Moving Forward

20 days until we leave Oregon and begin a new journey in life. Back to the Hawkeye state we go. We originally left Iowa in 2002 to come here to Portland, and now hope of a better life for our family are bringing us back. It will be sad to leave the beautiful state of Oregon and friends here. It won't be sad to leave the rain, though! We just can't afford to live here on one income... rent is so expensive and it will be a couple of years until I can work. Nursing school is an incredible opportunity for me and I can't wait to start next month! I've always wanted to be in health care but I ended up studying business as I worked in management for so long. We have family in Iowa that I am looking forward to getting to know better, and it will be exciting for the kids to have so many cousins around their age to get to know.

Wind of Change

Feeling the urge to write tonight. I've been terrible about it. It's been... six months or so. Things are crazy right now; stuff has totally changed. I've reached over 30,000 words in my manuscript. Part one is completely done. I haven't started part two yet mostly because some research needs to go into it and I simply haven't had the time. I have four weeks left in this crazy term at school. I'm in this Anatomy & Physiology course that is crazy hard. Shit, I'm not in med school and I don't need to know a lot of the stuff we are expected to memorize. But I've got to get through it. I'm also in a writing course that needed to be fulfilled in order to get an additional degree through PCC. It's so freaking easy but it's good to have to write something again.
I am a Scout parent and leader in multiple positions right now. I am the Pack Trainer, an Assistant Den Leader for Hunter's den, and just got through being the popcorn kernel for our pack's first popcorn sale. I will say that Hunter loves Scouts and I am thoroughly enjoying being involved. The popcorn sales went way better than my expectations but I couldn't have pulled that through if it wasn't for my friend Melanie. She is good with numbers and money and that just isn't me at all. It was nice having a partner to balance it all out.
I've lost 30 pounds and it has made me feel like a completely different person. It is difficult but once you get set on different eating and exercise routines it just all falls into place after awhile. I've been stuck on the same weight for the last month because I've lost my walking partner, but I'm going to try dancing- yes, dancing! I've known more than one person who has played video dance games and has lost weight. I just ordered one of the "Just Dance" games and now that the weather is bad, I am going to give it a shot. The knee is still as bad as ever, but I have learned to walk through the pain.
The biggest change is that we are going to move to Iowa at the end of May. I am going to start nursing school there this summer. I am happy about the move but I am sad as well. Hunter is in a good place in school and I have friends that I hate to leave behind. Oregon is beautiful- by far the most beautiful place that we have ever lived. Unfortunately Oregon has one of the worst unemployment rates of anywhere. We can't afford to live here on one income, and I can't get into nursing school here because of the thousands of applicants these schools have each year. No, I don't have bad grades, but I don't have straight A's. I have 3 kids and a busy volunteer life. I can't put in the time that straight A's require. I love the Midwest, however, and family and other friends will be close by. Plus, my ultimate goal of achieving a BSN from the University of Iowa will be in reach now.

Summer?

Ok... June has arrived. Two years in a row now, we have had cold summers. So far, our warmest day this year has been 74. And that has happened only once. WTF? Today, it is supposed to be 75, followed by 85 tomorrow and 84 on Sunday. Then what happens? We go back to upper 60's and rain! DAMN! I love Oregon but right now we need summer weather! We are going camping in just over a week, and even though we have a yurt, we would like warm weather and no rain.
I can't believe that Hunter is almost a second grader... where did the time go? Rilee finished preschool, and unfortunately she doesn't make the kindergarten cutoff because her birthday is in October. Too bad, because she's ready for kindergarten. Another entire year... Paisyn is 13 months old already and still under 16 lbs.! She's so cute and close to walking.
Just a few days left of spring semester. Hopefully algebra will work out okay. Unfortunately, I have to take a harder one this summer. Hoping to survive that. Also hoping to get back to this blog this summer. It's been hard with Cub Scouts, martial arts, t-ball, and driving back and forth from schools, not to mention my being in school.

Long Time

Yeah, it's been a long time, I know it. I had to give myself a typing break. I dropped out of NaMoWriMo after 27,000 words because my hands, fingers, and wrists hurt so badly. I have such bad carpal tunnel now that I've had to seriously limit the typing time. Right now I had to do something else besides almost falling asleep while watching Iowa play dismally against Missouri in the Insight Bowl. Yes, Iowa did not get a BCS bowl game this year. They started the season ranked #9 and then ended up losing 5 games,I think it was. Pathetic. They started this game great, and then come third quarter, it just went downhill.
On Monday I start my pre-nursing classes. I haven't been to an on-campus college class for years, and I pray that I'm not the oldest person in the class! Oh well, at least I don't feel old! It will be fun to go back to college.
I promise to get back to this more, as time allows. I never thought being the Mom of a school-age child would be so busy!
Ok, now Iowa redeemed themselves with an AWESOME touchdown! Maybe there is hope for this game yet! 5 minutes to go! GO HAWKS!

National Write a Novel Month

I know that I've been away from this, but it will have to wait until December. I am officially a participant in "National Write a Novel" month, which means that I have a goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month. Right now I am at almost 13,000, so I have a ways to go. I've committed to doing this, so I don't plan on writing anything else this month unless I do a quick update. I figure if I write at least 10 pages a day, I should be able to meet my goal!

15

Last month I started getting the 8mm film that my Mom took of us when we were kids. Boy, is that stuff expensive to get converted to DVD! It's worth every penny, though. Just getting to see and hear my parents again is priceless. So far, I have watched 2 of the 4 DVDs that were completed. One was from camcorder film from 1990-1991, and that included my 15th birthday. Some of my relatives were there, and Kevin filmed me opening presents. It was January, 1991. When I think back to that year, I realized just how much happened to me that year; how my entire life would change that spring and summer. It was my freshman year in high school, and I didn't have that many friends the first semester due to the new school. The "spring of 15" would bring my first season on the badminton team and meeting a bunch of new friends, most of whom I am still in touch with today. The "summer of 15" would change my life forever. We moved out of the rental house that my parents had rented for the lease was up, and they hadn't found anything yet so we spent the next 4 months living at Hawthorn Suites Hotel. This is how I met my first boyfriend, Todd. It was one of the best summers ever- being with friends, going to Six Flags a few times a week,taking my first college course, hanging out with Todd... until... my Mom filed for divorce. This was quite a shocker as us kids had no idea this was going to happen. It immediately distanced us from our Father and this was tough. He brought it out on me and unconventionally ended my relationship with Todd. Sophomore year came, which was great to be busy again and in October, I fell in love with Bruce, who I would end up dating for 3 years. That was 15. It is just so weird to see the footage from that 15th birthday, seeing me opening presents and having absolutely no idea what was in store for me that year.

Activities

Fall is officially in full swing! Rilee began nature preschool today. Wow, how I wish I attended a preschool like this one! It is at the nature park where Hunter has attended nature camp for a couple of summers. There are only ten kids in the class, 2 days a week. They go on a hike every day, and today they also read a story, sang, and played. She loved it and had no problems being left there.
Then, Hunter had his first cross country practice today after school. He enjoyed running with the other kids. Made me tired just watching it. They have 4 meets and the first one is next week. Hunter also has his first Cub Scouts (Tiger Cubs) meeting tonight. Kevin did it when he was little and loved it. I still have mixed feelings because of the way the Boy Scouts exclude homosexuals from leadership positions, but as long as Kevin is okay with it I will let him do it. I think he will have fun, especially with the outdoor opportunities here in Oregon.