Your Career Personality: Independent, Insightful, and Ingenious

Your Ideal Careers: Architect Artist Business strategist College professor Computer programmer Mathematician Neurologist Philosopher Photographer Video game developer

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

You Have Good Karma

In general, you like to do the right thing when it comes to others. Your caring personality really shines through. Sure, you have your moments of weakness - and occasionally act out. But, all in all, you're karma is good... even with those few dark spots.

How's Your Karma?

Your Life is 56% Green

Your life is pretty green - and you know a lot about how to live an eco friendly life. So congratulate yourself for being good to the earth. And maybe think about implementing some of the ideas from this quiz!

How Green Is Your Life?

Stitch Marker Exchange, part 2

I enjoyed the stitch marker exchange so much last time around that I decided to do it again. I was a little behind in getting my markers out this week but I finally got them finished and they are on their way. (stomach virus set me back a bit) One set is going to Robyn in Canada, another to Jessica in Alabama and the third is going to Jessica in New Jersey. I'm not saying which is going where, just in case they see this post. Want to keep up a little bit of a surprise. I think the top set is my favorite. I just love the color of the glass beads and the little butterflies are too cute. I'm a big fan of butterflies though so i'm a bit biased. I think I might make myself a pair of earrings like those. Would be cute, no? And for the non-knitters wondering why one bead is different on the top two sets, it's so when you are knitting in the round using more than one stitch marker you can keep track of where the beginning of each round is.

So far I have received one of my three sets. I got these "oh so cute" stitch markers from Kimberly. I still can't get over the cuteness of this little penguin. He makes me happy every time I look at him. I still can't grasp how she made this little guy. He's so perfect. If I had two I would probably turn them into earrings just so I could wear them around. :)

I think he needs a name ... but what shall it be? Any suggestions? This little guy is truly bringing out the child in me. Tee hee.

Cancer Strikes Again

I'm so upset, I don't even know where to begin. This will probably turn into a rambling mess but I need to get it out. I got one of those phone calls last night. One of those calls from a family members that asks first if you are sitting down. My heart sank. I knew before he even told me ... I just knew that damn disease had struck again. "Who is it this time?", I thought to myself. My uncle, who is also my godfather ... the uncle I probably spent the most time with growing up out of all of my uncles (and I have a LOT of uncles) because he was also my dad's best friend (this gets confusing ... he's my bio dad's brother and my other dad's best friend) ... was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. I feel like i'm in the twilight zone. When you haven't been through this before you don't know what lies ahead. Patsy, Brett's mom, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. I've been playing that whole scene over in my head. Watching Brett get the phone call. Seeing him cry. Feeling helpless. Feeling mad. Crying but wanting to scream. Trying to do everything you can to help but knowing that nothing is going to save her. Watching her deteriorate. Thinking of all the things she will miss. Knowing that she will never be here to see Brett and I have kids. Seeing another family torn apart by this terrible disease.

So here I sit, thinking of my aunt and uncle and my cousins ... knowing what lies ahead of them. Feeling helpless once again and overwhelmingly sad. What do I say to comfort them when I know what hell lies ahead of them? I'm sad for Ashley and Brian, that their dad will never see them get married or have kids or even graduate college .... for they are still so young. I'm sad for my Aunt Gail, that she will be left without her partner. I'm sad for Erika, that her son will lose his grandfather so early in life and that she will lose her father. I'm sad for my grandmother, because you just aren't supposed to outlive your children.

But mostly ... i'm just pissed off. I'm pissed off that this terrible disease continues to steal life away from those I love. Why is it that we live in a society with this supposedly wonderful "western medicine" yet we still can't fix this? If early detection is the key, then when are we going to get to a point at which everyone goes in for a full body scan each year to find this stuff early? Why is it that two people I love, within four years of eachother, weren't diagnosed until they had stage four lung cancer? Why is it that it takes several months to get a diagnosis yet as soon as they find it, they bring you in the very next day to make you even more ill than you were, in hopes of slowing things down.

