End of Fall Semester 2010

Yeah! It's the end of the semester and I've finished one year of school! I can't believe how fast this year has gone. I ended up with A's in all 4 classes this semester. As of now I have a 4.0 GPA. I'm hoping to get my Associates degree by May of 2012 if not sooner. After that, I hope to transfer to the main campus of ENMU and finish my Bachelors degree within one to two years. I can't believe how hard this has been but it is going to be so worth it in the end.

Final project for digital photography class

I chose to do my final project of 8 pictures on historic Fort Stanton. I've taken a lot of pictures out there this semester and really enjoyed going back for my last project. Enjoy

the church

bench in front of the church

windows looking through the church

reflection in church window

front door of church and building number

flag pole in front of a cottage

windows to a building

silos and barns

and more Photography class photos

I've been taking a lot of photos for my photography class. Here are a few samples of my recent work.

Silos at Fort StantonCross Cutout in Capitan

Piece of wood

Plumbing pipe in our front yard

Aspen trees against the beautiful blue sky

More photos....

I have been out taking a lot of pictures for my photography class lately. I usually head out on Saturday or Sunday for a few hours and just look for things that will fit into that weeks assignment. Sometimes I have a specific idea of what I want to shoot and sometimes I just see where I end up. It's been fun but I'm dreading winter when I won't have much color or light to shoot. Here are a few pictures from the last 2 weeks.

Office to a cabin rental place in the Upper Canyon. Love the decorations!

The Aspens are changing colors and are beautiful. I love to hear the wisper of the leaves as the wind blows through them.

Old adobe/rock building in Lincoln, NM. Part of it is old and part is being rebuilt to show the size.

Pumpkins on my sister Melissa's front porch. I love the different colors and shapes in this picture. And yes, those are Corona bottles behind the pumpkin. My nephew set off colored smoke bombs in them to make them different colors.

Fort Stanton Merchant Marine and Military Cemetary. I had to show pattern for this picture.

Photography class

I'm taking a photography class this semester and thought I would share some of my favorite photos so far.

Summer Semester 2010

I guess we'll just shoot for one post a semester at this point. I finished up the summer semester last week and am just now recovering. I took Psychology 101 and ended up with a 98 or A! I loved that class and learned a lot from it. I also took Interpersonal Communications and received an A (not sure of the number grade). Not my favorite class but I got through it. Still maintaining my 4.0 GPA!

For the Fall 2010 semester I signed up for Adolescent Psychology, Marriage and The Family (both 1/2 semester classes--Fall I & II), Basic Computer Skills, and Digital Photography. I think I will enjoy the first 2 classes and they fit nicely with my degree plan. I feel silly taking a basic computer class since I majored in Computer Science the first time I went to college but everything I learned is pretty much obsolete and I have no idea how to do a PowerPoint presentation. I know this class will be informative and beneficial in the end. The digital photography class with meet my Art requirement and be an indulgence at the same time. I've always wanted to take a photography class so why not do it and get 3 credits out of it? I decided to take the two 1/2 semester classes so I can go full-time while only taking 3 classes at a time. Hopefully it will work out like I plan.

Kinsey starts school August 18th and will be in the 4th grade. I think she is ready to get back into the routine of school. She attended cheer camp this past week and really enjoyed it. Today was the last day. I will have to see if any of my pictures turned out and may add one later.

I hope everyone has a great "rest of the summer!"

One semester down

I finished my first semester back to college with a 4.0 GPA! I really enjoyed my classes and realized I really do like to learn. I've signed up for 2 classes this summer (that start Monday) and 4 for the fall. I'm taking 2 full semester classes and 2 half semester classes--that way I'm only taking 3 classes at one time. This summer I'm taking Introduction to Psychology and Interpersonal Communications. For Fall I signed up for Intermediate Algebra, Basic Computer Skills, and my 2 half semester classes are Adolescent Psychology (this should come in handy the next few years LOL!) and Marriage and Family.

My projected graduation date for my Associated degree is Spring of 2012. Of course then I have to continue on to my Bachelors. I'm hoping to get all of this done in 4-5 years so I can get on with what I want to do.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe summer! I'll be doing homework ;-)

Update and a new recipe I tried

We've had a lot going on the last month. My Mom had a stroke last month--in fact I just looked and it was the day I last posted. She was in the hospital for almost a week then got to go home. She was very lucky that it was a small stroke. She has some speech loss but is working very hard in speech therapy to regain it. We also found out her diabetes was way out of control. This was a huge wake up call for all of us. I think it has inspired my sister and I to look at our lives and see what we can do now to prevent ourselves from getting to this point. We are both overweight and do not eat as healthy as we should. My brother is a fire fighter and in excellent shape. Hopefully he will continue with that trend. Anyways, my Mom is doing much better. She has started walking daily and changing her diet. Things are looking up!

We've all been spending time at my parents helping to get things set up and going in the right direction. Last week while I was there, I bought a Family Circle magazine and found some great healthy slow cooker recipes in it. I pulled out the page and decided to try a few of the recipes. This week I tried Italian Pork Roast. It was delicious! I served it with corn on the cob and rolls. I could see it served with rice or egg noodles too. Here is the recipe from Family Circle Magazine:

Italian Pork Roast (slow cooker)

Makes: 8 servings Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 1 minute
Slow Cook: 3 hours on HIGH or 5-1/2 hours on LOW

Ingredients

1 boneless pork loin roast (about 3 pounds), trimmed and tied
3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic, drained
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Directions
1. Rub pork with 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning and place in slow cooker bowl.

2. Scatter tomatoes around pork. Pour 1/3 cup of the broth in bowl; top with 1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Cook 3 hours on HIGH or 5-1/2 hours on LOW.

3. Add green pepper to slow cooker for last 45 minutes of cook time.

4. Blend remaining 2 tablespoons broth, the cornstarch and balsamic vinegar. Set aside. Remove pork to a serving platter; keep warm. Strain liquid from slow cooker into a small saucepan and place vegetables around pork on serving platter.

5. Bring liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk in cornstarch mixture, remaining 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper; cook 1 minute. Spoon sauce over pork.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8 servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 242
Total Fat (g) 7
Saturated Fat (g) 3
Cholesterol (mg) 107
Sodium (mg) 460
Carbohydrate (g) 5
Fiber (g) 1
Protein (g) 37

Next week I'm going to try Asian ribs in the slow cooker. Neal and Kinsey both love ribs and Asian food so it should be a good combo.

Six months later I return....

I keep thinking I will update my blog but never get around to it. I've been in school for 2 months now and love it. It's a lot of work but I have found out I enjoy learning. I think it has something to do with having lived a little and seeing that wow...that information they are giving us will be used in some capacity in my life. When I went from high school to college I couldn't see it then but now I do.
I had signed up for 4 classes but after the first week I realized there was no way I could keep up with four classes this semester. It may take me a year or so longer to get my degree but I'll just keep plugging away and hopefully meet my goal someday.
This winter has been a rough one so far. We've had so much more snow than in years past. I'm sick of snow and ready for summer. Hopefully it's going to be a nice one.
I need to get some new pictures up but just haven't had time to get to it. My desktop computer is so slow and that's where the pictures are. I'm on spring break this week so maybe I'll set some times aside to get that done.
Ok, I'm off to get some work done.....