Checking In..

I made it through my first day of being a college student. Haha! I signed in yesterday and my class information was waiting for me. I opened up the syllabus and read through it, looked at the class assignments, and printed out the information. I had to make a calendar to remind me of when everything is due for both classes. I will get my actual assignments for the next class on Monday. I am actually okay right now. I am not too freaked out like I thought I would be. I have a lot to read and a lot to remember before my first quiz on June 8. 

This next couple of weeks are going to be busy. I have some things to take care of at home, and I also have VBS (Vacation Bible School) all next week. I have volunteered to be a teacher's helper, and Gavin will be attending, plus I will have work and school. And Gavin. I ask for prayers that I will make it through next week. I know I can do it, it is just going to be tough. I will try to update, but I might miss a post next week. I am sure I won't be on Facebook or Twitter much, either, unless I am able to sign in while at work. 

School Daze...

As some of you know, I went to school a couple years ago and nothing ever came of it. I could not find a job in my field, because of lack of experience. The school had no internship program for ‘Accounting Specialist”, so I basically have a certificate that is kind of useless. Although, it does look good on my resume for future endeavors, I suppose.

Well, I decided, after much deliberation and prayer, to go BACK to school, and so I am. I have enrolled in online classes for the summer semester and will start on campus in the Fall. My first online class begins on June 1. That is less than a week away. I am starting to get a little nervous, as I have not ever done traditional college, and online classes (in the summer) may have been a poor choice. I only say that because I already have to get used to school, and of course, summer classes are shorter, so require a lot of extra effort. My first classes are Intro to Music and History of Kentucky. This is an interesting combination, since they are basically both history-type classes. Well, The Kentucky History class is definitely history, but the music class has a lot of historical references. I ask for a lot of prayer over the summer, for both myself AND Gavin, because I am hoping to be able to organize my time well enough to make sure he still gets lots of my time, as well as work, and school. I am working on organizing, and prioritizing right now, and hope I have it figured out, somewhat, by the time I sign on to my first class on Tuesday.

So, that is school in a nutshell. If you did read this, please let me know. I just want to know if anyone actually reads anything I write. God bless everyone and have a great summer. Look for more posts soon!

It Has Been Too Long....

Well, I didn't follow through with my commitment. At all. On anything I committed to. I have not written since February, when I had made a commitment to write at least one post a week. I have not been exercising like I should be, although I made a commitment to myself to do so. I have also been eating whatever I wanted, although I made a commitment to myself to NOT do so. So, here I sit, feeling worse for wear, because I didn't follow through. 

If you know me, you will know that is one of my worst attributes. I have a real problem with following through. I try and try and still I always mess up somehow. I even joke that I couldn't even make it through a full-term pregnancy, because my son was almost 7 weeks early! 

My life is at stake here, when it comes to the exercise and eating better, and I still can't seem to get a hold on that. I have been feeling awful the last few weeks, and finally someone mentioned I might be lactose intolerant. So, I decided to just perform a little experiment. I am trying non-dairy or lactose free foods for a week, and see if I feel better. It is only the first day, so we will see how it goes. My blood glucose has been good the last few weeks, and I hope that continues to stay that way. I will be out of strips to test it soon, so I won't know. Just praying that I can keep up.

One more thing, and I will dedicate an entire post to this subject, but I am going back to school. I begin online classes on June 1. Like I said, I will write a post about that soon. 

Back to my commitments. I am re-committing to post something AT LEAST once a week, even if it is picture or youtube video or something. Even if it is one line saying hi. I commit to exercising for at least 30 minutes a day AT LEAST three times a week. I know, that isn't much, but it is a start. I also am going to attempt to eat better. I will let you know how all of this goes in my next post. Be on the lookout for it. Until then, be blessed.


Mel

A New Beginning....Again

I have always heard people say "This book changed my life", and always wondered how that could happen. Well, now I know. I set off to read this book, by Sherri Shepherd from The View thinking I would get a good laugh out of it. Well, it turned out to be much more than a few laughs. She woke me up. 