When is this going to stop??? I have two grandparents I've never met, an aunt that I miss dearly, a mother-in-law who is missed more than I can express ... and now an uncle that i'm going to lose as well ... all because of this thing called "cancer". And maybe the worst part of it all is that I know this is not the end of the list. It's only time before the phone rings again with bad news on the other end. It's not an "if" but a "when". And how close to home will it hit next time?

... there's been another "shift in the matrix". I'm reminded to appreciate every little thing I have and to not let the little things get to me. I'm reminded to enjoy life, because you never know when it might be stolen away from you.

It's Wednesday

Wednesday usually means yoga for me but Houston has swimming lessons this afternoon and I don't have enough energy for yoga anyway. I'm starting to get my appetite back and today is the first day i'm not nauseous. Yipee! It's been raining all day so far, which we really need, but I hope it stops for swimming lessons. We got rained out after about ten minutes yesterday.

I don't have much to blog about today so i'll leave you with some quotes from a great book i'm reading ... Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey.

From Chapter 3: The Basics (a foundation)
"You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you."

When your priorities get off track, money will take command instantly because of its active principle. I love the old adage "Measure your wealth not by the things you have, but by the things for which you would not take money."

From Chapter 4: Understand the Spiritual Aspects of Money
There are those who believe that finance is merely an exact mathematical science. That is the way it is taught in the universities. In fact, finance is an exact mathematical science -- until a human touches it. Personal finance is who you are. The personal, philosophical, and emotional problems and strengths that you have will be reflected in your use of money. If you are very disciplined, you can be a good saver of money. If you are very selfish or self-centered, you will surround yourself with expensive toys that you cannot afford.

Some Awesome Stitch Markers

Check this out. Scroll down a bit to see the great stitch markers. This woman has some talent! She also has an Etsy shop.

"Manly" Sock Yarn

My latest sock yarn. Kettle dyed rainbow style. Then hand painted to add a bit of a brown-variegated-blue-variegated pattern. Then kettle dyed again with brown to darken it up. Then kettle dyed once more to darken it up a bit more. It was still wet when we left for the river saturday morning so I wasn't sure what it was going to look like. I forgot about it when we got home because I was so sick. Got to check it out today and i'm happy to say that it turned out pretty much like I wanted it to. Some of the blue is a little brighter than I would like for it to be but I knew that was going to happen because of the dye I was using. I could add another wash of brown to it all to darken the blue part up a bit but I think I might like how it is now. I'll have to think about it for a while. Well it's time to get ready for Houston's swimming lessons. Lets just hope I can manage this without getting sick again. I still can't shake this overwhelming nauseau i've got going on.

I'm a mess ...

Ya'll ... i've had a really rough weekend. We spent the weekend at the river and saturday was really fun but about two hours after we all went to sleep on saturday night, my hell began. Apparently I either ate something bad or got some sort of stomach virus. I've been a mess since late saturday/early sunday. I was finally able to hold down a little bit of food last night around seven or so and i've had some toast today. I'm still really nauseous and my neck and back are extremely sore. Both of my ears hurt really bad too and I still haven't been able to shake the headache i've head since late saturday night either. Every time I take some pain reliever it makes me yack. We came home yesterday around five or so and about an hour or two after we got home I was on the couch with a fever and the chills. I had another really bad night of sleep last night and Brody kept waking up all night too. My neck hurts so bad that I can't get comfortable enough to sleep. And to top it all off, right after everyone (except me, of course) ate dinner yesterday Houston puked all down my back while I was holding him. That, along with the fever I had last night, is making me think it's a virus. The only good thing about all of this is that I probably lost a couple more pounds. I just hope I can get it together enough to take Houston to his swimming lessons that start today at 5:30. Anyhow ... now that i've totally grossed you all out ... i'll post some pictures from our weekend at the river.

