The Education Advisor did finally call me, but it was while I was out of town, and he left me a voicemail. And now I won't be able to call him until Wednesday of next week because Monday and Tuesday is fall break. Just great. Why don't people just call you back when they SAY they are going to?

He did say I have completed a lot of the courses I need, which I already knew, and that he can either A) leave a print-out for me at the main office so I can pick it up, or B) call him and meet with him. I think I'd rather call him and meet with him so that I can ask any and all questions while I am there; otherwise, I am still going to have a million questions after going up there to get whatever it is he's leaving me at the main office, and will have to keep playing phone tag with him.

But just the other day, Michael gave me the idea of going to LBU with him (Louisiana Baptist University) and majoring in Christian Education. All the course work would be either online or via correspondence. I have several reservations about that...

1) I am actually looking forward to going to class. It gets me out of the house for awhile (VERY much needed). Plus, I just DO better if I can sit there on the lecture and take notes, that way there is little or no question as to what is expected of you on the tests. There's also something important to me about the teacher/student relationship. I'm the type student who takes the front row desk right under the teacher's podium, I ask questions, and often.

2) I want a degree I can take ANYWHERE. If there ever comes a day that I NEED to teach in a public school for whatever reason, I need to know that I wouldn't have to like start halfway over in school again. Obviously, if you move, you have to get certified in a different state, but that's not like going somewhere for a teaching job and they tell you that you don't have the right kind of diploma.

3) Okay, don't sue me on this one, but Christian schools do not pay teachers anywhere near the same as public schools. Granted, teachers don't get paid jack in comparison to other, less important, professional careers, but I know a girl that was a 1st grade teacher at a Christian school, after 4 years of college, and her salary was a whopping $12,000/year. As in TWELVE THOUSAND. I can't even feed my family Raaman Noodles 3 times a day and pay my electric bill on $12,000/year. I know it shouldn't be about the money, but I do have a mortgage and two kids to think about. She only taught school for a year, and is now wandering from job to job, making not much more than minimum wage. Her college degree means nothing to any learning institution, other than private Christian schools. After 4 years of college, and steep college tuition these Christian schools charge, how can it even be worth it???

4) This one is also about money, not how much money I will make, but how much money I have to shell out at this school. Christian schools are much more expensive. In January, I will more than likely have no financial aid and will have to pay for my courses. Northwest is like the most inexpensive school to go to...you can go full-time at NWCC for $650 a semester. You can't beat it with a stick!

5) Maybe I should shut up and get some questions answered before I start drawing conclusions, but I have no idea how many of my college credits will even transfer to LBU. Every one of them will transfer to Ole Miss.

I guess I will just gather some more information, wait, and see what happens.

Man, I slept like a rock last night. I guess I was more tired than I thought I was. Maybe it had something to do with the rain, too. It has been raining, like a slow, calm rain, since last night. I had some really strange dream about some girls I went to high school with and meeting at a Mexican restaurant for one of their birthdays, and then found out that some of these girls that had once been inseperable best friends hadn't spoken in years. While at the restaurant, we ate some very weird, but yummy, chocolate candy. Then I dreamed something about Walmart, but not really sure what it was. I was in Walmart, looking for something, but I don't know what I was looking for. Very weird.

Travis is so picky! The boy will not eat much of anything! This morning he wanted some cereal, so I put some Raisin Bran in a bowl for him and he picked all of the raisins out and left the cereal behind. He wouldn't even eat the cereal! He proceeded to dump the remaining cereal in the garbage can and put his bowl in the sink. I think if it weren't for Pop Tarts, the boy would starve to death. Everyone tells me, though, that I can't FORCE him to eat, and he will eat when he gets hungry, and he's obviously not starving because he's growing and has an endless supply of energy. So I guess I shouldn't worry, but then everyone else (family) drives me batty about it.

I have a hundred thousand things to do today, but some of it's going to have to wait. I did muster up the energy to get the laundry going, but the house cleaning is going to have to wait 'til Monday. The rain is still coming down and it is making me very drowsy. Today is a perfect day to stay in my pajamas and do NOTHING. Thank goodness there is no football game today. Those back-to-back road trips had me dragging my butt. I do need to make a couple phone calls and put the music schedule together. Those are things I HAVE to do today. Procrastinate. Procrastinate. Procrastinate. I feel like that's all I ever do these days.

