this is it....

Well folks...it's almost time to say good-bye. I have enjoyed helping everyone with their papers. It was a real mind blower how much you guys have said I helped in seminar. It is always so easy to help someone else then it is to figure things out on your own. I will definately use some of the techniques I learned in Comp II. Especially the post draft outline, it proved to be really helpful. I was a little anxious about writing an essay that was longer than a few pages but I got through it and feel great knowing that I accomplished the project. Now I just have to get through two more final exams and then I'm off for a few weeks before starting a new term. I am proud of the fact that I am almost done with my classes and hopefully soon will graduate. Even with all the distractions I seemed to have had this term, I have finished and am better for it. Good luck to all and have a great summer!!!!!

Final Paper due, already?

I am shocked that it is already time for the final paper to be turned in. I am a little nervous about finishing it on time. My weeks have been so busy. First last week I got the stomach bug, the next day my oldest got it. I took him to the doctor because he said he felt so sick, so he got a prescription that made it even worse. He couldn't hold it down. Then last night I took him to the emergency room because my husband was scared he was still having an allergic reaction. Turns out my son is not dehydrated (which I was worried about), nor is he having an allergic reaction to the medication...he caught another virus while being sick. He had a fever last night and today but is more active than he has been for a week. Now, my youngest has caught the stomach bug. Poor thing, he's three and doesn't understand what is going on. He just finally got potty trained and he cried when he didn't make it to the potty in time. He thought he would get in trouble. So now I have to finish writing my paper (wondering how I'm gonna make it longer) and study for final exams in my other two classes. I really hope that when I get a chance to just sit and write (with no distractions) that it will flow and meet the requirements. I am ready for that feeling of relief when I finish and turn in my paper. I learned a lot from this class and hope that I will remember it when I write papers for my future classes. Good luck to all!!!!

Blog, blog, blog...

I really don't know if I like writing blogs. Yes, it did help with relieving some stress but then at times when life was crazy, it caused stress having to sit down and write when all I wanted to do was go to bed. I enjoyed reading other people's blogs. It gave me some insight on what and how others live. Blogging gave us all the opportunity to get to know each other a little better, something you miss out on when you go to online school. Unlike highschool and college we had no cliques and it was easy to get along with one another. I honestly don't know where I am going with this, my brain is in a fog. Both my oldest and I have caught some kind of stomach bug and I just want to go to bed but alas, I am the caretaker of this wonderful kingdom and I cannot let my duties go. I still have a class tonight, typing homework to finish, stuff to get ready for work tomorrow, and litter that needs to be changed. This all will take me at least two hours to finish but even then it's too early to put the little one to bed. The sun will still be shining and he let's me know that it's not night time. I just hope I can make it...

What did you say about me?!

I enjoy it when I get a review from one of my fellow peers. I like hearing feedback and getting advice. There are times when my brain just doesn't want to function and reading someones advice on how to advance my essay helps out a lot. The juices get flowing as I determine whether or not the person could have a point or they just don't know what they are talking about. Every time I ask for help on an essay from either classmates or friends, I have gotten a lot of positive and negative feedback. Some may like my introductions, some may hate my thesis statement, but all give advice on how to make it sound better or ask questions about certain parts of the essay. The questions help me realize if I'm not being clear enough or that the person who read it is an idiot ;). The only problem I have is that when my husband tells me something about my writing, I get so mad because he doesn't understand how hard it is to start writing in the first place. He may even just tell me that I forgot a period somewhere, or I don't make sense. It still makes me mad even if he is right, how dare he?! I should be perfect in his eyes and that includes my writing. lol. It's weird how that happens. I know a lot of us can take criticism from a professor or fellow classmate, but when it comes to our spouses, mothers, sisters, or brothers it just doesn't count. Anyways, good luck to all with your essays and I look forward to reading some of them.