Apparently Brody was feeling his lack of sleep from last night. I just found him on the kitchen floor like this about an hour ago. He and Houston were playing in the living room while I was sitting here on the computer and I noticed it got really quiet. I went to see what was going on and this is what I found.

More of the Sears Photo Shoot

Something Else I Must Knit

Totally stolen from Sharon's blog. The Harry Potter Book Scarf and Julie's Potholder.

Some Random Things

Here's our dinner from last night. I made honey raisin talapia. This is probably the best fish recipe in the history of the world. Okay so maybe not but it's gotta be close. YUMMY! And the green beans and squash are straight from the garden. Can't get much more fresh than that. I picked them in the morning and we ate them that night. Good stuff, I tell ya! I got the recipe from Grammy Lee. She made it for us when the boys and I went to Bradenton back in March. I ran into the recipe while cleaning out my purse and just happened to have all the ingredients right here at home. Brett wasn't sure about it as I was cooking it but he really, really liked it.

Brody wasn't quite as happy about dinner as Brett and I were. Unfortunately for Houston he fell asleep early and missed all the yumminess. I saved some for him for lunch today though.

And here's Houston sporting some of the new clothes his grandpa sent him. He's so cute and talking so much more now. Every time he puts on some of his new clothes from the huge pile his grandpa sent him he says "grandpa do dat" meaning "grandpa sent me these clothes". Smart kid .. he knows which clothes he's never worn before. He is so into clothes too ... it's funny. He changes his outfit about three times a day. Makes for lots of laundry but he enjoys it so I let him help himself. He's so good at it too. He looks at the tags to make sure they are in the back and I never have to help him get dressed. He's actually been doing this for quite a while now. He's very independant.

And remember the "ugly socks", as I so affectionately named them? Well I decided to keep knitting for a while just to see what happens and i'm glad I did. Now i'm not saying they aren't ugly anymore, I'm just saying i'm happy with the change in direction that the pattern took. Somehow it makes them look better to me. Joy told me to look at them like tie-dye and that gave me a whole new perspective. I really wanted some mindless knitting to do while my mind ran circles around itself and these socks were right there waiting for me. I started the second one too and i'm done with the 1x1 ribbing. Now on to many, many rounds of plain stockinette. (That's just knitting every stitch for you non-knitters ... no purling or anything else ... so I can pretty much do it with my eyes closed.) I'm working on some blue/brown kettle dyed sock yarn today to knit Brett some socks with for his birthday. Hopefully that will work out well. Don't tell him though .. it's a surprise. He never reads this so I can post about it here.

Brody's One Year Check-up

Well it's official. My big baby boy has turned into my little peanut. He has a big head and is a little taller than average but he is small as far as weight goes. We knew that was going to be the case. He really slowed down his growth to almost nothing right around six months or so. He's wearing size twelve month clothes now but doesn't fill them out all the way at all. Actually, some of them are a little too big. I know Houston was a lot heavier to pick up and tote around with me when he was a year old. Houston also was in 18 month clothes, pushing the 24 month size when he turned one.

Brody's head circumference is in the 92nd percentile but his height is the 60th percentile and his weight is in the 30th percentile. So 70% of kids his age weigh more than he does. And he was 12 pounds at birth! Funny, huh? Houston was a big baby too but he never really slowed down. He's still a lot bigger than most kids his size. I guess little brother is going to truly be the little brother. Dr. Mas said that this is probably where he will level off at and will most likely stay a little smaller than average. She's not worried about his weight at all though because he looks really healthy. Some pediatricians put a lot of stock in those growth charts and i've had friends whose peds told them their kids were "failing to thrive" because of where there are on the growth chart, even though they look super healthy. Just another reason I love our doctor. She uses common sense and doesn't get her head stuck in the charts.

We had a good day on tuesday. We went to the doctor's office, which is in gainesville, and then went to the mall there to have the boys pictures taken. We had a great photographer and she got some of the best photos of the boys that i've ever had taken. We shared some chinese food in the food court and then went to the play area so the boys could wear themselves out before the drive home. It was a really good day and they behaved wonderfully and then slept all the way home.

