sure I've got a small notepad on hand at ALL times! Ideas are bombarding me from everywhere now.

Sicky note: We're all home sick. I know a few girls in my classes have been out sick and came back still sick. Good note is, it's a weekend for me. I'll make up my internship hours next week with being there 3 days. As it stands, I'll take Cassi and myself to see the doctor tomorrow. My throat is REALLY sore right now, coughing and chest stress.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. Even though I'm sick, I'm still working on homework for classes!

Senior Survey Better

Post written on 2/2/2008!

It is DEFINITELY going better. Because I seem to be asking all of the right questions. When we started our first reading assignment, I emailed the professor. I said to her that I understand there's two different ways to read something. The first is to read for the pleasure of reading. The second is to read with the intention of understanding why it was written. So, my main question to her was what types of questions should I be thinking about when I'm reading, general questions that I could use for all reading.

She apologized for not getting back to me as my email went to her spam. But, I had asked a very responsible question. I told her that was fine about not replying because my question had merit for the whole group.

And, up to now, it appears that I have taken lots of responsibility to ask questions that the whole group is probably thinking.

So, this class is going 100% better than I thought.

Then, I got sick. But, a nice classmate allowed me to take her notes home. Yeah! I was able to scan them in and have them for our first test. Because the test is open book/open notes, any notes I can get for the test will just help me more.

And, we're already thinking about our papers. We've got a smaller one due on the 19th, about 5 pages. This paper can be the jumping off point for the MAJOR project. I already know how I want to present my project, in costume!

OK. That's it for now. I've got lots of reading to do for this class for Tuesday. Want to get it done this weekend.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Internship

Written on 2/2/2008!

The internship is going AWESOME! I wish I can find a boss as good as Tina. The internship is very flexible. I've got to work 10 hours a week. As it stands, I'm scheduled on Monday's and Wednesday's for 5 hours each. If I have to leave early or just don't get my 5 hours in, I can make up the extra time on Friday's.

This was how my job was the last year before I was laid off. As long as I had my 40 hours a week, my boss didn't care when I worked, knowing that programmers keep weird hours.

Anyway, I've completed my first report. It was a weird research project, but allowed me to really look at the information from the foundations. Then, I wrote up the report, giving my suggestions for foundations and funding options for this project. Very easy, but detailed. I'll post my findings on my online writing portfolio soon.

My next project is the Research News newsletter for February. I should have the majority of it together this week.

That is all!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Follow-up to Last Post's Comment

Cassi ended up being sick today. Last night, when I got to Pa's, she was in jammies and ready to come home. Then, all of a sudden, she was on the pot. At the same time, her face was nasty flush red and her lips were red.

In 2-words, MINI ME!

When I was growing up, mom knew when I was faking because when I was REALLY sick, my lips looked like I had fire engine red lip stick on.

So, after deliberating between Dad and Rob (through text), Dad decided to take off work and keep her at his house. Today, I was downtown in Cleveland all day. My internship is for 5 hours, but, today I was there until 3. With her there and not home, I was able to stay for my break and go to class. This meant I was in Cleveland until after 6 pm. I haven't done long days like this in YEARS!

But, last night, Cassi was very sad and CRIED. First, she was upset because she was going to Dan's house. Dan said she could come over and play with Alexis. Then, I told her she could go roller skating Sunday (new fun thing to do on weekends and where I can get homework done at the same time). She was worried, even fretting that she would not be well to go. She listened to how I wouldn't make that decision until Friday. If she was still sick, she probably wouldn't go. Finally, she was utterly distraught that her teachers wouldn't know that she was sick. I told her I would call Mrs. Carey (secretary in office) who would tell her teachers she was sick.

After all that crying, fretting, and despair, she was fine with staying at Pa's. Then, she wanted to play, with her fever and all.

This morning, I told Mrs. Carey that I just HAD to call. She laughed and said that she would make sure her teachers knew she would be out.

As it stands at this point, she's feeling better but coughing. Rob has an appointment with the eye doctor in the am. We will determine if she is better to go. If not, she'll just have to stay home again. But, in the afternoon, she will go to Pa's as I have class from 6-8 pm.

It was just so hilarious to see her so worried. Once all her worries were handled, she was fine. OK, I'll stay.