I'm back!! We had a good time, and I hated to come back. We actually came back earlier than I wanted to, but everyone else wanted to come back early, so I was out-voted, I guess. I could tell when we got home the cat had really missed us. And surprisingly, nothing was broken or torn up. We are all really worn out, especially the kids, which is why it's a very good thing that tomorrow is Saturday. Of course, unlucky for Michael, he has to work tomorrow. Camp Meeting is always great. I wish it were more than twice a year, because it REALLY rejuvenates your Christian walk and you always hear a message you really needed to hear. I know I did this time especially. Also, there are lots of music groups present...some people just sing, some sing and play piano, some have entire bluegrass bands, there was even a man today that played the autoharp and sang with his wife. An autoharp?? Different, but still very cool. Both kids even sat through church without hardly making a peep. We picked up 2 CDs and a tape of some Christian singers that were at the Camp Meeting, and I found a couple new songs I want to learn. One of those songs is titled "He Saw Me", written by Daniel Waters. He sang a VERY awesome song in church this morning, titled "Bartimaeus". Only after hearing him sing that one song did I have to have this CD. We listened to it in its entirety on the way home this afternoon, and his singing will take your breath away and bring tears to your eyes. We also bought one of his tapes. Then I bought a CD of Ms. Carol Williamson. I have mentioned the Williamsons before...we have a bunch of their old, old tapes, and I have sang several of those songs in church. Today I was able to buy her latest CD, and there is a song on it titled "Were It Not For Grace" that I want to learn. I am always on the lookout for new, different music. There are a lot of songs that are done over and over, which those are wonderful songs, but it is also good to find some fresh material.

Not to spoil the positive mood, but I really really really really really want to rant about something right now, and I'm sort of hesitant, considering the person I so strongly desire to rant about reads this sometimes and me ranting could wreak havoc on things if I rant about said person. GRRRRRRR! I guess all I will say for NOW is that some people need to SERIOUSLY mind their own business. Another words...if you are not asked for an opinion on something or asked for advice on something, please kindly stay out of it. Seriously...have you ever known someone that you tried to get close to by sharing some important, personal things with that person, and then within a week's time, they think they have been given a personal invitation to interfere in your business whenever they feel like it? Sometimes I just want to roll my eyes and say what's on my mind to some people, but then I find myself with that need to keep the peace, at least when I have control over it.

There is much more I'd like to write about, but for now, I'm going to head for the bed. I am zonked to the max!

I am in a hurry, so this is going to be short. I've got to finish packing, get the kids dressed, and eat something, and hit the road. We are going to Tiptonville, Tennessee for a Camp Meeting. It takes place every year the first week of May and the 2nd week of October. We didn't get to go for May this year, but October is usually the best time to go up there anyway. Michael's parents have a house up there, which is where we stay, and it is very, very near Reelfoot Lake. The thing IS, we weren't going to leave until tomorrow afternoon. Michael was going to have to work a half a day, come home at Noon, and then we'd leave. Well, not even an hour and a half ago, Michael called and said "Get everything packed tonight. We are going up there tonight. I got out of having to go to work at all tomorrow" And I'm like WHAT? I stil have laundry to do and beds to make, etc, etc....I can't just LEAVE the house like it IS, and of course, I thought I still had TIME because as far as I knew, we weren't leaving until tomorrow afternoon. OH WELL! Anyway, I better get busy. We will be gone Thursday and Friday, and driving home really late Friday night because Michael has to work Saturday. Too bad he can't get out of THAT, TOO! And so much for reaching my 400th post by October 18th. I am going to be two days behind, and this one is #376. Anyway, have a nice weekend, even though the weekend's not here yet. I just won't be around to say it on Friday!

Oh, and the Education Advisor sooo did NOT call me back this morning like he said he would yesterday. I left both phones untied for that whole hour he claimed was his "office hour". What the freak does one have to do to get a return phone call these days? Dance on their desk naked?? I called him back and left a message a little after 11 this morning. Still nothing. If I don't hear something MONDAY, I am going to call Mr. Hertl (rhymes with turtle, lol). I had him for Psych many moons ago. He is the ORIGINAL Education Advisor, so I am thinking he might be more helpful to me anyway. He's been doing that probably before I was ever born. Well, toodaloo!

This is messed up....I was listening to AOL Radio, and there was a Sessions@AOL version of "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette, which I'm sure most everyone has heard the song atleast once. Well, quite noticeably, one of the lines was different. The line that used to say "It's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife. It's like meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife." Well, the line is NOW "It's like meeting the man of my dreams and then meeting his beautiful husband." SICKO!!! What IS the deal???