I'm an engineer ...

... and a bit of a spaz, apparently. And I have a feeling this post is going to get very long so I apologize if I bore you to tears. The past two weeks have been so stressful for me. I've done lots of thinking, lots of research, lots of stressing, and lots of knitting. I find that when i'm really stressed is when I want to knit the most. I found an article recently that talked about research showing how knitting lowers blood pressure as effectively as meditation. I believe it too. I've been a knitting insomniac for the past three days.

I decided to continue knitting the "ugly socks" for two reasons. One, it's mindless stockinette stitch going round and round and round and takes absolutely no concentration thus leaving my mind free to ponder all of my work/school options. Two, my friend Joy gave me a new way to look at the ugliness of the sock and I decided it would be good to keep knitting for a bit and see what happens with the pattern that's appearing. Now i'm not saying the socks aren't ugly anymore but the pattern that's emerging is different than what I thought I was going to get so i'm glad I decided to put a little more time into it. I'm done with the cuff/leg part of the first sock and I started the cuff of the second sock last night. I decided to knit these two socks together instead of finishing one and then starting the other.

I got my Etsy shop up and running yesterday and posted my first skein of yarn. I still have some work to do on my shop appearance so i'm not sharing it with you all yet. I have to wait until my secret pal exchange is over anyway so as not to inadvertantly reveal myself a little too soon. I hope to get some of my baby tie-dye stuff up there today or tomorrow as well. I'm also working on a new colorway for a sock yarn geared towards men.

Back to the "i'm a spaz" thing. I've done a lot of thinking and researching and phone calls and emails and soul searching about this whole going back to school thing. Brett and I had a big heart to heart about the whole thing last night too over a bottle of wine and were up till sometime after 1am discussing my options. Have I said lately how much I love my husband? I really don't know what I would do without him here as my sounding board. And no matter what my latest and craziest idea is, he's always there to support me and to help me sort through things.

Here's where i'm at ... my biggest and most important thing in life is to be here for my boys. Some people may say I want to have my cake and eat it too but ya know what? I went through six and a half years of college for a reason. So I don't have to work my butt of just to make ends meet. So that I can have a good life. So that my family can have a good life. So that I can have the job I want to have. So i've reached deep down to figure out what exactly I want and here it is ... I want to be home with my kids. And when they go to school I want to drive them there and pick them up and talk to them about their day and help them with their homework and take them to soccer practice and whatever else they want to do. I want them to have a great childhood. I want us to have a great home and family life. I want to be able to take them on vacations and show them things like the Grand Canyon and the space centers and the mountains and the malibu coast and all that great stuff here in our wonderful country. I want to be able to send them to private school. I don't want someone else to raise my children and pick them up after school and take care of them over the summers. I'm their mom and I should be doing that. I'm not saying that everyone should do that. I'm just saying that I should. Now over the past two weeks i've come up with two ways in which this can happen.

Option 1: community college math teacher
Pros: I can make my own schedule, great pay for number of days worked, lots of time off that would mosly line up with the boys off time.
Cons: Four more years of college in which we will be more broke than we are now. Two years of undergrad after which there is absolutely no guarantee that I will get into grad school. Apparently the undergrad postpac classes I have to take will take me two years due to a certain sequence that you have to follow and each class only being offered once a year. Postbac is only allowed for 12 months so I would actually have to apply as a degree seeking student and get a bachelors in math before applying to grad school. I've been told more than once that the likelihood of getting into UF's math grad program is slim to none. My only other commutable option is UNF. That's two years of school and time away from the boys with no guarantee of being any better off than I am now. Also, if I do finish grad school I would most likely have to work as an adjunct for several years until a full time position is offered. I've had two different math professors refer to adjunct positions as "slave labor". So that would be four years of school to end up making under 20k a year until, hopefully, a full time position would be offered. That would mean no private school and definitley no vacations. I could make more by going back to teaching high school. If I didn't have kids I would feel much more positive about this math option and would just go for it but there are just too many places where this option could take a bad turn. I've worked too hard to get the degree I already have to set myself up for failure on round two.