And, as the comment said, she talked to Aunt 'Re today. With 'Re's schedule and mine being so screwy, it's been hard to get time for Cassi to talk with her. I've even had trouble finding time to even text. (sad face indeed)

So, I will work to make sure there's time for all of us to chat!

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

Internship Research and Findings...

Having nothing to do with my research, I came across an awesome poem. I know this specifically deals with early childhood education, but I like it. I think you will too.

Written by Naomi Drew (1987)

I Am an Individual

I am an individual.
I have dignity and worth.
I am unique.
I deserve respect and I respect others.
I am part of the human family.
I have something special to offer the world.
I am committed to a peaceful world for all of us.
I make a difference, and so do you.
I can accomplish whatever I set out to do, and so can you.
I am the key to peace.


It's too bad more people can't live by these words. I believe this everyday, especially because of Cassi.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

My Grandmother MUST Be Telling Me Something

I know you guys recall that I've talked about dreams of my grandmother. This grandmother is my dad's mom. When we were growing up, Dad would take Marie and I to Massachusetts to visit her. At that time, on Sunday's of the visit, family would show up "out of the woodwork." Each time, there would be cousins I hadn't seen the last time.

Anyway, over the past few years, I've had a few dreams about going to her house. I do recall seeing her once or twice. This dream was definitely the "after" dream. She passed away when I was in high school, which was WAY too long ago.

But, this dream starts out here in Ohio, with Mom and Cassi taking a road trip to her house. Basically, I remember talking about how to get there and we decided across Rt. 90, which takes you to the northern parts of PA.

Then, we got there.

The house looked about the same. We got to go inside because the family living there allowed us in. The rooms still looked the same except for a fridge in the front parlor. For those of you who don't know, the term parlor in New England is the same as the formal living room. The biggest change to me was the kitchen. I remember the kitchen being HUGE. As a footprint of the house, the kitchen was dead in the middle of the first floor, with the parlor in front and a family room flanking the back. Basically the house was divided into three downstairs. As I'm walking around, I notice that all of the door fronts have been glazed over with a black laminate or plastic type covering. But, everything again is still where it was when we were growing up.

I look out the window. The house had a garage, but down the hill and behind the house. Out this window, you're able to see a drive that 4 or 5 cars can park. I see what looks like a REALLY old car. The first person I think of is my step grandpa Freddie. Uh, oh! I thought he would have died by now! The family says the house was converted into a multi-family property and he lives downstairs, which figures because he loved being in the garage when we visited.

So, we try to make sure he doesn't see us. The family who lives there leaves the kitchen. I climb up onto the counter that shoots out from the stove area. Above the stove are cabinets. I open the cabinets to find all of these boxes of recipes. OH, MY, Gosh! These are the recipe boxes that are holding all my grandmother's recipes! I so try to snatch them. But, as soon as I find them, the family comes walking back in as I quickly get down from the counter.

I can't remember if I take one of the boxes, but I feel as if in my dream that I do. What the recipes were? Couldn't tell you at all. But, it was IMPORTANT that I get those boxes.

I then look out the window over the sink and see a lake has formed down the hill. I was told by the family the city turned the area into a lake. This was where the drive was to get to that garage. I go outside and down the back to see an apartment of sorts where the garage used to be. I also see the lake and how you can't drive to where the garage was either.

Then, I wake up from my dream. Something is definitely telling me I need to visit there. Maybe after my graduation and such, I'll take the trip.

I had this dream yesterday morning and still remember it now.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

A Funny Story...

As this JUST happened, I thought I would share.

Since Rob is working this evening, I told Cassi she could sleep with me. She came out and asked if she could have a snack of mini marshmallows. Sure, a small snack before bed.

I walked in with the mini's and she says to me, "Hi, marsh-mom!"

OK, so my kid decided she was going to call me marshmallows! I guess that's not a bad nickname since I'm kinda squeeshy and soft in the middle.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Film Screening Journal

OK. You guys will have to bear with me this semester. As part of my Imaging Africa class, I have to keep a movie journal. We will be screening movies in class and writing a journal. The professor doesn't want us to turn in an electronic journal. He just doesn't understand; my thoughts run wild and my hands on a computer work faster than a pen and paper.