If any of you reading this know me personally, you know I am very overweight. Even if you don't know me personally, you may have seen a picture or two that reflects that. Well, I also have Type 2 Diabetes and am on oral medication for it. Also, if you know anything about me at all, you know I have an AMAZING five year old son, named Gavin. He has broken through some great obstacles over his short life, and I am more amazed by him every day. And, I am all he has. I am a single parent. I have no help from anyone else to take care of him, and that is how it has been since Day One. The reason I bring that up is, because if I weren't around, he would have no one. I always knew that in the back of my mind, but I just kind of ignored it. Until I read this book.

Sherri Shepherd is a stand-up comic, actress, Co-host of The View and also a single mother with Diabetes. Her son was premature (just like my son), and has some delays. She wrote this book and in it describes her struggles every day to eat right and exercise, because she wants to see her son grow up. I really could relate, and I decided to do something about it. I prayed about it. Sherri is also a Christian, and in her book she talks about God a lot. I asked God to help me make some major decisions. I joined a gym, and I have started eating a little better. I am still not eating like I should, but I am taking steps toward it. I am taking my medicine as I should. I have made a commitment that on days my son is in school (Monday through Thursday), I will be at the gym. I have not skipped a day, yet. It has only been a few days, but I feel a little bit better. 

She writes about many other things in this book, and I think all women would get something from it. Check it out, it is a very good read. This woman shows lots of strength. She is a human being more than just a celebrity. This book is available all over, so look it up. I got our local library to get it, before I had even read it, and before I started working there. I am so glad I did. I hope it changes others, or at least makes people think.

I just wanted to take the time to thank Sherri for writing this book. I know that God gave her the words, and He led me to read them for a reason. This book has changed my life.

Worth The Wait

I am still not on the road, and this has been a hard time for me. The waiting is driving (no pun intended) me absolutely crazy. I have looked in the mail every day for my car title, and it has not come. I am still relying on others, and it is getting harder to ask for help. I did have some good news this week.

I got a job yesterday, and I start on February 15. I am going to be working part-time at the public library here in town. I am very excited. It isn't going to generate a huge income, and after my rent is adjusted and other parts of my income will be changed once I begin receiving work income, it really won't be much. But, it will be something, and I will feel better about myself for doing it. I have not worked since April of last year, so it has been 10 months since I received a paycheck, and I look forward to my first one.

I still have a few things to do to prepare. Gavin will be going to daycare three days a week, so I have to get him enrolled. I have the enrollment form completed, and I still need to drop it off. I also have a few other things to take care of. I will be working on those over the next week. I hope and pray I have my title to insure and register my car before several days before I begin work. I need to take Gavin to the daycare so he can meet the staff and they can meet him, because the first day he will be dropped off by the school bus right after school. I am trying to get all my ducks in a row. I will be working 4 days a week and one of those days is a Saturday. Gavin will have a sitter on Saturdays. This is a big step for me, since he has never had a regular sitter. He gets along well with everyone, though, so he should be fine. 

I completely give God the glory for all that is going on. I have been walking in faith, and I am reaping the benefits of that. Things are working out. I need to continue praying and living for God and things and be okay with whatever He dishes out!  That is my prayer, that I will be okay with whatever comes my way.

A Humble Lesson

What a week! It has been a series of emotions this whole week. I had really high highs and really low lows, but I made it through. I found out this week that my drivers license had been reinstated in FL, and so I was going to be back on the road! I have been saving money and had enough to get everything I needed, my new Kentucky license, and my car insured and tagged in Kentucky. So, I started taking care of everything I needed to take care of. I went and got my Kentucky Drivers License. Then, I ran into a snag. I started looking for my car title, and couldn't find it. I searched through every piece of paper in my home, and then went to my car (which is being stored) and looked through it, and could not find my title. I had hit a bump. I called to find out how to get a duplicate title, and in the great state of FL, they just recently had a price increase on EVERYTHING and to get a duplicate, it was going to cost me. The price of a title in August 2009 was $29.25, but as of September 1, 2009, they jumped to $78.25! So, for me to get a duplicate title, to continue on my path of being back on the road, I would need to fill out a form I got online, print it, and mail it to FL with a check for $78.25. 

So, today, I got up and went to the library, and filled out the form I needed, and printed it, and wrote out a check for $78.25 and mailed it. Now, I wait. I have no idea how long this will take. It has to travel to FL, and then they have to process it, and then Tallahassee will send me a duplicate title. Once I get the title, I can then go insure my car, and then take it to the courthouse and register it. 

