Graduation

I will be graduating from college in two and a half weeks. I can't believe it's finally here. Four and a half years ago I was turning 40 and quite unhappy with my life. What had I done? Where was I going? I had a little mid-life crisis.  This is when I decided I wanted to go back to college and figure out what I was going to be when I grew up.

I will be receiving a Bachelor of University Studies. My two majors are Family & Consumer Sciences and Psychology.  I have found that I love taking Family and Consumer Science classes.  They cover a lot of different topics and are quite interesting.  The Psychology part is very interesting too but something I would never pursue as a career. There aren't a lot of online classes that I was interested in but I was able to take enough Psychology to make it my 2nd major.

Now...what do I want to do when I grow up?  I'm still not sure LOL!  I have decided to pursue my Master's degree from the university that I work for (different than the one I'm graduating from). I have the chance to take two classes a semester for free (I pay for online fees and books). I can't pass up that opportunity. I've thought about being a home economist for the Cooperative Extension Service but will see if that is still what I want to do when I graduate.  I need to apply to graduate school and do all that is involved with that but I will hopefully be able to start my new adventure in the fall!

On being a Texan....

My step-daughter and her boy friend recently moved here.  The first afternoon they were here, I went to the grocery store and bought some things.  When I came back, he helped me carry in groceries. I asked if he would carry in the dog food, cat food, and cat litter because they were heavy. I'm not sure if it's how I said it or what but he asked if I was a Southerner.  I replied, no I'm a Texan.  He said, let me rephrase that, are you a Yankee or Rebel?  I said neither, I'm a Texan.  He thought about it a minute and said well Texas is in the South and I said no, Texas is Texas.  We were once our own country. I could tell he still wasn't sure about that but he let it go.  Last night it was brought up again and Neal told him there was no use arguing with a Texan because they will only claim to be a Texan! 

Visiting "Home"

I'm in my hometown visiting my parents.  I don't get to come down here as often as I would like but always enjoy when I can come and spend time with them.  I especially enjoy when I can come when it's not a holiday and we can just do what we want--no preparing special foods or wrapping presents!

I've gotten to eat at some of my favorite places and enjoy some of my my Mom's home cooking.  We've sat around the dining room table and played games and laughed.  I've gotten to see family friends and enjoy their company.  It's been a good visit!

Today we have a "to do list" to finish up.  Things I need to look at or fix.  Errands we need to run and places to go.  I will savor my last day here before heading to my home and enjoy the time I've had here.

Friendships

I still belong to my wonderful group of Mommies that I met online over 13 years ago (what?!? our Moppets are 13 now!).  We mostly communicate in a Facebook group.  Our group is still pretty active but as our kids have grown and are in more activities, we don't post as much.  It's always nice to know that I have a great group of Moms going through the same things I am. We are always there to support each other and share the ups and downs of our lives.

In the last year, I joined a local women's club.  It has been so great for me.  I've always just had a few close friends that I met through work or friends of friends.  Now I feel like I have a great group of friends who I can hang out with or see at meetings/activities.  We've organized several fund raisers to help the children of our community.  Our biggest money raiser was a holiday craft fair.  We now can offer several camp scholarships and hold a summer art camp for children in our village.  It's nice to feel like I belong to a group and am making a difference in the community.  I almost feel like a grown up now ;)

Almost three years later.....

So much can change in a few years!  I am still in school and will be graduating with my bachelors degree in University Studies in May. My two majors are Family & Consumer Sciences and Psychology.  I work three-quarter time as a nutrition educator and love my job.  I'm still trying to decide if I want to continue with school and get my masters degree or stop for now.

My daughter, Kinsey, is in 7th grade.  She plays trombone in the band and is in 4-H.  She loves cats and drawing.  She is amazing at drawin using computer graphics.  She still draws with pencil and paper as well.

Neal and I have been married for almost 14 years and still live in New Mexico. He works at the local Ford dealership. It was a huge change from the work he did before but he is enjoying it.

I guess this will be my update for now. I would like to keep updating when I have time...