So, I am going to use this blog to help with the notes from the movies. This is what I need to write about:

Title of film, Director, Main Characters, General Outline

Then, there's 5 questions I have to answer. Each writing will be a few pages in my journal. Ugh!

Questions:

1. What is your reaction to the content of the film?
2. What would you change in the film's content?
3. Iconography (use of symbols)
4. Ideology (collection of ideas)
5. Indigenous (maintaining values of the film's society)

OK. That's it for now. Gotta get ready for school.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

Why are you taking English?

This was what my professor asked me today. First, Rob had to drive me to school today. He's been off and being my chauffeur to class. Because my financial aid got screwed up this semester, I have been unable as of yet to pay for my parking. Unlike less urban colleges, my college is in the middle of the city of Cleveland. My parking has been costing me $141 every semester. And, this is still no guarantee that parking in available when I need it. Many times I have to sit and wait for someone to leave so I can park and go to class. Lately, though, this has not been a major issue.

But, for today, Rob drove me to school so I would not have to pay an exorbitant amount of money to park. (I'll have to pay tomorrow and Thursday.) But, today was a bad day for driving with the amount of snow that happened to come down since 4am this morning.

Today, specifically this morning, is my English Senior Survey class. This class is MANDATORY for graduation as an English major. AND, this is the only section being offered this semester. This class will be doing literary analysis on Medieval Pilgrimage.

OK. This will be my challenge course. AND, this is the first semester that I've had to do any literary analysis with readings other than poetry. But, she reads through the syllabus. Something I can do on my own. She talks about what's going to be due this semester: 1 5-page paper in about a month, 2 exams, 1 15-page research paper and presentation, and 1 final. Oh, and by the way, the final is on a Thursday morning from 8:30am - 10:30am. I will HAVE to have someone available to take Cassi to school that day as I will have to come to school at 7:30 in the morning.

She gets done with class in 30 minutes (out of a 2 hour class period). Good thing Rob didn't go to mom's to wait until class was done because it would have been a waste. Prior to leaving, I gave the professor a more direct email address. So far, all professors have asked to email to reach them the best. So, I mention to her that this class will be a challenge for me as this is the first real literary analysis class I'm in. She asks me what my major is which I tell her English. She asks me why am I pursuing an English degree? I told her to get back into Technical Writing where I was before coming back to school.

I know there are a lot of arguments floating around about why people study English. Every time I get asked what I am pursuing, I'm constantly getting people to say, "So, are you going to teach?" Just because I'm getting my degree in English doesn't mean I want to teach. Nor does it mean I want to pursue my Master's Degree (a goal of taking this class). It also doesn't mean that literature is my life and goal is analysis of such.

There are other pursuits that English fits right in. So, let me just say, I will definitely have trouble with this class because of this professor. But, who knows, maybe I'll do better than I think because of the challenge.

The positives to today:

1. I was recognized as being on the Dean's List for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for my GPA. At first I wondered, why was I all of a sudden recognized when I was getting above a 3.25 every semester since I started. Then, I realized, this was the first semester I had 12 credit hours. Makes a difference. OK. Cool for me. I got a 4.0.

2. My Tuesday night class will be easy and I'll get an A for sure. It's Feature Writing where my goal for the semester is to decide what I want to write about, research it and magazines I could submit it to, write it (3 versions with revisions), and then submit it for publishing. Who knows? I could have it published in a magazine that would want me to do more writing.

So, it's about 9:15pm now. I'm getting ready for bed. Because of this financial aid thing, I can't go to my internship tomorrow. Called Tina. She's cool about the whole thing. Because it's flexible, I can start next Wednesday. I'll have my refund check for sure and get my parking paid for (and my other bills waiting in the wings).

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

P.S. Sorry I had to vent. Got a headache right now, probably from my hair. It's REALLY getting heavy.

A Little Fodder To Ponder...

Because I'm very DISGRUNTLED right now about school and Financial Aid specifically, here's a little fodder to think about. I got this from mom as an email forward.

This speaks for itself!!!!!

A Washington , DC , airport ticket agent offers some examples of why our country is in trouble!

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window. (On an Airplane!)