Option 2: civil or structural engineer
Pros: Hey ... I'm already an engineer. Now I just have to add that civil or structural part. There are several ways for me to do this. College classes, training classes, teaching myself with Brett's textbooks and his help, and a combination of all these things. We know so many engineers around here and the civil and structural stuff is going to be around forever. It's also something that I can do no matter where we live. That's the problem with my being an aerospace engineer. It's so specialized that you pretty much work yourself right out of a job. There are plenty of engineers around here that I can work for on a contractor basis. That's what I do now for GTC's structural engineer but I could do a lot more if I learned some more about the field. I could go back to UF and get a civil engineering degree pretty quickly. Probably less than two years. Or I could just do a year of postbac work and take some of the classes that Brett thinks gave him the best real world knowledge. He thinks I could go to some continuing education training sessions like the ones engineering firms and DOT send their employees to and could learn what I need to. So I could do this and continue to work from home as I am now but would be able to take on a lot more work, especially when the boys start school. I'll have all day while they are in school to get my work done and with my laptop I could travel around to meet with clients and the engineers that I work for. And did I mention that i'm already an engineer? This option is actually causing me much less stress, costing much less money and providing more immediate and continued success and therefore a better life for us and our boys. And i'm really looking forward to learning some new things, which this would definitely provide. And we definitely wouldn't mind being back to having two engineers salaries either. Anyhow, the boys are growing up and Brody is getting to the point where he and Houston can play and entertain themselves for longer periods of time, giving me the ability to sit and get some work or some studying done. Another six months or so and they should be at a point where I can take on the HVAC work that is waiting for me.
Cons: Our eggs would still all be in the GTC basket, at least for a little while, which makes me a bit nervous but I will be learning things that allow me to go out and get work from other engineers soon enough.

Considering the size of the "con" section in the math option and the size of the "pro" section in the engineer option, I see where i'm headed. And i'm actually less stressed and more excited today than I have been in two weeks. :) Now I have to go to Brett's office and drag all those textbooks back to the house that I made him take there to get them out of my way.

Sears Photo Shoot

Birthday Weekend Fun

More pictures to come. We're off to Gainesville for Brody's one year check-up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRODY!!!

This was supposed to have a post date of June 9th, which is actually Brody's birthday. Apparently because I already had the empty post pulled up and didn't refresh the screen before posting, it posted as the day before.

Bon Voyage, Atlantis!

Yahoo! Space Shuttle Article

The Flame Trench space blog

NASA Shuttle Mission Information Site

Launch is set for 7:38 pm on friday. You can learn about this space station assembly mission by clicking here. This is an important mission for the power system team that I used to be a part of. The solar arrays never behave like they were designed to when being retracted or deployed. Makes for some interesting space walks. If you have the NASA channel you can watch it in action. Pretty amazing stuff. Also something of note, there are two shuttle launch pads, 39A and 39B. This is the first mission since Columbia's final voyage in 2003 to use pad 39A. I have some pictures of me up on the launch pad as well as some of me in the cockpit of Atlantis that i'll try to scan and post later today if i'm not a walking zombie. And why am I up at 4 o'clock in the morning, you ask? Had to go birthday party menu shopping tonight and then had a wind load to do when I got home. Had a little too much coffee trying to stay up to get that job done. And here I sit ... at 4am ... wide awake. I'm going to go count sheep now. Good night. Or good morning. Whatever.

NASA Fact: The energy released by the three space shuttle main engines is equivalent to the output of 13 Hoover Dams!

School Update

So I got my postbac application and fee sent in today. I checked with the mathematics grad advisor and he said it's not too late to apply for fall and that he would be happy to admit me to the math department to do some postbac work. So it seems, unless i'm really confused somewhere, that the application process is mostly a formality. I even had to put his name on my application and so it seems he will be the one making the decision. The postbac app even says something about the decision to readmit being up to the department in which you plan to study.