And while we're on the subject of popular music of today, there is a newcoming country artist that I consider rude, crude and socially unacceptable. Her name is Gretchen Wilson. Her first two "hits" are nothing but trashy, in my opinion. Michael seems to think I will grow to like her, but how can I? For one thing, I have little respect for her. There was some show on CMT the other night about her rise to fame, and she was talking about her 3-year-old daughter, and how she's a single mom. So how does she keep her daughter from seeing her on TV or hearing her music? Or does she even care if she's teaching her daughter all that stuff she participates in is okay? I guess not. I mean, who DOES anymore? Her music is trashy. Her videos are trashy. There...I've said my piece.

Anyway, much apologies are in order if you stumbled onto my blog earlier and found part of this post on here like a bazillion times. When I was typing it earlier, my blog published over and over and over uncontrollably and I had to go back in and delete each one of them, one at a time. Talk about pain in the...well, you know.

Also, I spoke to the Education Advisor today at Northwest, and he was on his way out of the office, but he took down all my information and he's going to get back with me tomorrow morning at 10 to let me know what all I need still.

And I can't find my marriage license. I thought I could put my hands right on it, and it's not there. So now I'll have to find out from the Clerk of Shelby County or whatever her official title is, to get a certified copy of my marriage license, so that I can send it to the SSA to get my new card and then I can finalize my financial aid paperwork. Just super yay. I have said it a million times, so here goes a million and one...you can't get there from here!!

So anyway, I'm off here to go hop in the shower, and then make some fried chicken. Yummm.

I have some things to get done. Some things are done already, like we finally get all the paperwork mailed off to refinance our house, and Michael remembered to mail my signature page of my Financial Aid paperwork.

1) I need to get Michael to pick up for me an application for admissions, since my printer has no more ink. Then I need to fill it out and send it in.

2) I need to find my marriage license so I can send it in with the application to get my social security card changed so that I can actually get some financial aid.

3) Clean the house. But I don't want to!!!

4) I also have a basket of laundry to fold that I didn't finish yesterday, and start getting things organized to go out of town Thursday afternoon. I am looking forward to going to Camp Meeting, but not sure what the weather will be up there. It's always the opposite of what I pack for. Last year I had all short sleeve clothes and no jacket with me. I froze. If I take fall/winter type clothes with me, it will be 80 degrees and I will burn up.

5) I need to mail off this thing I got in the mail yesterday...some exercise videos I bought awhile back (which I barely used) sent me something in the mail stating that due to some legal settlement, I was entitled to a partial refund of $54-something, plus the cost of shipping. That is going directly into my college fund.

Amount in college fund to date: $50. Hey, it's a start and it will pay for maybe half a text book.

Did you know that there is a Tick Bite, North Carolina?

Neither did I, until a friend of mine told me she lived there when she was a little girl.

My former office manager has a picture in her office of her and her husband in Pergatory, Colorado. She always makes a joke about it saying "Yeah, that's us standing in the middle of Pergatory." I myself do not believe Pergatory is Biblical, but it's kind of interesting to see all these uncommon names for towns.

We actually came to a Brewer, Missouri, once. We would have gotten out and had our picture made by the road sign, except it was pouring down rain and lightening, plus we were on our way home from Six Flags and dog tired.

And Bucksnort, Tennessee, is always a classic in my book.

Kids are so funny. Especially mine. My 3-year-old not only outsmarts me and his daddy, but also his grandmother. Saturday, we were at my Dad's thing at his work (see earlier post), and my Dad was determined to show me, Michael and my sister the inside of this airplane, and the cargo area of the plane was nothing short of a wind tunnel, so my Mom, being worried about all the kids' little ears, took our double stroller (Travis and Jacob were riding in it) and Will & Andrew (my sister's two oldest boys) over to the grassy area where the moon bounces and slides and other kiddie stuff were. Well, by the time we got back over to the kiddie stuff, where my Mom and the kids were, my Mom was kind of frazzled, and she started ranting that she was having a hard time watching 4 boys. The older two were running all over the place, and then Travis took off and my Mom couldn't find him momentarily, and when she finally got them all back in one place, she was telling them all to stay together and not to run off like that...her words went something like "I've got 2 big boys here, and 2 little boys..." to which Travis piped in and corrected my Mom by saying "No, Meemaw, THREE big boys!!!" ROFLMAO!!!!!! Travis was not to be undermined.

And just the other day, he learned the game of "Simon Says". Well, this morning, first thing when he woke up, he had to go potty really bad, and he goes "Simon Says take me potty." I about fell out of the bed laughing.

My children never cease to entertain me.