2. I got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Cape Town. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information. Then she interrupted me with, "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts." Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts; Cape Town is in Africa."
Her response - click.

3. A senior Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that's not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!" (OMG)

4. I got a call from a lawmaker's wife who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." She said, "But they look so close on the map." (OMG, again!)

5. An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time." (Aghhhh!!)

6. An Illinois Congresswoman called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 am and got to Chicago at 8:33 am. I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she couldn't understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7. A New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said 'FAT,' and I'm overweight I think that's very rude!" After putting her on hold for a minute while I looked into it (I was laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is 'FAT' - (Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

8. A Senator's aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?"

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them."

10. A lady Senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Florida on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever, smarty!"

11. A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!"

12. A New Mexico Congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the lady. After some searching, I came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" The reply? "Whatever! I knew it was a big animal."

Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it's in!

Cathy
8^ (

Vacation is Coming to an End...

I think my body is prepping me for the next 16 weeks. This week, I've been REALLY tired. In preparation of being tired, my body helped with bringing me my monthly "non" friend, which was REALLY bad this week. It started Friday with LOTS of sleep. If I wasn't down the street at Cassi's school, I was home sleeping. Once Cassi got home and I got Rob off to work, I was again back in bed. Saturday morning, after Rob came home from work, I got up, went out to the living room, sat on the recliner, and proceeded to go back to sleep until 12:30 pm.

I've also enjoyed a few migraines this week.

Rob and I went to CSU Monday morning and picked up my books. Good thing I went early. First, there was hardly anyone there buying books yet. Second, they had to manually put my information into the computer to allow me to buy my books with my scholarship. So far, my book cost is at $203. I'm still working on getting my other book, which is $125 by itself. We'll see. It would be a GREAT reference book once I'm done school.

But, this week has also been very productive for me. As you "read" me mention the other day, I've been posting stuff onto my online store. Since I decided my 4 classes (3 plus internship) was enough for me this semester, I would not do any craft shows and work on posting my products (and making new) for my online store. This week, I added the following: 2 items in chore charts under the main headings and tea bag envelopes in categories Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and Father's Day. Mother's Day should be updated tomorrow. As it stands right now, I've got over 400 products in the tea bag envelopes products alone. And, if you're wondering, yes, I designed each and every envelope.

A lot of stuff has been going on around here. Not really wanting to talk about them, or give these people their fame, I'll just say in short: 1. the bother in law has been arrested again and 2. I REALLY wish I could kick my step daughter in the ass!

OK. Enough said!

Cassi is now a tooth-less. Monday morning, she had daddy help her remove the tooth still hanging by a thread (small blood vessel). Daddy pulled it and she bawled! Because of that little blood vessel, she bled some. But that tooth REALLY needed to come out. More and more, she's a mini-me. Her teeth are taking forever to fall out. This tooth was actually bent sideways in her mouth. But, the tooth fairy brought her $2 for the tooth.

Tuesday, she went out with Dan and Alexis. Dan bought her a Build-a-Bear bear. The bear is light blue and her name is "Blue." She is wearing an angel's outfit. Now, all she talks about is getting more clothes for Blue from the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Oh, Joy! The bear and what she got for her gift was $57! I can't believe how expensive it is for this store. But, for those of you who know Cleveland, this store lives in the mall in Strongsville! Very swanky and VERY expensive.

And, you've heard about our beauty trip. That was on Monday. I'll post a new photo as soon as I take one. She looks adorable.

But, she's not the only one that will be sporting a new do. Next week, I'm planning on getting my hair cut. Because I had a perm last March, I'm working on getting all the hair still with curls cut off. My hair is EXCEPTIONALLY long now, longer than it has ever been. I'm going to cut it and see how it goes to grow it all straight. And, I'm planning on having it thinned again.

OK. It's almost 11 pm now. I've got to get to bed. I didn't get a chance to watch Ugly Betty tonight when it came on. Company came over. So, I'll watch it before bed.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Volunteering

Yep. Here's my public service announcement for the day!

After watching a commercial on TV this evening, I was informed about a Web site called VolunteerMatch.org. I'm currently looking at it right now.

If you have been wanting to volunteer but don't know if you can because of time or other commitments, this Web site will allow you the ability to find a volunteer situation that fits your time and lifestyle.