I have not driven my car since September, when I found out my license was suspended for an unpaid traffic citation I received a week after losing my job in April. I had forgotten all about the ticket, and had no idea my license was suspended, but was fortunate enough to find out before I was pulled over and arrested for driving without a license. This has been a very humbling experience, since I live in a town without any form of public transportation, and in September, I barely knew anyone in town. I live just far enough from the middle of town that walking to a grocery store would be impossible, especially with a young child. So, I had to start asking for help in forms of rides to the store and to and from church and anywhere else I needed to go. God has provided the people in my life to get us where we have needed. I am very grateful for those people. I have made some new friends through this. 

I will be happy to be able to be on the road again. I will be able to start taking measures towards looking for a job again.I will be able to go to a store without having to make a whole plan of who is going to take us and when can they come. If I need something, I will be able to just walk out the door, get in my car, and go. And I can visit other people without them having to come pick me up and take me back to their house. Gavin is looking forward to it, too. We can leave his carseat in our car, instead of having to tote it around when we need to go somewhere. I do thank God, though, for teaching me a lesson in humility, and allowing me to be humble and asking for help when I needed it. Also, I thank God for putting such wonderful people in my life that have helped us for the last few months, and if there is ever a way I can help any of them, or anyone else, then I will do so.

Being Sick Ain't Pretty

First off, I would like to say that I am hardly ever sick since I had my tonsils out and quit smoking. Those things combined made my life so much better, since I stayed sick for months at a time before I did. 

I am now sick with Pleurisy. No one has explained what has CAUSED it, but that is what the doc is pretty sure I have. I have been sick now for almost two weeks, and I really dislike it.  I started having pains when I breathe a couple weeks ago, and I just thought of it as uncomfortable pain, then it gradually got worse. By Sunday that week, I was in enough pain to mention it at Sunday School, and my SS teacher said it sounded like pleurisy. I wasn't having any other symptoms, except the painful breathing, mostly in my back, at that point, so I dismissed it. The pain lasted a couple more days, and I made an appointment to see my new physician for Thursday (1/7), but by Tuesday (1/5), the pain was so bad, it was now also in my chest, and I was starting to have some problems breathing normally, I ended up going to the ER. The doc at the ER said I sounded clear and he just thought it might be a muscle pain and sent me home with a new appointment with my doc for the following Monday and a Z-Pack, just in case it was a beginning of an infection. I went through several days of pain, including the fun snow days with my son, and didn't like it at all. By Monday, I was ready to see the doc, so I went to my appointment. 

The doctor examined me, looked at my records from the ER (which was only a short physical exam), and told me he thought I had pleurisy. He prescribed a steroid for me to take for 12 days, another type of antibiotic, and a pain medicine. 

I have been on the meds now for three full days and am starting my fourth day. I still feel bad. I had a good two hours in the middle of the day yesterday where it didn't feel as bad, but as soon as it came back, it was like a blow to the ribs! 

The part I don't like about this, mostly, besides being in pain (which I REALLY don't like), is that I can't do a whole lot. When I try to do normal things, like cook dinner, or give my kid a bath, it knocks all the energy I have stored up, by sitting on the couch, right out of me. My house is a wreck, and I need to clean it. I would like to do a little more play time with my son. I look how I feel, as well (like crap). I just want to feel better soon. I have been praying to God to please heal me, and I know he will eventually, it just seems to be in His time, not mine. Which, of course, is His design.

So, in the mean time, I have been catching up with old friends on Facebook, and I have been reading my Bible more. I am on a challenge this month to read 31 Chapters of Proverbs in 31 Days. Today is Day 14. I have actually been able to keep up. I am growing more in my walk with Christ, by also reading a lot of Christian blogs. I have found amazing writers through other amazing writers, and have had a lot of life's lessons revealed to me over the last several days. I added some of them to my Blog Roll, and I encourage you to read them, as well. And you can find others from their Blog Rolls, and people who comment on their posts. If you have the time, it would be very rewarding, I promise. 


Thanks for taking the time to read my post. If you read it, please comment. I would like to know what you are thinking of my blog. I have kept up my commitment to myself, as well, so far, and for that I am truly grateful. Until next time.....