Freedom!!

Hello! I finished my first semester of grad school but it was not easy or fun or anything. But...I did get an A and a B. So now I'm in a quandary. What should I do? I think I might just be able to get through this. So I'm going to think about it and check into other programs and see what happens. But bottom line... honestly, I want it.

It's been a long semester. I almost quit. I tried to quit and my teacher convinced me not to. I appreciate that and I owe her a big "Thank you" for encouraging me to stay.

I went to Orlando last week for a United Way conference. It was fun. I had never been to Disneyland or Epcot before. I'd like to go back and take Peter sometime. I think he would especially like Epcot although I think the fireworks at Disney were the best I have ever seen and I've seen some good ones.

Looking forward to the family reunion next month!

Not much else even though I've been gone for awhile...I'll be back. :)

Florida is my friend... :)

I went back to Florida again. I really like it there. I'm so bummed when I have to leave. I'm happy to be going back in fourteen days. I'll only be there 2 1/2 days but really, who cares, it's still Florida! :)
I'm feeling better about school but I have learned that from now on, no more than 1 class a semester. I'm just too busy with work to do more than that. I feel good about the future and the path that I'm taking.
This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. I'm not giving up anything for lent but I'm going to stay on WW for 40 days and try to get to my goal weight. I have a bet going with two girls from work. Is this bad? I mean placing a bet on something for the Lenten season? I know...I think it might be a little...not right, but oh well.
Things are going very well.... ttfn. :)

Quote for the day: “You can't stop loving or wanting to love because when its right, it's the best thing in the world. When you're in a relationship and it's good, even if nothing else in your life is right, you feel like your whole world is complete.” ~Keith Sweat - And my friends...I'm in a good relationship! :)

Time is a ticking...

I've been busy. Everything is good but all my free time is spent studying and doing homework. So I don't have time for much else. Our annual meeting is next week and I can't wait for it to be here. We have a special Community Report that we are putting out to the community. I'm glad it's over soon and hope we can get back to the business of getting on with the campaign.

I almost quit school this week. I did have a major meltdown about school yesterday. I'm working my ass off and I'm not getting some of this. Seriously, I took the train to Chicago this past weekend so that I could get 6 hours of homework in (I ended up doing about 10 hours) and still don't get some things. So I left work yesterday, drove around, called Peter, had a meltdown about school. I called my teacher for my intercultural communication class, Dr. Gill. She's pretty awesome, I had sent my paper to her early to get feedback and she was very nice to do that for me. Anyway, I had gotten a note from Dr. Rod with my paper that I had submitted and he asked me what theory I was going use to do my research and I'm like...I don't have a frigging clue. And I wasn't getting why I didn't have a clue...I mean I'm reading and writing and working my ass off. So I call Dr. Gill a few hours later yesterday and told her that I'm working my ass off and I don't get it. Then she said to me, well of course you don't, Ellen. You haven't had your core classes yet... and besides that, this is your first semester and you're coming in the middle and everyone else has the advantage. She said you don't have the background of theory in communication because you come from a journalistic background. I seriously wanted to cry tears of joy. I don't get it because I'm not supposed to. This made me feel so much better. She's going to help me and I'll get Dr. Rod to help me with the theory and I should be fine. So I'm staying here for now. I brought a good book from Amazon about communication theory so I'm going to try to get myself up to speed. Not sure if I'm going to take a summer class or focus on the communication theory for the summer. So,we'll see. I'm anxious to get it done and get on to the task of teaching. --I'm committed to kicking ass to get this done...

More later...


One of my most favorite quotes that I shared at Rotary last week. "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

My little girl is engaged!!

Christina and Mike got engaged last weekend. I was kind of surprised because when Mike talked to me, he indicated that he was going to ask her this weekend. I think that ring was burning a hole in his pocket. Anyway, I'm thrilled for them. I think it will be 17 months from now so we have plenty of time to plan things. These are exciting times and I wish them all the joy and happiness that planning this wedding gives them. I look forward to doing what I can to make this their best first day as husband and wife together. :) I can't wait!

Quote for the day: Success in marriage does not come through finding the right mate but through being the right mate. ~Barnett R. Brickner

MLK Day

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day. There are two things about this day that I think of each and every year.

1. The first time that I heard Kent Redmon from Parkland College give his "I Dreamed a Dream" speech. It is something you will not forget. Moving...
2. One of my favorite Dr. King quotations: "Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

We have made a lot of progress but it seems like it will never be enough.

A moment of silence...

for the shooting victim's in Tucson Arizona. ... ... ... ... ...

I've been glued to the TV this weekend about the unfortunate events that occured yesterday in Tucson Arizona. My thoughts and prayers go to each of the victim's and their families as they struggle to get through these trying times.

Bad things happen. There is no understanding why they happen. I think that Congressman Tim Johnson made a good point today in the News-Gazette. He's not going to change his life. He's not going to change the things that he does or the way he conducts business. I agree. I think it's good to be aware of your surroundings. I also believe that this was an isolated incident and that this one incident should not radically change the way congressmen and women do business.

Still it's been a very sad weekend. Good thoughts for a rapid recovery to those that survived.

Quote for the day: "What is critical is that we stand together at this dark time as one body," "We need to rally around our wounded colleague, the families of the fallen, and the people of Arizona's 8th District. And, frankly, we need to rally around each other." John Boehner

Other exciting news!

As exciting as Bobby's life has been this past week there are other things going on out in the world. Kristen, Bobby's girlfriend, was recently named editor of 'Foundations and Perspectives'. This is primarily an internal publication for Architect of the Capital employees but I want to share it with you because first, it's great writing and second, it has great historical information.

Here's the link: http://www.aoc.gov/aoc/magazine/index.cfm

If you click on "Read the full Winter 2010 issue..." then it will open a PDF of the entire magazine. Kristen's stories are "Restoring Luster to the Lantern" (pg. 8-9) and "A New Home for a Capitol Treasure" (pg. 18-19), but really they are all interesting and all are worth a look. Congratulations Kristen on your first edition! :)

Quote for the day: If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don't remove it - I might be writing in my dreams. ~Terri Guillemets