I would like to find a volunteer project to work with Cassi. We'll be able to do stuff together, to help other people.

That's it for tonight. I'm still putting more products out on my store. Since I'm not participating in craft shows this Spring, I'm going to put as much on my store as possible (and design new stuff at the same time).

Lots of love for now,
Cathy
8^ )

Graduation...

Yes, I know this is yet another post about graduation. I've been looking on the CSU Web site concerning information about graduation.

This semester graduation is scheduled for May 10, Saturday. Marie, please make sure you and Joe are available and can come. As it stands right now, I'm allowed 6 tickets for graduation. I will be planning on asking for 4 extra (cause I want VP and hubby to come too).

VP, if you can afford to come (with hubby of course), I would love to have you come, visit and come to graduation. If you cannot because of money, I completely understand. We'll talk more as the semester comes along.

But, I've been looking at grad levels and honors (cause I'm so neurotic). But, if I graduate with at least a 3.3, I'll graduate Cum Laude. As it stands, I've got a 3.66 GPA. This level would allow me to graduate with a Manga Cum Laude! My only concern is the Senior Survey. The other classes, I know I'll get A's in.

OK. That's it for now. Still looking at stuff for graduation so I know when I go to order my gown, etc.

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

New Year's Resolutions...

Yep, like everyone else, I've got a few New Year's Resolutions! Here we go:

1. Add more stuff to my online store.
2. Get another 4.0 this semester.
3. Get that KILLER job. I will start applying for jobs this month as I am now within the 4 month time line before graduation.
4. Take Cassi roller skating more often (she really enjoys it).
5. Try roller skating again with Cassi.
6. Be more active (no, I'm just not active enough).
7. Keep my house REALLY clean, food cooked, etc.
8. Learn to say "No" when I'm too busy.
9. Other stuff as it comes.

So, as you're all probably wondering, I don't have a resolution to lose weight. Well, first, I figure since I'll probably break a resolution like that, I won't make one. However, if I can do numbers 5 and 6, it would help me get more in shape. Part of the more active is that I would like to go dancing more when I can.

With that, I'll close for now. I've got some stuff to do. Yep, it's Saturday night, almost 10pm, and I'm going to wash a load of laundry. I wasn't feeling well yesterday and today and did LOTS of sleeping (when Cassi wasn't here). So, I'm still awake for now.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )

Mini-Me!

These photos were taken on 12/20 before her Christmas concert. The above picture shows her full dress. But this second picture really shows her face, which is a Mini-Me!

Lots of love,
Cathy
8^ )

Things Past, Present, and Future

We had a very good holiday. Cassi was disappointed, though. The only thing she wanted for Christmas from Santa was a pogo stick. She was disappointed Santa didn't bring it. I explained how Santa felt since she couldn't use it inside cause of space issues and couldn't use it outside because of the cold, it would be better for mom and dad to get it once spring and summer arrive. I told her I agreed with Santa. We would revisit the issue when the weather got better.

Other than that, Christmas was just another day here. We went to mom's because our dining room table is being refinished. It will probably take until summer to get finished but that's okay. As much as I'm busy, Rob is even busier. He's involved with his lodge meetings, 2 classes and helping take care of Cassi while I'm at school when she doesn't go to Pa's.

She spent the weekend with them until Christmas Eve. Then, she came home for overnight. Christmas Day, we all went back to Pa's. She proceeded to stay until the 29th. She came home for her birthday. Our baby turned 8 on the 30th. (Yes, I didn't put a post out here to celebrate her birthday!) We had 2 friends over. The local roller skating rink gave out free passes to skate during break. Cassi and Alexis (who went) both had roller skates. She made a new friend. One of the nurses Rob works with has 2 girls. They came along too. I had 1 free pass and paid for her skates. Madison is her name. Her sister Cheyenne also came. Wendy is mom. Mom paid for herself and daughter Cheyenne. They all had a good time. I don't skate for anything. Have had too many problems with dizzy spells and vertigo (which I still believe is related to the fact that I'm losing my hearing, but that's another story).

