Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Summer Break

I can't say it has been very summer-like this year, but I can't complain. We have had a few hot days, but overall, it's been pleasant. Sunny, which is always good. After the weeks and weeks of non-stop rain this spring, I was beginning to wonder if we would even have a summer.

In any event, Summer Quarter is over, and now I'm on my glorious 5 weeks break. Fall Quarter doesn't start until September 20th. Summer Q was insane. A full year of Spanish in 8 weeks and the toughest algebra class yet, in just 8 weeks. I just squeaked by in the algebra class, getting exactly what I needed to move on to the next class. However, I rocked my Spanish class. It was broken up into 3 separate grades. I got 3.8, 3.7, and 4.0.

It's probably a good thing I have this long break, because I have at least 20 credits fall quarter. Still deciding if I'm going to re-take a class I took in winter, to get a better grade. For now, I have Number Theory for Elementary Teachers, Interdisciplinary Science (part 1), Radio Lab (a journalism class), and Forensic Anthropology. Definitely the most intense classes I have taken and I'm taking them all at once. Crazy, maybe, but it's ok. I can't do it!

I have just 3 quarters left at GRCC (Fall, Winter, Spring) and I will graduate with my associates degree in June. Its so hard to believe that I'm already applying for graduation and getting things in order to transfer to CWU next fall. When I went back to school a year ago, I never thought I would actually finish. I am extremely excited and while I am very happy to have this long break, I have all my school supplies and my backpack is all packed and ready for the first day, which is still 4 weeks away. :-)

My grandpa is due for another Kidney scan next week. He will have these every 3 months for awhile, to make sure the cancer hasn't returned in the other Kidney. It's a little nerve-wracking, because the reoccurance rate is very high. My grandma also recently had surgery, to replace her other knee (she had the first one done almost 10 years ago). She is finding the recovery much harder this time. She underestimated the fact that she is 10 years older, her body is not in the same shape and she is completely dependent on supplemental oxygen, something she wasn't the last time. So, we'll see how it goes. She is a fighter, though, and I know she will make the best of the situation and do what needs to be done.

As far as Grandpa and the alzheimers, I can see some things slipping and in other ways, its hard to tell. He sleeps a lot. The doctors did find that he has excess fluid on his brain, which may be causing some of his problems, but the procedure to fix this is too risky at his age. He can be hard to live with sometimes, his moods are all over the place, and we are beginning to worry about him wandering off and forgetting where he is supposed to be, and wondering if he should still be driving. My grandpa is very independent, so the day we have to take his license or put him in a home, with be a very difficult day for all of us, but him especially. On top of it all, my grandma refuses to accept the diagnoses. I understand this, because its tough to swallow, but at the same time, I wish she would accept reality and allow him to get some therapy that could help him.

Anyway, I'm off to their house for awhile. I try to get down there and help out as much as I can. I don't want all the burden to fall on my mom. She has her own health to worry about. Not that she is sick or anything. She is diabetic, though, so she has to be a little careful, and sometimes she is not the best at remembering that.

I hope to blog again soon. I have so many things to say. So many things in my head. I do journal on paper almost everyday, it just doesn't always make it into my blog.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

homework vs blogging

Apparently, homework has been winning, because it's been awhile since I have last posted a blog. It almost seems that I only have time to write one blog per quarter, as my last blog was posted at the end of Winter Quarter and I am just 3 weeks away from the end of Spring Quarter.

Anyway, school is fabulous, I have loved being on campus this quarter. I will be very, very sad when my Children's Lit class is over, because I love the teacher and I love the class. We read kids books all day! Who wouldn't love that?! I am doing very well, grade-wise and look to pull 3.5-4.0 in all 4 classes!

Summer Quarter will be shorter, but probably the craziest of them all. I am taking an intensive spanish course. Cramming two full quarters of Spanish, plus an activity class into 8 weeks!!! And more Algebra, too. So, if you don't hear from me, you know where I am.

As for my family...My grandpa has continued to heal very well. He has more scans in June, to make sure they got all the cancer and nothing has returned. He finally saw a neurologist who confirmed our suspicions that Grandpa has early stage Alzheimers. This isn't great news, but it was news we were prepared to hear and there are treatments to try. He is 85 years old, so the treatments may just keep him sorta mentally stable until the rest of his body catches up, but it's something.

I will try to blog again soon!!!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

I'm still alive!

Wow! I didn't realize that I had not blogged since November. Life has been INSANE, to say the least. School takes up about 75% of my time, with class and homework and papers, etc. The rest of my time is split between helping at home, the dogs and Laurie's house, the occasional babysitting gig, and spending as much time with friends as I can fit in.

I am wrapping up Winter Quarter at Green River this week. Tomorrow, actually. A little less than 2 weeks off and then I jump head first into Spring Quarter. The first two quarters at GRCC, I did most of my classwork via computer, at home. Spring will be a whole new world! I have to go to school and sit in class everyday! Monday through Friday, I have class at 9am, 10am, and 11am. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I also have PE at 2pm. So, I will spending a whole lot of time in Auburn at GRCC! I have Children's Literature, Child Development, Math (Algebra), and Aerobic Walking. Fun times.

Let's see....back in November, we were told that my Grandpa had Renal Cell Carcinoma (Kidney Cancer) and the doctor would be scheduling surgery as soon as possible. We waited to hear, and waited, and waited. Finally, we heard from a friend that my Grandpa's doctor had retired. Sure enough, he had, and without telling anyone! So, we got a new doctor, and had surgery scheduled for January 20th. The week before, the doctor decided the cancer was too complicated, as it had spread to the renal vein and renal artery and was encroaching on the aorta and vena cava. Soooo, Grandpa went to yet another doctor, this time in Seattle, and we scheduled a new surgery. FINALLY, on February 17th, Grandpa had his surgery at UWMC and it went better than anyone expected. He was home in less than a week and has been healed up very nicely. It's been a very complicated process and we're not done. He will have more scans in a few months and there are some other things that need to be investigated, but for now, he is cancer free.

Grandpa has been having problems with confusion for awhile now, but my Grandma was in total denial. He is finally going to be seeing a neurologist soon, to determine a course of action or if there is even anything that can be done. On top of all of this, my Grandma's health has been steadily declining. With all of this going on, and my mom trying to fit work hours in, I drive back and forth between Laurie's house and my Grandparent's house, to help out when they need it. My poor car is exhausted!

I will be riding the bus to school as much as possible this spring, since I will be going 5 days a week. That's a lot of gas and money I can save, by using public transporation. I have to drive a little ways to the bus station, pretty early in the morning, but it drops me off right in front of the school, so I can't really complain.

The end of March, all of April,and the first weekend of May are going to be very busy and very exciting. Besides school, I have my best friend bridal shower, Easter, My 30th birthday, a visit to Central Washington University in Ellensburg (2+ hours away), and finally, Jessica's wedding in Oregon! I couldn't be happier for Jess and Jeremy. They are perfect together.

Ok, I have a final paper due tomorrow and I'm basically procrastinating by writing this blog. Back to work....