Uh-oh...week 6

These six weeks have gone by fast for this class. I had totally forgotten that a first draft was due by the end of this unit. I swear I meant to start my paper last week but like my last blog said, my kids determined when I would be able to do my school work. Between sick kids, dentist appointments, and fixing water heaters time has slipped past me. I have had no time to work on my draft and now I fear that it will become a stressful situation trying to get it done on time so that I will be able to post on the discussion board before Saturday night. I have learned a lot during the last six weeks. Having three classes this term was quite a challenge, especially since two of my classes require essays almost every couple of weeks. I have come to realize that this college thing is no easy task and requires a lot of focus and dedication. I am glad that during some points of the day I am able to focus on school, sometimes I wish it could be more but I take what I can get. Anyways, good luck to all of you who read this on a writing a great essay!

Greatest Academic Challenge (which is also just my greatest challenge)

I'm sure a lot of online students have the same challenges. Time, jobs, housework, and family. My greatest challenge out of all of these selections is family, more specifically my two boys. My husband works two jobs so that I don't have to work and can focus on getting the best grades I can. What he doesn't realize is that just because I'm home all day doesn't mean that I can just study and finish school work whenever I feel like it and we get into arguments about it all the time. My boys have been unusally time-consuming these past couple of weeks. First one got sick, then my youngest decided to catch it and had a hard time getting over his infection (took two weeks). Then the beginning of this week our pressure to the hot water decided to give out. Follow that with having to take my oldest to the dentist (by the way, my son hates and is scared of the dentist) for a follow-up and then two days later back to the dentist so he can have his chipped tooth fixed and retainer re-glued. That happened today and it was no picnic, it took me and two other dental assistants to hold him down so they could finish. Getting the water heater fixed was also no fun, the repair was scheduled for after my sons terrifying dentist appointment and lasted three hours. All that needed to be done was a routine draining that was eight years too late (I know, I am the worst about keeping up with house maintenance but the kids are fed and clothed).
Anyways, as like must of my alumni (did I say that correctly?), my greatest academic challenge is figuring out how to manage my time but a lot of times, the kids decide when I can work on school and when they need me. My children are the most important thing in my life and when they need me, school can wait. It is just unfortunate that school work tends to pile up and consumes me! LOL

What would I do?

I have never had the experience of someone claiming the work that I have done as their own. I'm sure that this would make me very upset, depending on what it was. If it was an essay on a certain subject, (let's say childhood obesity), I gave a friend a copy so they could help edit it, and I find that it's been publicly published, that would make me very upset. I would have to confront the person and ask what were they thinking?! If I can prove that I wrote the essay, I definately would send the proof to the publishers and ask for a statement saying that the author was me and not the other person.
Now, if this situation was something that happened at work, say a proposal for something, and a co-worker took that idea from me. I would be even more upset. This person is taking my hard work and trying to climb that corporate ladder with my ideas. I again would find proof that this idea was mine and get it to the boss. I mean seriously, give credit where credit is due.
The last situation I could think of is for homelife. My husband is trying to run a business and work two jobs all at once. He doesn't have time to take pictures, write descriptions, and post his products to ebay. So I have to do this for him. The business is in his name and any money made goes to his business account which I can't touch. This should make me upset that he is getting credit for selling, but I'm just helping out until he gets more time. Now, when we are out with his family and they ask how is business is doing and he goes on about how this or that is selling or how hard it is, I don't keep my mouth shut. I am doing all the work and for some reason him acting like it's all his doing is quite upsetting. That has happened maybe twice. He has learned that he needs to mention the work I do or his stuff doesn't get done. lol Never make a wife mad or that's the end of us being the woman behind the man.

really going crazy...

I have just finished searching for more articles for my paper. I have come up with soo many different ones now about the school lunch program and different aspects of it. I am hoping that when I actually read the articles that they will help in writing however many pages my essay needs to be. I am also hoping that they will be approved references, as much of them are little articles from different journals. Oh well, no harm in trying. Now if only I could focus on actually getting my discussion question written up so I can post it (feeling really lazy due to the rain), not too mention I feel a little overwhelmed with the rest of my classes and the homework that needs to be finished there. I have another paper due in my Human Disease class and a lot of typing to do for keyboarding and tests to take. My, oh my, I have my hands full this week. Good luck to me!