While they were skating, I got to take some pictures. Rob zipped over to the local store to buy a small cake for after skating. Cassi had Madison and Alexis spend the night. They ate grilled cheese and fries. Then cake, then gummy life savers, then more cake. I have one of those elevated queen size air mattresses. At first, Cassi was on the couch with the other 2 girls laying normally. After Rob and I went to bed (and Rob zonked), I had to shush the girls to sleep. Come to find out, they rotated the other way on the bed and all 3 girls were couped up together on the mattress. A sight indeed! By morning, Alexis was in the dead center of the bed with the 2 other girls huddled at the end of the mattress. It's no wonder someone didn't fall off. But, I was awake until well after midnight. Come 7:30 the next morning, they were up. They ate pancakes for breakfast. Madison left about noon. But, Alexis and Cassi ate mac & cheese. Then, Alexis went home.

I hadn't ever been so TIRED!

After I got up and was "awake," Rob decided it was time to put up new smoke detectors (one decided to go off tonight when I made dindin). Plus, we'd been planning on moving around the bedroom. We hauled out 3 bags of CRAP! Some of the stuff was from the goods Rob got for Christmas. He finally went through his clothes and discarded the ones that really needed to go.

Then, we had to go to Lowe's. My cedar chest (the one I've had for almost 12 years now), moved from the bedroom to living room. I couldn't believe how open the space became from this small move. But, to move it, we needed felt pads for under the feet. No way was the chest going on the new hard wood floors without pads. Then, we stopped at Giant Eagle for snacks for the evening.

But, New Year's Eve. I napped so I would be awake for the ball drop. Well, Marie was an AWESOME sister. She bought us the Star Wars Lego's games for PS2. Rob and I are hooked on the Star Wars II and are currently on chapter 6 of Episode 4 (original Star Wars). I laugh every time I see Princess Leia as a Lego figure. And the way they have them TALK (without really talking).

Well, we played News Year's Eve. We missed the ball drop by 2 minutes that's how hooked we are on this game. And, Cassi is even more so now. I'm only hooked when I can play with Rob as a team. Cassi likes to play by herself. We have a game saved and she has her own.

We ended up not going to bed until 3:30 am (Cassi at 2am) and weren't up New Year's Day until almost noon. As soon as I got up, I was in the kitchen baking. We were going to Rob's friend's house in Nova, which is about an hour away. This is Wendy from work. Her and her husband, Allen, invited us to dinner at their place. They are so nice. I can't believe how far she lives and drives to Cleveland to go to work. She lives in Ashland County (Amish country). From my house it is about a 45-60 minute drive south west and we live 30-40 minutes from Downtown Cleveland. So, you can see why I say the distance.

The drive was slow as it was snowing and REALLY slow on the way back. Marie, DON'T BLAB TO DAD! You know how he is with bad weather and us driving in it. We were good. We had the station wagon that has been driving than the Focus because the center of gravity is lower to the ground. Although, we did see one nasty accident on the way home.

Yesterday, we also got up REALLY late. We went to Rob's school to pick up his books and had to go to JC Penney to exchange a clothing outfit. Rob's mother decides she's going to buy an outfit for Cassi for her birthday. We get it. It's too small. Not once has she called and asked what size does Cassi wear. Oh, yeah. That's right, she asked a year ago! Well, the last time I remember her asking, Cassi was wearing size 7 pants. She is now wearing a 10-12 pants. So, of course, the outfit doesn't fit.

She's Mini-Me! I'll post pics from the holiday concert she had in a few. She looks EXACTLY like me. And after we talk to her on the phone, she asks me what is Cassi's favorite color. Being that Cassi had red hair, what color. The outfit was brown, which isn't bad and actually looked nice on her. Her favorite colors are PINK and RED! So, the new outfit we got was red. OK. Now, I don't shop at JC Penney for ANY REASON. The price are OUTRAGEOUS! The tags were still on the original suit, which was good. Rob's mom said she paid 50% for the pieces. But, the jacket alone was $25 at full price. I still wouldn't have paid 50% of that price. But, we were able to make an exchange without any money exchanging hands. Good for us. Then, we left.

Ugh!

But, I'm in my last week before going back to school. I can't believe this is FINALLY it!

OK. I'm going to close for now.

Lots of love to all,
Cathy
8^ )