Life in a nutshell

Although I am stressed, I'm still so BLESSED!!!!!!!

Progress

Returning to school after an eight-year hiatus filled me with quite a bit of apprehension at the beginning of the semester. I had all kinds of insecure thoughts swirling through my head, everything from feeling technologically impaired, to worrying about being too old or uncool to hang out with my classmates, to concerns that I'd forgotten how to study and would not perform up to my own expectations. I also tend to be a quiet observer in the classroom, and compared to most of the others who have years of experience in a library and have been sharing their knowledge with the class, I have felt like I'm way out of my league.

Now I'm finding that I shouldn't have been worried at all! The work's tough, but I'm hanging in there. I got 2 assignments back last week and made A's on both, one of which was the 2nd highest grade in the class. Score!! My fears are subsiding. I can do this. I am just as, if not more, capable of succeeding at graduate level work compared to the others in my class. And I WILL kick butt in earning my degree, no matter what it takes!

I also love how my social circles are expanding. Last week, several of us went out to dinner before a lecture, and I noticed that I was the oldest person sitting at the table. I realized that I truly enjoy being back in college at this phase of my life. I'm young enough to relate to the fresh-out-of-undergrad crowd, yet settled enough to fit squarely into the old-and-married group. I also love being married and in school. Not only am I removed from the distractions of dating, but I get to come home to my #1 motivator!

To think... I sent in my application last winter truly on a whim and barely made the deadline. Taking that one little step dramatically altered the course of my life. I was frozen for a couple of years, but I'm back now in a big way. What will my next step be?

Is it 2017 yet?

This year's presidential election is the most aggravating for me of any of my voting years.

First of all, the campaigning seemed to begin dominating the daily headlines about 3 years ago, and I'm simply SICK OF IT!!!

I do not like Barack Obama. The obvious reason would be that he is a Democrat, although I actually do vote for Democrats fairly often. Our governor is a Democrat who I support 100% since I believed, then and now, that he is clearly the most qualified candidate. Party differences do not carry much weight for me in the local and state level.

Anyhow, back to Obama. The guy gives me the creeps, plain and simple. I cannot get a sense of what he truly stands for as a person, and that has nothing to do with his ethnicity. I don't appreciate his attempts to be all things to all people. I want to see his human side. I want to see emotion. I want to know that he personally values something that his party might consider controversial, and I want to see him defend that position with passion and integrity. I want to see evidence of notable accomplishment beyond charming speeches. As he called Sarah Palin, he is, himself, a very capable politician. I do commend him in that his campaign is a well-oiled machine.

McCain... well... I have no choice but to point to Sarah Palin. I REALLY wanted to like her. Her flawless debut at the national convention mesmerized the Republican party and befuddled the Democrats. Plus, I just love her brainy brunette look! :) But I can't get past the painful Katie Couric interviews, the state trooper scandal, and the overemphasis on religion during her tenure as mayor and governor. She's bright, but way out of her league as a running mate... chosen not as the most qualified candidate for VP, but as a pawn simply to get McCain into the White House. For that reason alone, I must question McCain's leadership as I had not done prior to his selection of Palin. Come on, surely she wasn't the best he could come up with?

(For what it's worth, I hoped McCain would summon Condi Rice, but she's tied too closely with Bush to be considered. That is truly unfortunate.)

Therefore, this leaves me in a quandary. Whose name shall I check on my ballot? Knox County's early voting has already begun, and I have never been so apprehensive about selecting a presidential candidate. I would happily cast my vote for Hillary Clinton or Al Gore before committing to either of the two choices we have before us now.

*Sigh*. Will someone please wake me up when it's all over?

Fall break

Being blessed with the rare combination of both good weather and having time off with my husband, we decided to hit the trails and go backpacking. Finally! I've been waiting for years to get back into this sport!

We decided to head toward Cades Cove and hike Rich Mountain to stay at campsite #5 for one evening. The hike up was indeed a terrific workout, but I barely noticed since I was so excited to be out enjoying the gorgeous forest, perfect weather, and QT with my darling. Being completely alone on the mountaintop at night was a little creepy since bears are so active in that area right now, and when it's dark, it is PITCH black. However, the trip remained a relaxing and worthwhile venture through and through. I am again reminded of what a gift it is to be young, strong, and capable of accomplishing anything I wish.

Here I am in front of the John Oliver cabin at the base of the mountain:



One of the two bear warning signs at our campsite. It had teeth marks in it! The other sign was completely in shreds.


I'm lowering my pack from the bear cables that protect our food and gear:

Bear tracks on the trail:

Whatta view! From the top of Rich Mountain:

Distracted!

I don't know what's been going on with me for the past couple of days, but I just can NOT seem to get it together!

Yesterday was not good. When I got home from hiking, I backed into our fence post pretty hard and put a nice dent in it. I don't know why but I just wasn't paying attention. Then, as I was leaving O'Charley's last night with Nancy, I backed way over the curb. This is all coming from someone with a flawless driving record and who, under normal circumstances, is an annoyingly conscientious driver.

When Don got home last night, I sheepishly showed him the fence and told him of my misadventures. He started laughing and said he was glad to finally see the stupid moves coming from me instead of him.

Nothing else was said until I arrived home from school today to this:

Subtle, huh? Yep, that's the MO of my sweetheart... supportive in his own unique way... :)

Today, I forgot my wallet at home and didn't realize it until I pulled in to get gas. I also inadvertently left my glasses in my car and was blind all through class this morning. All this, and I wasn't even running late today!

I'm more than a bit nervous about what the rest of the day will bring...

The writing was on the wall!

Last January, I finally took the time to move this blog here to blogspot. Myblog.com was down so often that I was afraid it would go offline for good, taking my journal with it.

My suspicions were correct. Without any notification from the site, all of my writing disappeared only to be replaced by some incomprehensible code.

Look at what it is now: http://peacefulspirit.myblog.com/