On-line Schooling

I have chosen to blog about going to an online university and some other frustrations I am dealing with now. But first how I feel about attending an Online University. When I found out about my job being sent over-seas, I decided I needed finally figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. My grandmother-in-law does medical billing/coding from home and decided that it was a good career choice since hospitals or doctor's offices aren't going over-seas anytime soon. She tried to help get started attending here in San Antonio to a college where she had connections with the health care director. I was very grateful but found it difficult to schedule going to take all the tests, talking to the admissions, and finding daycare for my kids before going to work. That's when I decided to check to see what universities online were accredited. Kaplan was exactly what I needed. I am able to complete assignments when I have the time (of course before deadline), I don't need to find a babysitter to attend classes (just have to keep them occupied for an hour), and there is no leaving the house (no worries about leaving the stove or coffee pot on). I have attended here for almost a year and am half-way to my goal. I have switched from Medical Office Management to Medical Transcription but the many of the courses remained the same. I did realize after switching that I can take medical billing/coding and medical office management as an elective, whereas in the MOM degree plan, I wouldn't have been able to learn MT skills. So this is awesome to me, I can now be educated to work various parts in a medical office and know what I am doing. I still hope that I would be able to make enough money to pay bills and save for a bigger house while working at home, but if I need to work outside the home, I will be prepared for anything. I find that not knowing students face to face makes it easier to communicate and not be afraid to leave comments that state whether or not they are doing great or if they should make improvements on certain things. The professors are easier to contact and respond quicker than I feel a professor at a University would. No making appointments or hoping that your e-mail will not get lost among hundreds of other students e-mails. But the best part for me is that I am home when my children need me and don't miss anything if I have to speed one of my boys to the med clinic or any sort of family functions. If there is seminar, I just take my husband's netbook and listen while enjoying either of my wonderful adventures. I don't really know how we can seem closer, except using Skype to talk to one another. We already communicate on discussion boards and seminars, and some im each other for extra help.
Now the frustrating part: I received information from Kaplan last Saturday, so I called to find out what the deal is. I then asked if they received information about my FAFSA. I was told that I did not get approved for any federal funding for the 2010-2011 school year. We made too much. I really hate the fact that we can't get approved for the things we need. I am still unemployed and my husband is working two jobs so I can focus on my studies and get awesome grades. We barely make it each month, and we still made too much. So now I am beginning to wonder if my school career will end before I can finish my degree. I would hate to have to get more loans or work just to pay for classes (that would take away my focus from assignments but I know a lot of students do this and get by) but we have to do what we have to do.
So anyways, I rambled on again. But isn't that what a blog is for? I hope I answered this weeks questions. Until next time...

Welcome to Crazy Town...

Hello everyone! This is my first ever post for my Kaplan class. I guess to get started I will tell you a little about myself. My name is Caroline, I just turned thirty this year and the curse of my mexican side has happened (everyone women on my mom's side has this curse). My metabolism has stopped working. I was told about this curse when I was younger and my aunts would watch me eat everything under the moon and not gain a pound. They would all tell me, "Just wait until you reach thirty, the weight won't come off. It happened to me." Of course being a youngin' I didn't believe them, but now I sure do. I have tried everything under the sun to drop those unwanted, unsightly middle fat. I have succeded a couple of times but the weight just happens to find me while I'm sleeping. I'm sure most of us have this problem. Wow, I completely went off my train of thought. I was supposed to be talking about my family and such.
Anyways, I have two sons (3 and 8), my husband, five cats (just acquired two kittens), a dog, a turtle, and live in a small rectangle box (manufactured home). It was a nice starter house but I didn't realize that my family would grow, this is why you don't let a pregnant women make any important decisions like housing ;). We barely know what we want to eat when we are pregnant let alone know where to live. But I digress again. My house is usually calm while my oldest and husband are gone during the day. My youngest and I usually shoot zombies for a while and then I do housework and homework. When everyone is here (hate rainy days) there is chaos. You may hear screaming and gunshots when you walk up to the door, but don't worry it's just one or all of them playing some war game. I try to break free once in awhile but they ask where I'm going and hop in the car before I answer. If I had a nickel for every time I hear, "MOM!!! He won't..." I would be so rich. And if I had a dollar for every time I hear, "WHERE Did You put...?" I could bail all of us out of this recession.
Well, there you go. A little about myself, a little about my family, and a lot of information that I'm sure most, if not all, could relate to. Until next time...