I am officially FREAKED OUT!!! And here's why:

Ever since my first pregnancy began in the fall of 2000, about every time this time of year comes around, pregnant or no, I start to FEEL pregnant. BOTH of my pregnancies began this same time of year. There is this certain twinge of nausea that hangs around for like a week or so, and my nose becomes extremely sensitive to ANY smell, good OR bad. Like, if the garbage didn't get taken out the night before, I can smell it the next morning clear across the house. Or I can be cooking anything, and the smell of it doesn't set well with me. Overall, I feel YUCK right now.

Well, last night I had a dream that I was pregnant. And then this morning I got an e-mail from one of my closest friends, saying that she thinks SHE is pregnant. She and I were both pregnant at the same time both times before. EDIT: I talked to her on the phone today, and she has taken two pregnancy tests that have turned up positive. If it were me expecting baby #3, I'd be depressed.

But I really don't think there is any way that I am, but I won't know for sure until a couple weeks. Talk about awful timing if I AM?? I want to go back to school! I guess that would be God's way of telling me not to go to school right now, wouldn't it! Okay, I am going to keep telling myself over and over and over that I'm not...because I'm NOT!!!!

I am home sick today. On a Sunday. Missing church. I hate it. Friday night I woke up in the middle of the night, my chest pounding very fast, and my head felt like it was going to explode. So I took my blood pressure, and it was 167 over 97...with a pulse of 104. Very, very high. (Anything over 120 over 80 is supposedly bad). I don't know what to do about it. I have been to the doctor 3 times about it, had my medicine changed once, I've lost weight, I've cut things out of my diet, and no improvement. I have been dealing with this for over a year now. I've had blood drawn, EKGs done, and the doctors want to run more tests that my bank account can't cover, but so far they have not figured out the source of the problem. High blood pressure runs in my family, but they ALL developed it in their 40's or older. I am 24!!! The thoughts of having a stroke terrifies me. I only got 4 hours of sleep Friday night. I was all mixed up about my decision to go back to school, and needed to talk to SOMEONE about it, so I went to my sister-in-law's (Terri's) house around the corner and talked to her for awhile. She's always up late, lives alone, so she enjoyed the company. She is like the sister I never had. I have a sister, but I can't get as much wisdom from my sister as I can from my sister-in-law. My sister-in-law is quite a bit older and has been through A LOT, plus I can't just drive over to my sister's house at 10:30 at night and sit and talk to her for 3 hours. So I went over to Terri's about 10:30 Friday night and didn't come home 'til almost 1:30 a.m. She put a lot of things into perspective for me on a lot of things and it helped me with my decision (I will go more into that later). I went home only when Michael called, worried about me. Terri and I had totally lost track of time. OOPS!

So Saturday morning we had to get up early to be at my parent's house by 8:30 a.m. to follow my Dad to his place of employment for the last 30 years...the Tennessee Air National Guard. They were having an airplane dedication ceremony...they just got new planes...traded in the 141's for C-5's...HUGE planes. Anyone that wanted to could go inside the planes, and we got to sit in the cockpit...very cool. They also had free food and lots of activities for the kids...THAT was their "Fair" and much cheaper too, I might add. It really meant a lot to my Dad for us to come out. My sister and her kids came, too. My Dad is retiring the end of this year after being in the Guard full time for 30 years. It was kind of sad for me, in a way. I made many trips to the base as a little girl and watched my Dad get on planes and leave for far away places, where'd he be gone for months at a time sometimes. That was the last time I'd ever get to see my Dad in his uniform, except for maybe a retirement ceremony. It's really strange the things you take for granted that you never realize would mean something to you later on. I was always proud of my Dad and the work he did.

After we left, we headed to the Liberty Bowl for the football game...with BOTH kids. I will put it this way...it is an experience I don't want to repeat, at least not until Jacob gets older. Plus, with the Fair going on, we had to park waaaay off at the Board of Education. We had the little stroller with us...the one that folds up. Jacob rode in that, but they wouldn't let us take it into the stadium, and we had to go back around to a different gate and check it in and leave it at the stadium office. Would have been nice to know that. All of this wore me out immensely. We ended up leaving as soon as half time was over, and I came home and went to bed and slept for 3 hours. Then Michael's parents brought us some supper and took our kids home with them for a few hours. Then I went to bed again around 10:30 and slept 'til 10:00 this morning. My blood pressure wasn't AS high this morning, but I still don't feel right. At times, my head hurts so bad I can't open my eyes. I felt so bad about missing church this morning, but I feel like I've been overdoing everything lately. I am too young to be having these kinds of health problems!!!

Michael is on his way home with some lunch, so I shall return later.