Right now i'm trying to take things one step at a time. I'll take two classes in the fall and see how it goes. Having to do some postbac work is actually a blessing, now that i'm seeing things clearly. This will give me a good taste of what things will be like without having fully committed to anything. Maybe i'll sail right through that advanced calculus and wow them so much that they want to let me into the grad program at UF. :) Maybe i'll end up saying "what the heck was i thinking?" and give up on the idea all together. Only time will tell.

There's also an up side to UNF versus UF. That would be that I only have to take three postbac classes instead of five and that one of the classes I would not have to take is Advanced Calculus 2. Now I love calculus as much as the next person crazy enough to want to get a masters in math but college calculus classes and I didn't always get along so well. (that could have something to do with the fact that I was only 18 and free from parental control for the first time ... i'm hoping things are different at 31) Now after Calc 1, 2 and 3 I really got the hang of it and did really well in differential equations (that comes after the Calc series). There's just something about jumping right in after seven years with a bunch of "kids" that just finished the Calc 1, 2 and 3 series that is scaring the pants right off me. I don't doubt my brain for a second. I don't even doubt that it will all come back to me. I've done enough calculus tutoring over the past few years to know how well it actually does come right back. What I do doubt is my self-discipline. Will I be able to tell the boys that I can't play with them right now or read to them right now because I have to study? That's going to be tough. A good friend pointed something out to me that is helping me with that issue though. He pointed out how young the boys are and that by the time they are old enough to go do the really fun stuff that I will be done with school. I've thought about that a lot tonight and he's right. I'll remember these times but the boys won't. They probably won't ever remember mama being in school.

I'm really lucky to have all the support behind me that I do. Brett is all for it and i've gotten so many words of encouragement and support from my friends and Brett's family. I really appreciate it too. Sometimes I get stuck in this stay-at-home mom world i'm living in far away from my closest friends and I forget that I really do have a lot of support out there. I know you all will straighten me out each time I start to doubt myself. You all rock and I love you for it. :) Everybody clear your schedules for May of 2010 because we're gonna have a rockin' party when/if I actually finish that masters degree and I want you all here to help me celebrate. ;)

Moms

This picture was taken last sunday at our friends Justin & Wrenda's house. They had a BBQ to celebrate some birthdays. Wrenda, John and Katielynn (the cutie pie in the very front who just turned two) all have birthdays in the past two weeks. It's crazy how much this crew has grown in the last couple of years. Less than three short years ago Houston was the only little one in the group. Now we're all moms. Well all except for Tifani but she's pregnant so she'll be joining us soon. She's the one sitting next to me holding Brody. I just love this picture. From left to right: Jenna & Noah, Wrenda & Gavin, Tifani & Brody, Me & Houston, Holly & Emma and in the front is Jenn & Katielynn.

There are some more really cute pics of the kids from that day on Wrenda's blog. I forgot to charge the batteries in my camera so I only got to take one pic that day.

It's been quiet around here ...

... the blog, that is. It's never quiet at our house anymore. It's filled with little boys laughs and baby babble and singing toys and cartoons and dog barks and howls. But I digress ...

There's been something in the works around here. If you've been keeping up with my other blog then you know what's up. If not, here's the short version ... I'm going back to school. For the very long conversation version of things with lots of details, click here. Nothing is set in stone yet and I may decide to cancel the whole thing. Right now i'm going to go get ready for yoga and hope I can find some quiet in my own head. It's been downright craziness in there lately ... swimming with hopes and dreams and ideas and fears and excitement and hesitance and ... well I think you get the idea.

More Yarn Dyeing

This time it was some sock yarn inspired by the flowering aloe plant in our yard. At the last minute I decided to use a burgundy rather than a peach and although it turned out more pink that burgundy, i'm very happy with the results.

And here it is on the niddy noddy that Brett made for me. I thought it would look better reskeined (sp?).

Desire

I just finished a new post here and I find myself with a renewed desire to go back to school. I have always wanted to get my masters in mathematics but i've tried not to let myself think about it too much for reasons of time and money. Every time I do, however, the urge comes back full force. I might start looking into it again. Maybe make some phone calls and see what it all looks like. Can you tell from my recent posts that i'm back in the "trying to figure out what to do with my life after kids" thing? I'm done making babies and i'm ready to start looking towards the future a bit. If I got my masters in math I could teach at a community college, LCCC or Santa Fe, and let me just tell you ... that would be the perfect schedule for me. And I love math so it's a win-win situation. Variable schedule, no 8 to 5, semester breaks, three fresh starts a year, part-time or full-time ... perfect for me. I really wish my GRE score had not expired a couple of years ago because I did really really well on it. I'm sure I can study up and get another good score but I don't know that it will be as good as it was taking it at the end of seven years of engineering school. Sounds like a good challenge though, no? And it's the one thing I consistently keep coming back to.

Yes I know ... the technical side is coming through again. So goes the constant struggle that is my mind. Anyone know of a scholarship for stay-at-home moms? Ha ha. Oooh ... I could get football and basketball tickets again. Now there's a reason to go back to college! Anyone have any GRE prep CD's I can borrow? Mine's pretty old so it probably doesn't work with Windows XP.

Seven Random Things

I've been tagged for the seven random things about me meme several times so I figured i'd finally play along. Now what a "meme" is, i'm not quite sure but here go the seven random things.

1. I have played the Viola since I was eleven. I was first chair pretty much all through middle and high school too. I've played in several symphonies over the years including the University of Florida Symphony Orchestra during college but these days I just pull it out around Christmas time to play some carols. I look forward to the boys being old enough to sing along with me. How's that for some Christmas cheer!

2. I have very strong fingernails. They almost never break. I usually end up cutting them off every once in a while because they get in my way. My orchestra conductors in grade school always got onto me for them. I actually learned to play with them even though they told me I wouldn't be able to. They just grow so darn fast that they are always there.

3. I've only had two pedicures in my entire life.

4. I once went almost two years without getting my hair cut. That was in college when it was all the way down to my butt. I miss that hair and i'm currently growing it back out.

5. I have a degree in Aerospace Engineering. You have no idea how many times in my life i've heard the "it's not rocket science" joke/thing.

6. I've worked at two different space centers and i've climbed all over two different space shuttles, both shuttle launch pads and several segments of the International Space Station (before they went into space, obviously).

7. I used to teach bellydancing at UF. (it was a leisure course, not an actual college course)

So there you have it. Seven random things about me. As far as tagging others, i'm not going to but if you read this and want to play along .... well then go right ahead. It's kinda fun. :)

Totally Gross!

A friend of mine that I worked with at KSC sent me this article. I'm so totally grossed out now.

A Better Morning

Well i'm feeling less stressed this morning, which is good. Thanks for all the comments and emails. It's great to know I have that support, even if it is virtually ... i'll take it! I ended up not going to yoga last night. I just knew it was going to be one of those frustrating sessions where I wished I was at home. And Houston got pretty sick yesterday afternoon. He ended up sleeping off and on from 3:30 in the afternoon until about 8:30. He got up and ate some dinner and then went to bed for the night. I got to work on one of my new crafty ideas involving some polymer clay. Turned out good too. I'll take some pictures later. I ended up rocking myself to sleep as I rocked Brody to sleep around ten. I didn't think he was ever going to give it up. That kid is a wild man, for sure. He had so much energy last night it was bordering on craziness! It was entertaining though and helped me not focus on the stress.

I think I lost my mojo at the river this weekend. I feel like a big bump on a log. I think that calls for some knitting today, if the boys allow it. At least my hands will be productive so I can't say I didn't get anything done. :)